Examples of complex measures in surveys

Subtitle

(CRI

COS)

#00

212K

How we use the method

Section Subtitle

(CRI

COS)

#00

212K

• Multiple Questions– Need to measure social capital or democracy and governance– Ask a number of questions to derive a summary measure

Summary measures in surveys – Method 1

(CRI

COS)

#00

212K

• Ask one good and tested question– Life Satisfaction

Summary measures in surveys – Method 2

How I learnt about the method

Section Subtitle

(CRI

COS)

#00

212K

• ACSPRII Course on PCA and Factor Analysis• Dunteman (1989), Principal Components

Analysis, SAGE Green Book series• Cliff (1987), Analyzing Multivariate Data,

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Summary Indexes

• Sociologist who knew about the literature• Use experts in the field• Use other surveys

Colleagues

Complexities we experienced in applying the method

• I had never done an ethics application before

Ethics

Testing the survey

• Need to test whole survey– Identify issues, questions, misunderstanding words, etc– Question design is a complex area which looks simple but isn’t

• Use previously tested questions– Testers have identified best forms of questions– Question design is a complex area which looks simple but isn’t

• Don’t change tested questions if you don’t have to– Question design is a complex area which looks simple but isn’t

• Reduce effect of question order by having a number of forms and moving questions around

(CRI

COS)

#00

212K

• Add?– Questions are usually highly correlated

• Principal Components Analysis– Reduces correlation between questions

• Other weighting method?

How to aggregate summary measures

• Hogan, Tanton, Lockie and May (2013). “Focusing Resource Allocation-Wellbeing as a Tool for Prioritizing Interventions for Communities at Risk.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 10 (8) (August): 3435–52

• Dunteman (1989), Principal Components Analysis, SAGE Green Book series

• Cliff (1987), Analyzing Multivariate Data, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

References