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Survey Interviewing and Ethics

Survey Interviewing and Ethics. Survey Research and Design Spring 2006 Class #11 (Week 13). Today’s objectives. To answer questions you have To discuss mid-term exams and application exercise #4 To examine data collection through interviews To explore issues of ethics in surveys.

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Survey Interviewing and Ethics

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  1. Survey Interviewing and Ethics Survey Research and Design Spring 2006 Class #11 (Week 13)

  2. Today’s objectives • To answer questions you have • To discuss mid-term exams and application exercise #4 • To examine data collection through interviews • To explore issues of ethics in surveys Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  3. Mid-term exams • Are bad addresses different than having no address at all? • Is it better to select a random sample or to survey the entire population? • If you introduce multiple modes, don’t forget about mode effects. Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  4. Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale Listed below are a number of statements concerning personal attitudes and traits. Read each item and decide whether the statement is True or False as it pertains to you personally. 1. Before voting I thoroughly investigate the qualifications of all the candidates. (T) 2. I never hesitate to go out of my way to help someone in trouble. (T) 3. It is sometimes hard for me to go on with my work, if I am not encouraged. (F) 4. I have never intensely disliked anyone. (T) 5. On occasion I have had doubts about my ability to succeed in life. (F) 6. I sometimes feel resentful when I don't get my way. (F) 7. I am always careful about my manner of dress. (T) 8. My table manners at home are as good as when I eat out in a restaurant. (T) 9. If I could get into a movie without paying and be sure I was not seen, I would probably do it. (F) 10. On a few occasions, I have given up doing something because I thought too little of my ability. (F) 11. I like to gossip at times. (F) 12. There have been times when I felt like rebelling against people in authority even though I knew they were right. (F) 13. No matter who I'm talking to, I'm always a good listener. (T) 14. I can remember "playing sick" to get out of something. (F) 15. There have been occasions when I took advantage of someone. (F) Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  5. 16. I'm always willing to admit it when I make a mistake. (T) 17. I always try to practice what I preach. (T) 18. I don't find it particularly difficult to get along with loud-mouthed, obnoxious people. (T) 19. I sometimes try to get even rather than forgive and fdrget. (F) 20. When I don't know something I don't at all mind admitting it. (T) 21. I am always courteous, even to people who are disagreeable. (T) 22. At times I have really insisted on having things my own way. (F) 23. There have been occasions when I felt like smashing things. (F) 24. I would never think of letting someone else be punished for my wrongdoings. (T) 25. I never resent being asked to return a favor. (T) 26. I have never been irked when people expressed ideas very different from my own. (T) 27. I never make a long trip without checking the safety of my car. (T) 28. There have been times when I was quite jealous of the good fortune of others. (F) 29. I have almost never felt the urge to tell someone off. (T) 30. I am sometimes irritated by people who ask favors of me. (F) 31. I have never felt that I was punished without cause. (T) 32. I sometimes think when people have a mistortune they only got what they deserved. (F) 33. I have never deliberately said something that hurt someone's feelings. (T) Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  6. Crowne, D. P. and Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349-354. Crowne, D. P. and Marlowe, D. (1964). The Approval Motive. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  7. Varied roles of interviewers • Sampling • Eliciting cooperation • Assisting respondents • Asking questions and follow-up probes • Record answers • Edit answers Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  8. Interviewer BIAS caused by interviewer effects • on reporting of socially undesirable attributes (social presence); • on topics related to observable interviewer traits; • and associated with interviewer experience. Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  9. Strategies for reducing interviewer bias • Speak slowly • Provide systematic reinforcement • Provide easy direct messages about expectations • Seek a commitment Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  10. Interviewer-related VARIANCE • Two reasons why you would get differences: • Interviewers influence the answers of respondents • The respondents have truly different attributes • How would you test for the first? Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  11. Reducing interviewer-related variance • Minimize questions that require nonstandard interviewer behavior • Require professional, task-oriented interviewer behavior • Read questions as they are worded • Explain the survey process to the respondents • Probe nondirectively • Record answers exactly as given Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  12. Criticisms of standardization • Flexibility could allow for adjustments to make questions fit respondent • Unnatural interaction • Inappropriate to prevent interviewer from clarifying a question Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  13. Group project • Consider collecting your data using survey interviews. • Would you need to change the content? • What steps would you take to reduce interviewer related variance and interviewer related bias? • What are the advantages and disadvantages of this mode? • Is it an option for your survey? Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  14. Misconduct terminology • Fabrication • Falsification • Plagiarism Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  15. Ethical issues in survey research • What is IRB? • Why does it exist? • Do I need to get approval for my survey? • What role does it play in my survey research? Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  16. Ethical obligation to respondents • Beneficence • Justice • Respect for persons – informed consent • Equity in efforts of persuasion Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  17. Ethical considerations for research • How are participants selected? • Do the benefits outweigh the risks? • Have participants given informed consent? • Has the researcher maintained privacy and confidentiality when necessary? • Has the research taken special precautions with vulnerable populations? Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  18. Ethics and survey research • Two main ethical issues • How we treat our subjects • How we conduct our survey (as a scientific research project) • Treatment of subjects • Ensure informed consent before beginning survey • Handle data correctly after surveys are completed • Conducting the survey • Adopt best practices (everything in this course) • Common problems: • Interviewer falsification • Making bad decisions about data (dropping cases without a good reason) • Misreporting or not fully reporting results (response rate, methodology, see Groves, p. 349) Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  19. Treatment of subjects • Institutional Review Boards • As a member of the university community your survey project must (almost always) be reviewed, regardless of who you are surveying • If you are using someone else’s survey data for a research project, you must still get IRB approval • Informed consent should be • Given by a competent person (e.g., children need parents’ approval) • Voluntary – remember, coercion is tricky to define • Students in a class? $1,000 to participate? • Informed – at a minimum sample members should be told: • Purpose of study • Risks and benefits of participation • Anonymity/confidentiality • Researcher’s contact information Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  20. Treatment of subjects • Deception - this is sometime permissible • Can take different forms • Purpose of research • What is actually going to happen to participant • General rule is • Only when the project could not be complete without it • Does not pose great risks for the participants • Debriefing • Handling of data • Who has access? • What happens when the project is complete? Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  21. Application Exercise #3 Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

  22. For next class… • Readings: • Groves et al. - Chapter 10 (p. 303-340) • *Croninger, R.G and Douglas, K.M. (2005). Missing data and institutional research. In Umbach, P.D., Survey research: emerging issues, New Directions for Institutional Research no. 127, pp 33-49. • +De Leeuw, E.D., Hox, J., & Huisman, M. (2003). Prevention and treatment of item nonresponse. Journal of Official Statistics, 19(2): 153-176. (http://www.jos.nu/Contents/jos_online.asp) Survey Research and Design (Umbach)

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