SURVEYS AND
QUESTIONNAIRES
See Robson Chapter 8
Typical Survey Features
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Use of a fixed quantitative design
Collection of a small amount of data in a standard
form from a large number
Selection of representative samples from known
populations
Generally closed-ended
Not hard and fast rules
Survey Types
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In-Person Questionnaire
Self-Administered Postal (mail) Questionnaire
Telephone Survey
Not restricted to the use of questionnaires
 E.g.
traffic survey – observational
Advantages of Surveys
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All Survey Types:
 Simple
and straightforward approach
 Adaptable to collect generalizeable information from
almost any population
 Data standardization

Interview Surveys:
 Interviewer
can clarify questions
 Presence of interviewer encourages participation
Advantages Cont.

Self-Administered/Mail:
 Way
of retrieving information about history of a large
group
 Efficient – Large data sets, low cost, short timeframe
 Note:
May be disadvantage if researcher is seduced into
using a survey when it is not most appropriate to research
question
 Allows
anonymity/encourages frankness
 Allows large geographical distribution
Disadvantages of Surveys
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All Survey Types:
 Context,
discourse, and meaning
 Lack of relation between attitude and behavior
 Social desirability response bias
 Data affected by characteristics of respondents
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Self-Administered/Mail:
 Low
response rate – still representative?
 Misunderstandings not detected
 No control
 Respondents may not take seriously
Disadvantages Cont.
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Interview Surveys:
 Data
affected by interviewers/interview bias
 Affected by interactions of interviewer/respondent
characteristics
 Concerns of anonymity – respondent less open
Developing Survey Questions
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Pilot work – semi-structured interviews, focus groups,
other data collection
Previous studies
Theoretical frameworks
Activities in a Sample Survey
1.
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3.
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6.
Initial design and planning
Designing the questionnaire
Pre-Testing
Final design and planning
Data collection
Analysis and reporting
1. Initial Design and Planning
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Most straightforward task for survey are ‘how
many,’ ‘how much,’ ‘who,’ ‘where,’ and ‘when’
Gauge public opinion
Test theories
Theoretical framework important when trying to
move beyond description to explanation
Unit of analysis
Population
Sampling frame
2. Designing the Questionnaire
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Provides a valid measure of the research questions
Gets the cooperation of respondents
Elicits accurate information
Be clear
Fixed-alternate responses should be accurate,
exhaustive, mutually exclusive, and on a single
dimension
Keep response rate in mind for mail surveys
Standardize in-person surveys
3. Pre-Testing
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First stage:
 Informal
– Colleagues, friends, family
 Ask if questions are clear, simple, and unambiguous
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Second stage:
 Respondents
from the groups of interest
 Give thoughts on the question
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Third Stage
 Formal
Pre-test
 Pilot version
4. Final Design and Planning
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Edit questionnaire
 Spelling
 Layout
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Finalize coding and analysis procedures
5. Data Collection
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Follow your plan!
Keep clear notes/records
Address issues as they arise
6. Analysis
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Generally straightforward with closed questions
Codes can be arbitrary (but consistent) or can be
the actual number
Have a code for non-response
Open questions – Simplify many responses by
classifying into smaller number of groups
Coding categories chosen from sample of all
respondents
Coding effectively changes open questions to
defined set of responses
Survey Sampling
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Selection from the ‘population’
Sample size
 Would
a smaller set of longer more detailed surveys
be preferable to more?
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Probability/representative samples
Non-Probability samples
INTERVIEWS
See Robson Chapter 9
Interview Features
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Generally one-on-one and face-to-face
Can be in group settings or by phone
Can be primary/only approach or in combination
with other methods
Open-ended questions are the norm
Types of Interviews
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Structured
 Extreme
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example is the survey
Semi-Structured
Unstructured
 Allows
more flexibility of response
 Extreme is the ‘depth interview’
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Respondent interviews/informant interviews
Advantages of Interviews
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Flexible and adaptable
Asking people directly is a short-cut in seeking
answers (versus observation)
Offers possibility of follow-up
Non-verbal cues
Rich and highly illuminating material
Disadvantages of Interviews
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Requires considerable skill/experience
Lack of standardization/reliability concerns/bias
Time consuming and requires lots of preparation
Can be limiting geographically
Interview Process
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Listen more than you speak
Questions should be straightforward, clear, nonthreatening
Avoid leading
Enjoy it!
Take a full record
General format: Intro, Warm-up, Main Body, CoolOff, Closure
Interview Content
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Content consists of:
A
set of items/questions
 Closed
 Open
 Scale
 Probes
and prompts
 Proposed sequence of questions
Other Interview Types
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Informant interviews
 Non-directive
interview: Totally in control of interviewee
 Focused interview:
 Situational
analysis
 Interview guide
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Group Interviews
 Most
common are a hybrid of discussion and interview
 Allows group interaction
 Focus Groups
Focus Group Advantages
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Highly efficient
Checks and balances
Focus on most important topics
Enjoyable
Inexpensive, flexible, quick to set up
Stimulated by thoughts of others
Contributions encouraged
Those with limited reading/writing skills not excluded
Less inhibited members serve to break the ice
Focus Group Disadvantages
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Limited number of questions
Facilitating requires considerable expertise
Needs to be well managed
Conflicts may arise
Lack of confidentiality
May not be generalizeable
Live and immediate
Participants may try to impress one another
Difficult to follow-up on views of individuals
Focus Groups
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Homogeneous Groups:
Facilitates communication
 Promotes exchange of ideas and experiences
 Gives a sense of safety
 May result in ‘groupthink’
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Heterogeneous Groups:
Can stimulate and enrich discussion
 May inspire new ideas
 Risk of power imbalances
 Can lead to lack of respect for opinions
 Can lead to dominant participant destroying group process
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Analysis of Interview Data
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Taping and Transcribing
 Allows
concentration on the interview
 Alternative to complete transcription is to be selective
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Too late to think about analysis when interviews are
complete