Survey/Descriptive Research

“30% of me says ‘yes’, 30% says ‘no’, and 40% of me is just plain

confused.”

What is a Survey? DescriptionsDescriptions of a sample characteristic(s)

(hopefully to infer about a population)

How (most?) people think, behave, feel?

How the members of a population distribute themselves on one or more variables?

What is described? Abilities PreferencesAttitudes BeliefsKnowledge PoliciesObject ClubsCompanies Schools Government agencies etc.

Characteristics

Describe

Asking questions

Sample (from a population)

Main concern

Bring to light WHAT IS?WHAT IS?

Not

WHY SOMETHING IS? WHY SOMETHING IS?

Types

Cross-sectional surveyCross-sectional survey – collects info from a sample from a predetermined population at one point in time (cuts across demographics)

Longitudinal surveyLongitudinal survey – info collected at different points in time (census?)

1.1. Trend studyTrend study – different samples from a population whose members may change are surveyed at different points in time

2.2. Cohort studyCohort study – samples a particular population whose members do not change over the course of the survey

3.3. Panel studyPanel study – same sample of individuals at different times (explore the reasons for these changes) – loss of individuals? – Jean Piaget?

Steps

Trivial questions? Examples? Objectives → research questions → survey

questions should reflect research questions and objectives

Hierarchical approachHierarchical approach → begin with the broadest, most general questions → end with the most specific

Let’s do it… Questionnaire Interview schedule

Generalizing Possible by defining (comprehensively, in detail,

clearly) the sample involved in the study

Whom the study cancan and can notcan not generalize to?

‘redefine’ the following target population more precisely (to allow effective sampling and generalization): “all of the counselors in the school.” “all of the parents of the students in our school.” “all of the administrators in the school district.” “all chemistry students.” “all of the teachers of the gifted.”

Mode of data collection

“Live” Mail Telephone Face-to-face interviews

Work in Pair: Identify advantages and disadvantages of each of these

modes of data collection for a survey research Give examples of topics for each of the mode of data

collection

Sampling

Major concerns? Do participants selected for the survey possess possess

the infothe info the researcher wants to obtain? Are they willingwilling to answer these questions?

Overcoming these? Preliminary inquiry among potential respondents Assess receptivity Use persons in authority (connections)

Instrument

Most common types: Questionnaire Interview schedule

Meeting the standardstandard of good ‘questions’:1. Is this a question that can be asked exactly the way it is

written?

2. Is this a question that will mean the same thing to everyone?

3. Is this a question that people can answer?

4. Is this a question that people will be willing to answer, given the data-collection procedures?

Give an example of a question to assess each of the following characteristics of a

group of counselors: Their income Their counseling style Their biggest worry Their knowledge of developments in the area

of counseling and psychotherapy Their opinions about the rise of cyber-chat-

suicide among ‘loners’ in Japan and South Korea

Pre-testing the questionnaire

To a group of respondents similar (in characteristics) to the actual sample

Reveals… Ambiguities Poorly worded questions Questions that are not understood Unclear choices Clarity of instructions/directions

“Next question: I believe that life is a constant striving for balance, requiring frequent tradeoffs between morality and necessity, within a cyclic pattern of joy and sadness, forging a trail of bittersweet memories until one slips, inevitably, into the jaws of death. Agree or disagree?”

1. Which subject do you like least? a.Social studies b.English c.Science d.Mathematics e.Other (specify) ____________________

2. Rate each of the following parts of your master’s degree program by circling the number under the phrase that describes how you feel.

 Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied

a. Coursework 1 2 3 4

b. Professors 1 2 3 4

c. Advising 1 2 3 4

d. Requirements 1 2 3 4

e. Cost 1 2 3 4

f. Other (Specify)_______________

1 2 3 4

1.What characteristics of a person would lead you to rate him or her as a good administrator?

2.What do you consider to be the most important problem facing classroom teachers in high schools today?

3.What were the three things about this class you found most useful during the past semester?

Please rate and comment on each of the following aspects of this course:

Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied

a. Coursework 1 2 3 4

Comment ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. Professor 1 2 3 4

Comment ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Advantages and Disadvantages of Closed-Ended versus Open-Ended Questions

Closed-Ended  Open-Ended

AdvantagesAdvantages

Enhances consistency of response across respondents

Allows more freedom of response

Easier and faster to tabulate Easier to construct

More popular with respondents  Permits follow-up by interviewer

DisadvantagesDisadvantages

May limit breadth of responses Responses tend to be inconsistent in

length and content across respondents

Takes more time to construct Both questions and responses subject

to misinterpretation

Requires more questions to cover the research topic 

Harder to tabulate and synthesize

Internal validity in a survey research…

MortalityMortality – lost subjects (longitudinal studies) LocationLocation – collection of data is carried out in

places that may affect responses (e.g. survey of attitude toward policemen conducted in a police station)

Instrument decayInstrument decay – if the interviewers get tired or rushed

InstrumentationInstrumentation – defective items introduce systematic bias

Last question…

What can you do to discourage respondents from engaging in NONRESPONSES?