Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Survey Research
preliminary
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of producing useful information in the social
sciences through survey research. Knowledge of this subject matter is important. Modern society
bombards its citizens with requests that they respond to survey questions. Communication media
assault and often reshape citizen senses with constant reporting on their responses. Expanding
research literatures use the responses to try to make sense of and perhaps improve the quality of
societal life. In this circumstance, it is essential that surveys, interviews and other methods yield
meaningful and accurate data that can help to maintain an informed citizenry and generate social
science and policy research work that is useful.
With this in mind, the course addresses several vital themes beyond the fundamental one of
simply understanding the meaning of a datum. These include coverage properties of sampling
frames; sample design and measurement error; alternative methods of data production (e.g.
telephone versus face-to-face, paper versus computer-assisted, interviewer administered versus
self-administered, etc.); impact of non-response on information quality; reduction of non-
response; survey project administration; post-survey processing; and survey research morality.
Because it is so crucial to the enterprise, the course puts particular emphasis on design of
questions and questionnaires. Explorations here include cognitive guidelines to assure
respondent understanding; approaches to determining valid recollection of past behaviors and
events; effects of question wording, answer formats and question sequence on responses;
combining individual questions into meaningful questionnaire structures; guidelines for
developing self-completion surveys relative to interview surveys; and strategies for acquiring
sensitive information; and the arts of face-to-face interviewing.
A. Learning Outcomes: Through readings and assignments, students will learn how to:
develop samples and sampling strategies to minimize error
design, evaluate and ask survey and interview questions
measure survey reliability and validity
implement self-administered and mail surveys
decrease non-response
undertake post-collection survey data processing, and
conduct survey research with integrity
B. Pre-requisite: None in particular, but completion of a social research methods course would
be nice, statistics too.
C. Required Texts:
Asking Questions: The Definitive Guide to Questionnaire Design - For Market Research,
Political Polls, and Social and Health Questionnaires (2004)
Bradburn, N.M., Sudman, S., and Wansik, B. Jossey-Bass [Bradburn et al]
Internet, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method, 3e (2009)
Dillman, D.A., Smyth, J.D. and Christian, L.M. Wiley [Dillman et al]
D. Grades: Structure is: A(4.0), A-(3.67), B+(3.33), B(3.00), B-(2.67), C+(2.33), C(2.00), F(0)
Grading is based on performance in three class project assignments, a mid-term examination
and a final examination, as follows:
Class assignments (3 assignments at 20% each): 60 %
Mid-term examination: 20 %
Final examination: 20 %
Total: 100 %
To be continued…