Survey Research · 34:833:635 · Spring 2013
Public Policy program · Edward J. Bloustein School
Cliff Zukin · zukin@rci.rutgers.edu · 732 932 4100 x6205 ·
Heldrich Center office 205 (entrance is at corner of Livingston and New)
Office Hours T 2:00 – 3:00; TH 10-11 & by appointment
This is a course in the art and science of survey research, a primary methodological tool of the social
sciences and program/policy analysis. You will learn how to design, implement and analyze surveys.
The class will cover all the steps in the process: (1) problem formation or goal identification; (2)
choice of a data collection mode; (3) sample design and selection; (4) questionnaire development and
layout; (5) data collection and processing; and (6) data analysis and reporting.
While this course is designed to train you how to consume, conduct and analyze surveys, we will also take a
look at how surveys are used in the political process and for program evaluation. There will also be a number
of practitioners coming to visit class to share their knowledge and experiences, and a field trip to a data
collection center. There are limitations to teaching survey research by lectures and readings. The absolute best
way to learn survey research is by doing it. It is in the application of theory and academic knowledge that the
best learning takes place. So, we’ll actually have our hands in two survey research projects as they roll on by on
their own timetables (described later).
Course Textbooks
There are two required books for the course, each of which has been recently revised and represent the current
state of knowledge about survey research:
Author:
Title:
Publisher:
Don Dillman, et al
Internet, mail and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method 3rd ed
John Wiley & Sons, 2009 ISBN 978-0-471-69868-5
Author:
Title:
Publisher:
Bob Groves, et al
Survey Methodology, 2nd ed
John Wiley & Sons, 2009 ISBN: 978-0-470-46546-2
The reading from these books and other sources is heavily concentrated in the portion of class before Spring
break. Most of your real hands-on stuff is concentrated after the break when there will be a much lighter
reading load. I left these TBD in the weeks right after the break to take on different topics as the class’ interests
evolve. Readings not in Dillman or Groves will be distributed in class or made available as PDF documents on
the class Sakai web site. Sakai will be the main interface by which we transact business between class sessions;
all important information will be posted on this site. We’re survey_research_2013@ sakai.rutgers.edu, also
known as 34:833:635 on your Sakai tab.
Because we will have specific projects that we will be involved with and some speakers yet to be scheduled, ,
the syllabus is both highly detailed in scheduled events and subject to change. Real research is an iterative
process with each step reacting to the one(s) made before it. We’re spending the semester trying to learn,
understand and apply an empirical methodology. That will make it a little frustrating, in that we don’t know for
sure in advance where we are going. But it’s the best way to learn. The course calendar and schedule of topics
& readings at the end is my best guess about what will happen when.
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The Research Projects
I’ll be involving you in two studies that are in various stages of the research process this semester to supply realworld examples of the topics we will be discussing.
Public Support for Human Space Flight
In the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, the Congress directed the National Research Council (NRC) of the
National Academies of Science to appoint an ad hoc committee to undertake a study to review the long-term
goals, core capabilities, and direction of the U.S. human spaceflight program. The charge to the committee is
summarized below:
1) Consider the goals for the human spaceflight program as set forth in (a) the National Aeronautics and Space
Act of 1958, (b) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Acts of 2005, 2008, and
2010, and (c) the National Space Policy of the United States (2010), and any existing statement of space policy
issued by the president of the United States.
2) Solicit broadly-based, but directed, public and stakeholder input to understand better the motivations,
goals, and possible evolution of human spaceflight--that is, the foundations of a rationale for a compelling
and sustainable U.S. human spaceflight program--and to characterize its value to the public and other
stakeholders.
3) Describe the expected value and value proposition of NASA’s human spaceflight activities in the context of
national goals--including the needs of government, industry, the economy, and the public good
4) Identify a set of high-priority enduring questions that describe the rationale for and value of human
exploration in a national and international context.
5) Consider prior studies examining human space exploration, and NASA’s work with international partners
6) Provide findings, rationale, prioritized recommendations, and decision rules that could enable and guide
future planning for U.S. human space exploration.
