The Practice of Social Research

Chapter Nine.  Survey Research

Preview

TOPICS APPROPRIATE FOR SURVEY RESEARCH
GUIDELINES FOR ASKING QUESTIONS
    Choose Appropriate Question Forms
    Make Items Clear
    Avoid Double-Barreled Questions
    Respondents Must Be Competent to Answer
    Respondents Must Be Willing to Answer
    Questions Should Be Relevant
    Short Items Are Best
    Avoid Negative Items
    Avoid Biased Items and Terms
QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION
    General Questionnaire Format
    Formats for Respondents
    Contingency Questions
    Matrix Questions
    Ordering Items in a Questionnaire
    Questionnaire Instructions
    Pretesting the Questionnaire
    A Composite Illustration
SELF-ADMINISTERED QUESTIONNAIRES
    Mail Distribution and Return
    Monitoring Returns
    Follow-up Mailings
    Acceptable Response Rates
    A Case Study
INTERVIEW SURVEYS
    The Role of the Survey Interviewer
    General Guidelines for Survey Interviewing
    Coordination and Control
TELEPHONE SURVEYS
    Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)
NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND SURVEY RESEARCH
COMPARISON OF THE DIFFERENT SURVEY METHODS
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF SURVEY RESEARCH
SECONDARY ANALYSIS
Web  Resources


Survey Research Tools
     http://international.ncs.com/ncscorp/research/

UC Berkeley Survey Research Center
     http://srcweb.berkeley.edu/

Polling the Nations
     http://www.pollingthenations.com

Web Survey Methodology
     http://www.websm.org/