Survey Research Survey vs Interview l Steps to

Survey Research Survey vs Interview l Steps to write a survey l

Survey vs Interview Survey l Profile of concerns, attitudes, beliefs, needs, preferences, etc. l Representation of a large group Interview Expert opinion l Indepth l Comprehensive l One on one l

Steps to a Successful Survey l l l Define your purpose Define your population Define your method Design questionnaire Conduct survey Analyze data FOR MORE INFO. . . www. statpac. com/surveys

Define Your Purpose Well defined purpose assures good design l How do you intend to use the information? l What exactly are you measuring? l Express goal in a few clear concise sentences

Define Your Population l Who is the exact population? – Students, computer users, bike riders, etc. l How will you select your population? – Number of people (40) – Census vs random, convenience sampling

Define Your Method l Type of data – Opinions, ideas, facts, figures l Type of survey – Phone, email, in-person, web l Method to – Collect, record, analyze and report

Design Your Questionnaire l Short and meaningful title l Clear, concise instructions – If no cover letter, include goal l Group items in logical coherent sections l Begin with non-threatening, interesting items l Use simple and direct language

Design: Questions l Open ended questions – Response in word, phrase, sentence, essay – Uncover attitudes, but hard to gather data l Closed ended questions – Limited number of predetermined choices – Easier to gather data

Design: Questions l Avoid biased questions – Do you think it’s morally wrong to kill babies through abortion? — – Do you support or oppose providing women the option of aborting a pregnancy during the first twenty weeks? l l Kill = emotionally loaded / judgmental word Built-in judgments manipulate people's responses

Design: Questions l Avoid vague questions – Do you support or oppose the university’s alcohol policy? • What is the policy? – How do you feel about abortion? – Do you favor weapons for campus police? YES - NO

Design: Questions l Do you favor (check all that apply): – Having campus police carry mace and a club? – Having campus police carry nonlethal "stun guns"? – Having campus police store handguns in their cruisers? – Having campus police carry small-caliber handguns? – Having campus police carry large-caliber handguns? – Having campus police carry no weapons? – Don't know

Design: Questions l Guidelines – text page 159 l Qualities of a Good Question: http: //www. statpac. com/surveys/questionqualities. htm l http: //writing. colostate. edu/references/res earch/survey/index. cfm

Conduct Survey l Larger the sample more valid the survey l Allow enough time l Keep careful records

Analyze / Report Data l Graphically represent your data – Bar graphs, pie charts – Tables Reference data in text, e. g. Figure 1… l Put details of data in appendix l