I’ve recently been appointed to this committee, and you’re coming with me. I, along with three other national
experts in survey research/public opinion, will be focusing our attention on the second of these goals. And the
start to ascertaining public opinion on this topic is a search to see what we already know, before we collect any
new data. We’ll be working on that, and then following this research path as it winds its way over the next 14
weeks.
Heldrich Survey of the General Public, Workers, and the Unemployed
Just this month the Heldrich Center interviewed a sample of the general public, with oversamples of American
workers and of those unemployed and looking for work. We just finished data collection, having completed
over 1,000 surveys last Friday (the 18th). We got the data back two days ago, and now have to start making
sense of it, or analyzing the data. So, you’ll get to follow the process by which we do this, what we write,
release, and what eventually (hopefully) appears in the media coverage of the study’s findings.
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The Guests
You’re going to get to meet some of the most prominent survey researchers in the country in a very intimate
setting. Joe Lenski will be joining us February 7. Joe is the President of Edison Research, which conducts the
national exit polls every two and four years. These polls are done for a media consortium comprising ABC,
CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC and the Associated Press. Joe will share his experiences with us about the 2012
presidential election. Tentatively scheduled are Allison Kopicki, a former Bloustein student and currently in the
polling unit of the New York Times is scheduled to come in February. Dr. Scott Keeter, Director of Survey
Research for the Pew Research Centers (People & Press, Religion, Internet, Global Attitudes, Journalism,
Hispanic Center) will be with us in March, and Dr. Mark Schulman, Chief Executive Officer of Abt SRBI will
be with us in April to talk about the future of survey research. I’ll bring in another set of guests remotely
through AAPOR Webinars on Social Networking and New Technologies (such as surveys on smart phones).
Course Requirements and Evaluation
Your grade will be based on your performance on one major paper, one short one and two exercise assignments
given as homework over a one week period. You’ll probably also conduct a few short telephone interviews
(about 5 minutes in length) with a randomly selected individual, and class participation on the projects. The
assignment and exercises will give you hands on experience practicing basic survey research skills.
(1) The first assignment is to organize and analyze public opinion data on a topic of your choosing. Some
examples are health care, abortion, education, taxes, skewed income distribution, the desired role of
government, war in Afghanistan, just to name a few. This is an exercise in secondary analysis. You will do a
review of polling studies on your topic and write a short synthetic paper about the state of public opinion on
Topic X. Assigned on January 31 and due on Feb 28, this will probably take you about 7 pages and will
account for 20 percent of your grade. And we’ll practice this all together first, using the Human Space Flight
project as a working example.
(2) The second assignment is an exercise—drafting questions for a questionnaire. I will give you a goal
statement and your job will be to write a small module of survey questions to get that information. You’ll be
writing 5-8 questions or so, and maybe redrafting once. This will take about two pages to do, and will count for
about 15 percent of your grade. This will either be handed out on February 21 or 28th, and due back one week
later.
(3) The third assignment is also an exercise, focused on writing up survey data. I will give you the quantitative
results of a survey and ask you to analyze it. This will take you two or three pages to do, and count for 15
percent. This will be handed out either April 11 or April 18 and due one week later.
(4) The main paper will be to prepare a research design and questionnaire about a topic of your choice. This
encompasses writing a clear statement about the goals of the research, explaining how you would sample the
population of interest and your choice of a survey mode, and designing the questionnaire (including the
wording, ordering and layout of questions). This will be due on May 3, one week after our final class session.
This will probably take you about 15 pages and will account for 40 percent of your grade. This is due on May 2.
The remaining portion of your grade will be based on your class work/homework on the projects and your
participation in class.
Please be mindful of the University’s policy on academic misconduct, or plagiarism.
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml
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Resources
You’ll be using a variety of resources in the course. Here are some of the portals you’ll be exploring.
