Week 8 (Survey Research and Quantitative data)

Question 1

Quantitative Research:

Answer 1

Objective: To describe or explain social phenomenon
Aim: Quantify, Cause-effect relationships
Focus: Objective reality
Methods: Surveys, experiments, content analysis, secondary data analysis
Data: numbers, counts, statistical analyses

Question 2

3 types of Surveys:

Answer 2

-Self-administered surveys
(mail/online, can be inexpensive, anonymity, no interviewer bias, slow and low response rate, cant clarify,not a random sample)
-Interview surveys ( face-to-face, ask questions, high response rates, can gauge response quality, capture detailed response, expensive, not ideal when dealing with sensitive issues)
-Telephone surveys (over the phone, cheap/quick/more likely to answer sensitive questions, may not trust interviewer, exclusion of people without cell phones)

Question 3

4 types of common survey questions:

Answer 3

-Demographic (measure a characteristic of the sample)
-Behavioural questions (Measure actions/experiences in the past/present/future)
-Attitude (measures respondents’ view)
-Knowledge (measure knowledge about social life)

Question 4

Question design Do’s and Dont’s

Answer 4

Do- Clear, short, unbiased, relevant, defined central concept/constructs, use contingency questions

Don’t- Unclear/ambiguous, negatively worded, inappropriate language, double-barreled questions, biased wording, leading questions, incomplete or inappropriate list of response categories

Question 5

Open-ended vs closed-ended

Answer 5

Open- freedom to answer

Closed-ended- list of responses availble