Lecture 7
STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS AND
INSTRUMENT DESIGN PART I
“Continuum” of Interview Situations
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Unstructured
Open-ended
interviews
Structured
Interview
Guides, still
open-ended
Identical Instrument
(questions, etc) given
to all participants
What is a Survey?
 To survey:
 “act of looking or seeing, observing”
 Research Surveys
 Qualitative interviews, focus groups
 Specific, systematic, quantitative data-collection instruments
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Example Surveys
 US Census
 General Social Survey
 Online Surveys
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Structured Interview Formats
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 Face-to-face, self-administered (email, mail, etc),
phone surveys
 Typically either cross-sectional or longitudinal
 Often a balance between
 (1) standardization
 (2) ability to reach sample
 (3) available resources
 (4) type of questions you are asking
Structured Interviewing
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Standardization of Wording and Format in an
Interview Instrument
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 Must have a logic for each question
 Must have a logic for the question responses (if provided)
 Must have a logic for the sequencing of questions
 Must have clear wording
 Must have clear formatting
 Must take into account the sample population that will
actually take/use the survey instrument

Culture, language, interpretive ambiguity
Question Logic
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 Avoid asking unnecessary questions
 Example: Survey on computer usage
Socio-demographic questions (age, gender)?
 Risk behavior questions (drug use, etc)?

 Closed or Open-ended?
Closed versus Open Questions
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(Q1a) What do you spend most of your time doing
on the Internet?
(Q1b) Which of the following things do you do most
of the time on the Internet?
(a) Email
(b) Browse the web
(c) Play games
(d) Other
Question Logic
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 Avoid redundant questions unless you have a clear
reason

Exception: Sometimes it is a good idea to ask two
questions that tap same concept (first as a scale, then as a
categorical decision)

Example (ranks):
First ask respondent to rate 1-10 how much they agree with several
statements.
 Next, ask respondents to rank the statements by how much they
agree with them (i.e., 5 statements, rank them 1-5).

Question Response Logic: Scales versus Categories
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 As a basic rule, metric scales with more range are
better than binary or categorical responses (all
other things being equal).

Example: Age
Are you 18 or older (yes/no)?
 How old are you (in years)? _________

 With general scales and Likert-scales, consider
having no “middle” category (neutral, no opinion).
Question Response Logic: Categorical Responses
 Responses must be mutually exclusive
 Example (bad): Where do you live?

Berkeley, San Fran, Bay Area, Other
 Responses must be exhaustive
 Example (bad): What kind of computer do you have?

PC, Mac
 Use ‘Don’t Know’, ‘Other’, ‘Not Applicable’ when
absolutely necessary
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Question Sequence
 Static order for questions needs to have some
rationale/logic
Grouping similar items together
 Scattering similar items throughout survey

 Personal demographic questions work best at end
of survey (response rate and completion)
 Randomization for all respondents
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Clear Wording / Leading Questions
 Clear Wording
 Example:
“What ISP do you use?”
 “If you have Internet service at home, what company or service
provider do you use for Internet access?”

 Leading Questions
 Example:
“Don’t you think we should support our troops in Iraq?”
 “How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following
question: ‘We should support our troops in Iraq’”

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Clear Formatting, Logic
 Not all questions apply to everyone
 Example:

“How much do you spend on gas heat each month?”
 Branching is a possible solution
 Example:

“Do you have gas heat? If yes, go to next question. If not, skip to question
#3.
 Condense when possible to avoid unnecessary branching.
 Example:

“How much do you spend on gas heat each month? (write 0 if you do not
have gas heat)
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Know your sample population
 Regional language and terminology
 Cultural differences
 How you conduct survey can influence your valid
sample



Door to door?
Registered telephone directory?
Internet-based survey?
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Replication and Using Existing Survey Instruments
 ALWAYS a good idea to find other surveys that are used in
your area of interest.

Especially with large, funded surveys the questions may have been
tested for reliability.

Allows for comparisons between different samples if the question
wording is the same.

If a question or set of questions is accepted as a good
operationalization of the concept you are interested in, you don’t
want to reinvent it unless you really intend to argue that your
measure is more appropriate.
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