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Surveys (& Interviews). Reading. Online, scanned version of Trochim & Donnelly, “Survey Research,” in The Research methods Knowledge Base,” pp. 100 – 124. Constructing the Survey. Summarize the scope and purpose of your survey - know what question (s ) you want to answer
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Reading • Online, scanned version of Trochim& Donnelly, “Survey Research,” in The Research methods Knowledge Base,” pp. 100 – 124
Constructing the Survey • Summarize the scope and purpose of your survey - know what question(s) you want to answer • Determine the question content • Choose response format that you use for collecting information • Figure out how to word the questions to get at the issue of interest
Types of Question • Dichotomous • ___Yes ___No • Levels of Measurement • ☐ Always ☐ Sometimes ☐ Never • Ranking candidates best to worst • ___Bob Dole • ___Bill Clinton • ___All Gore • Filter or Contingency Questions • Have you ever gone to a Park? ___Yes ___No • If yes, how many times? ___ • Open-ended
Are Your Survey Questions Useful? • E.g., How old are each of your children? • Do you need the age of the child, or just need to know how many children under 16 • E.g. Have you recently seen or talked with a doctor about your health? • Poorly defined terms: ‘recently’ is subjective and ‘doctor’ could mean many things • Are all the questions necessary or can we cut the survey down to just 5 questions rather than 10? • Do we need 3 questions instead of 1? • “What do you think of the proposed changes in benefits & hours?” • Vs • “Have you heard of the proposed changes in benefits & hours?” • “If so, do you agree or disagree with the changes in benefits? • “Do you agree or disagree with the changes in hours?”
Survey Wording Matters!! • Is it sufficiently specific? • How do you feel about public transportation in San Diego? • Vs. • How do you feel about bus transportation in San Diego? • How do you feel about the trolley system in San Diego? • Is it sufficiently general? • Last week, what mode of transport did you take to work? • Vs. • In general what mode of transport do you take to work? • Are the questions loaded or biased? • What do you see as the benefits of transportation reform? • Is it likely the respondent will feel comfortable being truthful? • Questions about income, for example, can be touchy.
Response Format • Fill in the blank • Check the answer • Circle the answer • Open-ended (Have a lot of these? Think about conducting interviews.)
Question Placement/Order • Opening questions will determine tone, try easy to answer questions first • Sensitive questions—important to develop a rapport with the respondent, and if this will be a quick interaction, best not to ask these kinds of questions. If you need to ask sensitive questions, consider conducting interviews. • Ask about one topic at a time, categorize your questions
A Sample • This is the actual group you will have to contact • Should be representative of the actual population you are studying…what does this mean??
Sampling • Can the sample population be identified? • Is the sample population literate? Language barriers? • Will the sample population cooperate? • What are geographical restrictions?
Presenting Your Findings • Tables • Charts • Proportions • Percentages
Mock Survey • How old are you? ______ • What is your gender? ☐Female ☐ Male☐ Other ____ • Do you like to east fresh vegetables? ☐Yes ☐ No • How much do you enjoy gardening? Please Circle Very Much 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Not at All • Are you involved in a community garden? • Do you have friends who are involved in a community garden? • What are reasons you are not involved in a community garden, circle all that apply Not Interested Too Far from my Home Too Expensive Don’t Know Much About Them Don’t Like to Garden
Now Let’s Consider… • 1) What was the survey was designed to test based on the questions? • 2) What did you notice while taking the survey—questions seem leading? Questions confusing? Too long, too short? Etc. • 3) Moving to the Analysis, how best to present findings?
What was the survey designed to test based on the questions? • How old are you? ______ • What is your gender? ☐Female ☐ Male☐ Other ____ • Do you like to east fresh vegetables? ☐Yes ☐ No • How much do you enjoy gardening? Please Circle Very Much 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Not at All • Are you involved in a community garden? • Do you have friends who are involved in a community garden? • What are reasons you are not involved in a community garden, circle all that apply Not Interested Too Far from my Home Too Expensive Don’t Know Much About Them Don’t Like to Garden
What did you notice? • How old are you? ______ • What is your gender? ☐Female ☐ Male☐ Other ____ • Do you like to east fresh vegetables? ☐Yes ☐ No • How much do you enjoy gardening? Please Circle Very Much 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Not at All • Are you involved in a community garden? • Do you have friends who are involved in a community garden? • What are reasons you are not involved in a community garden, circle all that apply Not Interested Too Far from my Home Too Expensive Don’t Know Much About Them Don’t Like to Garden
How to Present the Findings? • How old are you? ______ • What is your gender? ☐Female ☐ Male☐ Other ____ • Do you like to east fresh vegetables? ☐Yes ☐ No • How much do you enjoy gardening? Please Circle Very Much 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Not at All • Are you involved in a community garden? • Do you have friends who are involved in a community garden? • What are reasons you are not involved in a community garden, circle all that apply Not Interested Too Far from my Home Too Expensive Don’t Know Much About Them Don’t Like to Garden
Group Assignment • Survey Question Options • Are local organizations meeting authentic demand? • What factors encourage the consumption of locally-grown produce? • What forms of public transportation are most popular? Why? • Find 3-4 people and design a survey • 3-10 questions • What wording would be best? • What response type would be best? • Who/Where is your sample? • How should we present the findings?