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The survey

The survey. Broad-based information on a population. “Getting the lay of the land”. Surveys. A social science survey is a research method where a number of people answer a fixed set of questions concerning their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors

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The survey

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  1. The survey Broad-based information on a population

  2. “Getting the lay of the land”

  3. Surveys • A social science survey is a research method where a number of people answer a fixed set of questions concerning their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors • The people are usually chosen carefully to represent a larger population • Question topics and wording are crucial to the success of the method

  4. Uses of surveys • Surveys are mainly used to: • Gain an understanding of the characteristics of populations • Public opinion • Media use • Population demographics, etc. • Develop and test theories concerning relationships among variables in large populations

  5. Self-report measures • Depending on respondents to provide information about themselves has strengths and weaknesses as a data-gathering method • Respondents may be the only source for much of the information you want to know • Knowledge, experiences, etc. • A number of biases occur in people’s provision of information about themselves

  6. Census v. sample survey • When you conduct a census you measure every member of a population • When you conduct a sample survey you measure a subset of the population • Sample surveys are used to estimate what a census would have found

  7. Census • U.S. census • Course evaluations • US News survey of US colleges

  8. The sample survey • Most telecommunications surveys are sample surveys because populations researchers study are usually very large • a census would be very expensive and inefficient

  9. Polls • Polls usually are short surveys looking to determine public opinion on a topic of current interest • Usually are not used to develop more advanced theory • Often look to identify opinions of subgroups (demographic clusters)

  10. Sample surveys in telecommunications: • Nielsen ratings and surveys • Arbitron ratings and surveys • Gallup polls • Simmons Experian • gfkMRI

  11. Pew Research Center surveys

  12. Survey validity

  13. How do you collect the data? • Personal interviews • Phone interviews • Mail interviews • Computer-mediated interviews

  14. Why choose one over the other? • Cost • Response rate • Respondent need for guidance • Anonymity/confidentiality • Speed • Control over data collection

  15. Personal interviews

  16. Personal interviews • An interviewer asks the respondent a number of questions face-to-face

  17. Source: www.lynnefeatherstone.org/gallery.htm

  18. Advantages of the personal interview • Interviewer can monitor respondent’s answers • Interviewer can react to nonverbal cues • Survey can include visual stimuli • Movie posters, videos, etc. • Interviewer can probe for deeper answers • Response rates are high

  19. High level of control over the interview situation • Respondent identity • Interviewer can prevent input from other people in household, noise and other distractions • May be the only way to reach certain populations • Homeless • LGBT • Undocumented aliens

  20. Disadvantages of personal interviews • Expensive • Slow • Supervision of interviewing staff is difficult • Significant potential for interviewer bias

  21. Telephone interviews • An interviewer asks questions of the respondent over the phone • Very common method • Computer-automated dialing • Computer-aided interviewing • Large facilities with multiple interviewing stations

  22. Advantages of telephone interviewing • Moderate cost • Can be carried out quickly • Supervising interviewers is relatively easy • Interviewers can help respondents with their questions and concerns • High response rate • Callbacks are relatively easy • Personal touch (human voice)

  23. Disadvantages of telephone interviews • Less control over the interview situation • Cannot use visuals • No face contact • Respondents get bored quickly • Probes, depth limited

  24. Disadvantages of phone interviews • Response rate is lower than with personal interviews • Unlisted numbers • Wrong numbers (turnover is rapid) • Class attempt to use UK phonebook was a disaster • Cell phones • Refusals • Not-at-homes (answering machines)

  25. Questionnaires v. interviews • Questionnaires are presented to the respondents, who fill them out themselves • Distribution can happen in a wide variety of ways • Product warranties • Restaurants • Doctors’ offices • Magazines • Blogs

  26. Mail-distributed questionnaires • A questionnaire is sent through the mail, self-administered • Used for radio/tv diaries, disks with ads on them, product warranty cards, political polls by representatives

  27. Advantages of mail questionnaires • Low cost • Wide sample possible • No field staff to manage • Confidentiality • No interviewer bias • Respondent is not rushed, can answer questions at her leisure • Can include limited graphics

  28. Disadvantages of mail questionnaires • Low response rates • May be biased in favor of those interested in topic • Respondents must interpret questions without help available • Complicated questions cannot be asked (nor can extensive probes be used) • No ability to be certain the respondent is who he says he is

  29. Disadvantages of mail questionnaires • Respondents must be literate in the language on the survey • U.S. has a high adult illiteracy rate • English may not be the respondent’s first language • Slow response • May take weeks or even months

  30. Nielsen’s diary • http://diary.tvratings.com/

  31. Other distribution systems for paper questionnaires • Handed out at worksites, doctor’s offices, etc. • Group administration • Targeted audiences (not random) • Efficient • High response rate

  32. Internet-based questionnaire distribution • The survey is distributed in computer file form, either to list of people via e-mail or administered to those who visit a website • Popularity rapidly rising • May be too popular—people are simply ignoring

  33. Advantages of Internet-distributed questionnaires • Very inexpensive • Data can automatically be included into the database without inputting • Skip patterns can be programmed in • Data can be collected quickly • Audiovisual materials can accompany the questionnaire

  34. Disadvantages of computer-mediated questionnaires • Sample bias • Many people have limited Internet access • Upscale homes, workplaces • Internet access is not the same as use • Little help is available for respondent • Little control • (skipped questions, ‘help’ from others during response, etc.)

  35. Disadvantages of computer-mediated questionnaires • Respondent self-selection • Low response rate • Multiple response • Groups may want to influence survey outcome, though this is relatively rare

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