SURVEY RESEARCH
SURVEY RESEARCH
Nature of survey research
– People naturally do what they do;
– you measure this through self-reports
– most typically in the form of
interviews or questionnaires
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Types of questions
Timing
– Past (“Retrospective”)
– Future (“Prospective”)
Agent
– Yourself (“Self Report”)
– Others (“Informant”)
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Typical questions
1. Measuring rates of occurrence
Interest in a product, product purchase, media use
2. Examining relationships
Between the cause (Independent Variable)
and the outcome (Dependent Variable)
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Strengths
1.
Quick and easy
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2.
Standardized
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3.
Numbers or words
Control for subgroup differences
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People behave naturally, you merely measure that.
Qualitative or quantitative information
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6.
Can get most any type of info in a variety of ways
Measuring a natural phenomenon
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5.
Offers consistency
Flexible
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4.
When fast info is needed
e.g. Separate analyses for men and women
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Survey Weaknesses
1. Problems Due to Respondent
• Nonresponse error
• Self-selection bias
• Response bias
• Social desirability bias
• Acquiescence bias
• Extremity bias
• Interviewer bias
• Auspices bias
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More Survey Weaknesses
2. Problems Due to Administration
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Sample selection error
Data processing error
Interviewer error
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Cheating or falsifying data
Fatigue
Misunderstanding of method
Unconscious cues
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More Survey Weaknesses
3. Many participants needed
4. Cannot prove causation
5. Limited time and complexity for phone
6. Limited visuals for many survey forms
7. Does not measure actual behaviour
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Survey time-frames
• Cross-sectional
– One shot
• Longitudinal
– More than one shot
• Cohort: ask different people each time
• Panel: ask the same people at different times
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The End