Introduction to Survey Quality


Book Description

Peruse the history of survey research and the essential conceptsfor data quality. With an emphasis on total survey error, theauthors review principles and concepts in the field and examineimportant unresolved issues in survey methods. Spanning a range oftopics dealing with the quality of data collected through thesurvey process, they focus on such key issues as: * Major sources of survey error, examining the origins of eacherror source most successful methods for reducing errors from thosesources * Methods most often used in practice for evaluating the effectsof the source on total survey error * Implications of improving survey quality for organizationalmanagement and costs




Survey Measurement and Process Quality


Book Description

An in-depth look at current issues, new research findings, and interdisciplinary exchange in survey methodology and processing Survey Measurement and Process Quality extends the marriage of traditional survey issues and continuous quality improvement further than any other contemporary volume. It documents the current state of the field, reports new research findings, and promotes interdisciplinary exchange in questionnaire design, data collection, data processing, quality assessment, and effects of errors on estimation and analysis. The book's five sections discuss a broad range of issues and topics in each of five major areas, including * Questionnaire design--conceptualization, design of rating scales for effective measurement, self-administered questionnaires, and more * Data collection--new technology, interviewer effects, interview mode, children as respondents * Post-survey processing and operations--modeling of classification operations, coding based on such systems, editing, integrating processes * Quality assessment and control--total quality management, developing current best methods, service quality, quality efforts across organizations * Effects of misclassification on estimation, analysis, and interpretation--misclassification and other measurement errors, new variance estimators that account for measurement error, estimators of nonsampling error components in interview surveys Survey Measurement and Process Quality is an indispensable resource for survey practitioners and managers as well as an excellent supplemental text for undergraduate and graduate courses and special seminars.




Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research


Book Description

Praise for the First Edition "...this book is quite inspiring, giving many practical ideas for survey research, especially for designing better questionnaires." —International Statistical Review Reflecting modern developments in the field of survey research, the Second Edition of Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research continues to provide cutting-edge analysis of the important decisions researchers make throughout the survey design process.The new edition covers the essential methodologies and statistical tools utilized to create reliable and accurate survey questionnaires, which unveils the relationship between individual question characteristics and overall question quality. Since the First Edition, the computer program Survey Quality Prediction (SQP) has been updated to include new predictions of the quality of survey questions on the basis of analyses of Multi-Trait Multi-Method experiments. The improved program contains over 60,000 questions, with translations in most European languages. Featuring an expanded explanation of the usage and limitations of SQP 2.0, the Second Edition also includes: New practice problems to provide readers with real-world experience in survey research and questionnaire design A comprehensive outline of the steps for creating and testing survey questionnaires Contemporary examples that demonstrate the many pitfalls of questionnaire design and ways to avoid similar decisions Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research, Second Edition is an excellent textbook for upper-undergraduate and graduate-level courses in methodology and research questionnaire planning, as well as an ideal resource for social scientists or survey researchers needing to design, evaluate, and analyze questionnaires.




A Practical Introduction to Survey Design


Book Description

This is your definitive guide to designing your social survey. It includes all the knowledge and skills you need to plan your survey with confidence and ease. Every step of survey design from developing your questions, to administering your survey and preparing your data for analysis, is explained in easy to follow language. It features: Case studies demonstrating how effective surveys are conducted in real life Clear advice on how to design an ethical social survey Practical exercises to help you construct your survey Suggestions for further reading taken from cutting edge, multidisciplinary sources The book also comes with a host of useful online resources, including templates and reflective questions, to help strengthen your understanding and apply your new found knowledge.




The Practice of Survey Research


Book Description

Focusing on the use of technology in survey research, this book integrates both theory and application and covers important elements of survey research including survey design, implementation and continuing data management.




Survey Methodology


Book Description

Praise for the First Edition: "The book makes a valuable contribution by synthesizing current research and identifying areas for future investigation for each aspect of the survey process." —Journal of the American Statistical Association "Overall, the high quality of the text material is matched by the quality of writing . . ." —Public Opinion Quarterly ". . . it should find an audience everywhere surveys are being conducted." —Technometrics This new edition of Survey Methodology continues to provide a state-of-the-science presentation of essential survey methodology topics and techniques. The volume's six world-renowned authors have updated this Second Edition to present newly emerging approaches to survey research and provide more comprehensive coverage of the major considerations in designing and conducting a sample survey. Key topics in survey methodology are clearly explained in the book's chapters, with coverage including sampling frame evaluation, sample design, development of questionnaires, evaluation of questions, alternative modes of data collection, interviewing, nonresponse, post-collection processing of survey data, and practices for maintaining scientific integrity. Acknowledging the growing advances in research and technology, the Second Edition features: Updated explanations of sampling frame issues for mobile telephone and web surveys New scientific insight on the relationship between nonresponse rates and nonresponse errors Restructured discussion of ethical issues in survey research, emphasizing the growing research results on privacy, informed consent, and confidentiality issues The latest research findings on effective questionnaire development techniques The addition of 50% more exercises at the end of each chapter, illustrating basic principles of survey design An expanded FAQ chapter that addresses the concerns that accompany newly established methods Providing valuable and informative perspectives on the most modern methods in the field, Survey Methodology, Second Edition is an ideal book for survey research courses at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also an indispensable reference for practicing survey methodologists and any professional who employs survey research methods.