AAPOR stands for the American Association for Public Opinion Research. It is the governing body that
regulates survey research and is the leading professional organization for public opinion and survey researchers
in the country, with over 2,000 members. Their web site is www.aapor.org, and you will find useful links to
other sites there. I will occasionally pass along the day’s traffic of AAPORNET, a discussion listserv for
members.
The single best site I know for following polling issues and controversies of the day is
Mark@huffingtonpost.com written by Mark Blumenthal. I’m sure I’ll be forwarding you some items from this,
as well as some from AAPOR’s listserv, the Washington Post’s polling blog, and Gary Langer’s of Langer
Research/ABC News.
The Roper Center at the University of Connecticut serves as the main archive for survey research data in the
country. Rutgers has an account that allows you to search questions asked by a wide variety of research
organizations. www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/ipoll.html is the site. Rutgers has an institutional account here. All
of the Heldrich data are archived there.
Other useful data archives include the Inter university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the
University of Michigan http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/index-medium.html, and survey research institutes at the
Berkeley http://srcweb.berkeley.edu and the National Opinion Research Center http://www.norc.uchicago.edu
at the University of Chicago.
Excellent sites for contemporary survey research data are the Pew Research Center(s) at www.people-press.org,
and Gallup www.gallup.com. Pew has a number of research centers, most of which are survey-based: The Pew
Research Center for the People and the Press, the project for Excellence in Journalism, the Pew Internet &
American Life project, the Global Attitudes project, the Forum on Religion & Public Life, Center on Social &
Demographic Trends, and the Pew Hispanic Center.
A committee I serve on at AAPOR has partnered with the Poynter Institute in putting together a course on
survey research for journalists. Those of you who did not go through the Public Policy program’s first semester
methods course might find it useful to get up to speed. It can be found at www.newsu.org and is free.
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SURVEY RESEARCH COURSE SCHEDUELE OF TOPICS, READINGS AND PROJECTS
Modes of Data Collection
Week 2 Jan 31
Week 3 Feb 7
Overview/Stages of Survey
Research
Sampling/Exit &
Election Polling
Sampling/
Questionnaire Design 1
Read: Dillman 2
Groves 2,12
Read: Dillman 3
Groves pp 67-75; 79-82;
93-105; 109-10; 118-120;
128-131;
Zukin Election Polling
Guest: Joe Lenski
Edison Research, Director
of Election Exit Polls
Heldrich Analysis
Read:Dillman pp 65-89
Groves 7
Week 7 March 7
Modes of Data Collection
Week 8 March 14
Fielding Surveys
Read: Dillman 8
Groves 5
Read: Dillman 7
Groves 9
Space literature review
completed
Visit to field house (Actual
visit one evening TBD. It
may not be this week, but
credit given in this week.
No formal class)
Week 11 April 11
Week 12 April 18
Data Analysis/Graphs
Presenting Findings
Data Analysis / Panel &
Longitudinal Surveys
Read: TBD
Read: Dillman 9
Groves 6
Week 4 Feb 14
Week 1 Jan 24
Overview of Course
Read: Dillman 1
Groves 1
The View from Space;
Heldrich Topline &
Weighting
Week 5 Feb 21
Week 6 Feb 28
Questionnaire Des 2
Questionnaire Design 3/
Weighting
Read: Dillman pp 89-106;
ch 5; Groves 8
Read: Dillman 6;
Groves 10
Space consolidation of
findings
Guest: Allison Kopicki
New York Times survey
unit
Week 9 March 28
Focus Groups 1
Week 10 April 4
Focus Groups 2/
Data Analysis
Read: TBD
Read: TBD
Guest: Scott Keeter,
Director of Surveys Pew
Research Center(s)
Week 13 April 25
Week 14 April 26
Specialized Surveys/
The Future of Surveys
The Future of Survey
Research/Ethics
Read: Keeter, Zukin &
TBD
Read Dillman 13
Groves 11
AAPOR Webinar, Mike
Link: Evolving SR, New
Guest: Mark Schulman
CEO Abt SRBI
Technologies/Next
Steps
Heldrich release of data;
wrap of Space outreach
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