Introduction to Survey Research

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Introduction to Survey Research
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Survey Research is About Asking Questions About

• Behaviors
• Opinions/Attitudes
• Facts
• Beliefs
• There are lots of ways to ask these questions
• Telephones
• Interviews
• Mail
• Internet

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Why Do A Survey?

• Interested in Individuals
• Interested in Aggregation of Views
• Interested in Recent Current Events
• Interested in Big Groups

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• Surveys may be used for descriptive, explanatory,
  and exploratory purposes. They are typically
  used in studies that have the individual as the
  unit of analysis.
• Although the method may be used for other units
  of analysis, some individual persons must serve
  as respondents or informants.

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• Survey research is probably the best method
  available to the social researcher who is
  interested in collecting original data for
  describing a population too large to observe
  directly.
• Careful probability sampling provides a group of
  respondents whose characteristics may taken to
  reflect those of the larger population
• Carefully constructed standardized questionnaires
  provide data in the same form from all respondents

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Six steps in Survey Research

• Research Design
• Select Sample
• Construct Questions
• Ask Questions
• Analyze Data
• Report Results

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Response Rate

• Response Rate is the percentage of surveys that
  are returned.
• Overall response rate is one guide to the
  representativeness of the sample respondents.
• A high response rate indicates there is a less
  chance of significant response bias than a low
  response rate.
• A low response rate is a danger signal, because
  the non respondents are likely to differ from the
  respondents in ways other than just their
  willingness to participate in the survey.

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Acceptable Response Rates

• According to Babbie,
• a response rate of 50 is adequate for analysis
  and reporting
• a response rate of 60 is good
• a response rate of 70 is very good

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Non-attitudes

• Many Assume Survey Research is Like Archeology
• Assumes Pre-Existing Treasure
• With the Right Tools You Can Find It
• Often This Is A Perfectly Good Model
• Do People Always Have Attitudes or Opinions?

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Dealing with non-attitudes

• Consumers Be Wary of Opinion Polls About Very
  Complex Issues
• Screen Respondents Does the Person Know Anything
  About the Issue?
• Create a "Mushiness Index
• Offer a Middle Position
• Offer a "Don't Know" Option

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Strengths of Survey Research

• Only Way to Probe Opinion of a Very Large Group
• A Very Flexible Tool
• Medical, Educational, Political, Business, etc.
• Facilitates Hypothesis Testing
• Encourages Standardization and Systematic
  Comparison

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Weaknesses of Survey Research

• Standardization Comes at a Price
• Surveys Often Dont Get at Why
• Respondents Might Not Have An Opinion
• Respondents May Not Actively Engage
• Respondents May Lie