Analysis of Survey Data


Book Description

This book is concerned with statistical methods for the analysis of data collected from a survey. A survey could consist of data collected from a questionnaire or from measurements, such as those taken as part of a quality control process. Concerned with the statistical methods for the analysis of sample survey data, this book will update and extend the successful book edited by Skinner, Holt and Smith on 'Analysis of Complex Surveys'. The focus will be on methodological issues, which arise when applying statistical methods to sample survey data and will discuss in detail the impact of complex sampling schemes. Further issues, such as how to deal with missing data and measurement of error will also be critically discussed. There have significant improvements in statistical software which implement complex sampling schemes (eg SUDAAN, STATA, WESVAR, PC CARP ) in the last decade and there is greater need for practical advice for those analysing survey data. To ensure a broad audience, the statistical theory will be made accessible through the use of practical examples. This book will be accessible to a broad audience of statisticians but will primarily be of interest to practitioners analysing survey data. Increased awareness by social scientists of the variety of powerful statistical methods will make this book a useful reference.




Handbook of Survey Methodology for the Social Sciences


Book Description

Surveys enjoy great ubiquity among data collection methods in social research: they are flexible in questioning techniques, in the amount of questions asked, in the topics covered, and in the various ways of interactions with respondents. Surveys are also the preferred method by many researchers in the social sciences due to their ability to provide quick profiles and results. Because they are so commonly used and fairly easy to administer, surveys are often thought to be easily thrown together. But designing an effective survey that yields reliable and valid results takes more than merely asking questions and waiting for the answers to arrive. Geared to the non-statistician, the Handbook of Survey Methodology in Social Sciences addresses issues throughout all phases of survey design and implementation. Chapters examine the major survey methods of data collection, providing expert guidelines for asking targeted questions, improving accuracy and quality of responses, while reducing sampling and non-sampling bias. Relying on the Total Survey Error theory, various issues of both sampling and non-sampling sources of error are explored and discussed. By covering all aspects of the topic, the Handbook is suited to readers taking their first steps in survey methodology, as well as to those already involved in survey design and execution, and to those currently in training. Featured in the Handbook: • The Total Survey Error: sampling and non-sampling errors. • Survey sampling techniques. • The art of question phrasing. • Techniques for increasing response rates • A question of ethics: what is allowed in survey research? • Survey design: face-to-face, phone, mail, e-mail, online, computer-assisted.? • Dealing with sensitive issues in surveys. • Demographics of respondents: implications for future survey research. • Dealing with nonresponse, and nonresponse bias The Handbook of Survey Methodology in Social Sciences offers how-to clarity for researchers in the social and behavioral sciences and related disciplines, including sociology, criminology, criminal justice, social psychology, education, public health, political science, management, and many other disciplines relying on survey methodology as one of their main data collection tools.




Designing Quality Survey Questions


Book Description

Surveys are a cornerstone of social and behavioral research, and with the use of web-based tools, surveys have become an easy and inexpensive means of gathering data. But how researchers ask a question can dramatically influence the answers they receive. Sheila B. Robinson and Kimberly Firth Leonard’s Designing Quality Survey Questions shows readers how to craft high quality, precisely-worded survey questions that will elicit rich, nuanced, and ultimately useful data to help answer their research or evaluation questions. The authors address challenges such as crafting demographic questions, designing questions that keep respondents engaged and avoid survey fatigue, web-based survey formats, culturally-responsive survey design, and factors that influence survey responses. Additionally, “Stories from the Field” features provide real world experiences from practitioners who share lessons learned about survey design, and end-of-chapter exercises and discussion questions allow readers to apply the information they’ve learned.




Experimental Methods in Survey Research


Book Description

A thorough and comprehensive guide to the theoretical, practical, and methodological approaches used in survey experiments across disciplines such as political science, health sciences, sociology, economics, psychology, and marketing This book explores and explains the broad range of experimental designs embedded in surveys that use both probability and non-probability samples. It approaches the usage of survey-based experiments with a Total Survey Error (TSE) perspective, which provides insight on the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques used. Experimental Methods in Survey Research: Techniques that Combine Random Sampling with Random Assignment addresses experiments on within-unit coverage, reducing nonresponse, question and questionnaire design, minimizing interview measurement bias, using adaptive design, trend data, vignettes, the analysis of data from survey experiments, and other topics, across social, behavioral, and marketing science domains. Each chapter begins with a description of the experimental method or application and its importance, followed by reference to relevant literature. At least one detailed original experimental case study then follows to illustrate the experimental method’s deployment, implementation, and analysis from a TSE perspective. The chapters conclude with theoretical and practical implications on the usage of the experimental method addressed. In summary, this book: Fills a gap in the current literature by successfully combining the subjects of survey methodology and experimental methodology in an effort to maximize both internal validity and external validity Offers a wide range of types of experimentation in survey research with in-depth attention to their various methodologies and applications Is edited by internationally recognized experts in the field of survey research/methodology and in the usage of survey-based experimentation —featuring contributions from across a variety of disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences Presents advances in the field of survey experiments, as well as relevant references in each chapter for further study Includes more than 20 types of original experiments carried out within probability sample surveys Addresses myriad practical and operational aspects for designing, implementing, and analyzing survey-based experiments by using a Total Survey Error perspective to address the strengths and weaknesses of each experimental technique and method Experimental Methods in Survey Research: Techniques that Combine Random Sampling with Random Assignment is an ideal reference for survey researchers and practitioners in areas such political science, health sciences, sociology, economics, psychology, public policy, data collection, data science, and marketing. It is also a very useful textbook for graduate-level courses on survey experiments and survey methodology.