Chapter 8 - Surveying Flashcards
What are Principles of good question writing?
- avoid jargon, slang and abbreviations
- avoid ambiguity, confusion and vagueness
- avoid emotional language
- avoid prestige bias
- avoid double-barrelled questions
- do not confuse beliefs with reality
- avoid leading questions
- avoid asking questions that are beyond respondents capabilities
- avoid false premises
- avoid asking about interventions in the too distant future
- avoid double negatives
- response categories must be mutually exclusive, exhaustive and balanced - mutually exclusive
What are some types of questions?
- Threatening questions
- may threaten identity and respondents want to present a positive image - Social desirability questions (bias)
- respondents try to present a good image by adhering to social norms - Knowledge questions
- researchers are interested in what people know about a certain topic but people may not be well-informed - Skip or contingency questions
- a two or more part question - Non-attitudes and the middle positions
-accepting a middle/neutral answer when the respondent does have position or forcing people to choose when they don’t have position
What is the difference between open-ended and closed-ended questions?
Open ended
- instructed question where respondent can give any answer
Closed ended
- question respondents with fixed responses from which to choose
What are questionnaire design issues?
- length of the questionaire
- keep it short (3-4pages) - organization of questionaire
- make answering questions clear and easy - order effects
- respondents hear some questions before others and the earlier question affect their answers to later questions - format and layout
- questionaire should have a cover sheet, letterhead, proper spacing and font, length, personalized and indicate appreciation - Matrix question
- compact way to present a series of questions using the same response categories
What are sponsors?
- people like to see the survey is from a legit organization
What are Incentives?
Monetary
- people typically reciprocate
Lottery
- chance to win a prize
What are the 4 ethics in surveying?
- invasion of privacy
- voluntary participation and informed consent
- exploitation of surveys and pseudo surveys
- people misuse survey results, poorly designed or purposely rigged
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Face to Face surveys?
Advantages
- highest response rates
- Permit longest questionnaires
- Someone can assist participant
Disadvantages
- High costs
- interviewer bias may be introduced
- Limited supervision of interviewers
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Online surveys?
Advantages
- Fast
- Cheap
- Inclusion of video and audio
- straightforward to create questions
Disadvantages
- Uncertainty recoverage, privacy, verification and design issues
- Unequal internet access
- Sampling frame (email addresses)
- Confidentiality
- difficult to verify participant identity
- Software compatibility
- Unknowns about questionnaire design Cheapest & Fastest
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of telephone surveys?
Advantages
- Coverage is excellent
- fast
- Someone to assist respondents
- Use of CATI
Disadvantages
- Higher costs
- Interview cannot be lengthy
- difficult (or impossible) to reach some people
- Possible interviewer bias
- Open-ended questions are difficult to use
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Mail surveys?
Advantages
- Cheap
- Can be conducted by a single researcher
- Convenient for respondents
- Confidential
- Minimal interview bias
- High response rates for SOME groups
Disadvantages
- Low response rates
- Can take a long time
- Conditions under which completion took place uncontrollable
- No one to assist participant or probe for further info
What does it mean to train interviewers?
- physical appearance, age, race, sex, languages spoken
- become familiar with interviewing particular questions
