Survey Research (調查研究)
Social Research Methods
2217 & 6501
Fall, 2006
1
Part I: The Overview of
Survey Research
Research questions appropriate for a
survey
 a brief history of survey research
 the logic of survey research

2
Survey:
the most widely used data-gathering
technique in the social sciences and in
related fields
 “easy” to conduct surveys? No! Good
surveys require thought and effort [調
查研究在社會科學研究中很普遍，也常
被誤認為很容易進行，其實好的調查需
要深思與努力。]

3
Research Questions Appropriate for a
Survey


Self-reported belief or behaviors
 Behavior (行為)
 Attitudes/beliefs/opinions (態度/信念/意見)
 Characteristics (特徵)
 Expectations (期待)
 Self-classification (自我歸類)
 Knowledge (知識)
Be careful about “why” questions
 If ask respondents’ subjective understanding, “why”
questions are appropriate
4
A History of Survey Research


Can be traced back to the census (人口普
查)
Several reasons to explain the popularity
of survey research (post-1950 growth)





Computers
Organizations (at universities)
Data storage
Funding
Methodology: substantial research efforts
applied
5
The Logic of Survey Research

The survey: sample many respondents
who answer the same questions


Test multiple hypotheses and infer temporal
order
Correlational (關聯性的研究): use
control variables to approximate the
causality test
6
Steps in Conducting a Survey:





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Develop an instrument (a survey
questionnaire or interview schedule)
Conceptualization and operationalization
→write clear and complete questions
How to record and organize data for
analysis
To collect data
Coding and entering data
Analyze the data & report the result
7
8
Conducting a survey:
Survey research: complex and expensive
 requires coordination between many
people and steps
 requires organization and accurate record
keeping
[調查研究可能是非常複雜且昂貴，需要多人
配合，步驟也很多，調查的行政工作非常需要
組織及正確的記錄。]

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Part II. Constructing the
Questionnaire
principles of good question writing
 aiding respondent recall
 getting honest answers
 open vs. closed questions
 wording issues
 questionnaire design issues

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Principles of good question writing

A good questionnaire forms an
integrated whole.


Two key principles:



Have an introduction & nice flow
Avoid confusion (避免混淆)
Keep the respondent’s perspective in mind
(從受訪者的觀點來思考)
Question writing: an art & a science

Takes skills, practice, patience, and
creativity
11
Ten things to avoid when writing survey
questions:


Avoid jargon, slang, and abbreviations
(避免用術語、俚語、縮寫)
Avoid ambiguity, confusion, and
vagueness (避免語意模糊、混淆、不確定
的字詞)


Avoid the use of indefinite words or response
categories
Avoid emotional language and prestige
bias (避免情緒性的字詞或專家偏差)

Use neutral language
12
Ten things to avoid when writing survey
questions:

Avoid double-barreled questions (避免一
題兩問)


A double-barreled question: two or more
questions joins together
Avoid leading questions (避免引導式問
句)

Do not lead the respondent to choose one
response over another by its wording
13
Ten things to avoid when writing survey
questions:

Avoid asking questions that are beyond
respondents’ capabilities (避免讓受訪者
無法回答)




Phrase questions in the terms in which
respondents think
Be very clear in asking questions
Avoid false premises (避免錯誤前提)
Avoid asking about distant future
intentions (避免詢問未來的意圖)
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Ten things to avoid when writing survey
questions:

Avoid double negatives (避免雙重否定)


Double negatives: confusing
Avoid overlapping or unbalanced response
categories (避免重覆或偏重某些答案類別)

Response categories should be mutually
exclusive, exhaustive, and balanced
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Aiding Respondent Recall (幫助受訪者回憶)

Recalling events accurately takes time and effort.
(Our memory is not that trustworthy!)


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The problems of telescoping
Need to customize questions and interpret results
cautiously.
Provide aids to respondents:


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Specific instructions
Extra thinking time
Provide fixed time or location references
Situational framing
Decomposition
Landmark anchoring
16
Getting Honest Answers: Sensitive Topics
(較敏感的議題)

Respondents may be reluctant to answer questions on
sensitive topics.
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Getting Honest Answers: Sensitive
Topics (較敏感的議題)


Respondents may be reluctant to answer
questions on sensitive topics.
Use different techniques to get honest answers:

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
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Establish a comfortable setting before asking
Use “enhanced” phasing of questions
Provide contextual background information
Ask more serious actions first
Self-administered questionnaire or web-based
survey
Randomized response technique (RRT)
18
Getting Honest Answers: Social
Desirability Bias (社會期許偏差)



Social desirability bias: respondents tend to
overstate an attitude or behavior (社會認可的
壓力讓受訪者高估某些回應)
Why? Respondents want to make their
reports conform to social norms.
Phrase questions to give respondents “facesaving” alternatives.
19
Getting Honest Answers: Knowledge
Questions (知識性的問題)


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Knowledge questions may be threatening.
Many people have inaccurate factual
knowledge.
Researchers can improve by:



Phrase questions carefully
Use a sleeper question (運用測謊題)
Check for more details
20
Getting Honest Answers: Contingency
Questions (條件式問項)


A contingency question: to avoid asking questions that are
irrelevant for a respondent (目的: 避免問和受訪者無關的問
題)
A two- (or more) part question: the first questions are
screen or skip questions
21
Open versus Closed Questions (開放式 vs.
封閉式問項)


Open-ended questions: unstructured, free
response vs. Closed-ended questions:
structured, fixed response
Each has advantages and disadvantages
(see Box 10.5, p. 287)
22
Open versus Closed Questions (開放式 vs.
封閉式問項)
23
Open versus Closed Questions (開放式 vs.
封閉式問項)
24
Open versus Closed Questions (開放式 vs.
封閉式問項)




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Open-ended questions: unstructured, free response
vs. Closed-ended questions: structured, fixed
response
Each has advantages and disadvantages (see Box
10.5, p. 287)
Large-scale surveys used more closed-ended
questions because they are easier and quicker to
answer.
We can mix open-ended and closed-ended
questions, and use partially open questions.
Be careful about responses for closed-ended
questions.
25
Neutral Positions: should provide a “no
opinion” choice?


Reasons for and against a neutral or middle position
Three kinds of questions: standard-format, quasifilter, and full-filter questions (標準形式、半過濾式、
全過濾式問題)

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Floaters (猶疑者): respondents “float” from giving a
response to not knowing
Also consider recency effect (晚近效應)
Either offer a middle position or make respondents
to choose a position and then ask about their
choices.
Selective refusals for sensitive issues
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Agree/Disagree, Rankings or Ratings (排
序或評分)?

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Questions or statements (問題或陳述)? Rate
or rank-order items?
Questions about values often show little
differentiation → “rank-then-rate” procedure
Better to rank items than rating (排序可能較
容易區分答案選項的重要性)
Be careful about visual presentation and
answer categories
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