Survey research methods

Introduction: Reasons for surveys ; Components of surveys ; Purposes and goals of this text

Types of error In surveys: Error associated with who answers ; Error associated with answers ; Recapping the nature of error in surveys

Sampling: The sample frame ; Selecting a one-stage sample ; Multistage sampling ; Making estimates from samples and sampling errors ; How big should a sample be? ; Sampling error as a component of total survey error

Nonresponse : implementing a sample design: Calculating response rates ; Bias associated with nonresponse ; Reducing nonresponse ; Two other approaches to reducing nonresponse error ; Nonprobability (or modified probability) samples ; Nonresponse as a source of error

Methods of data collection: Major issues in choosing a strategy ; Summary comparison of the methods ; Conclusion

Designing questions to be good measures: Increasing the reliability of answers ; Types of measures/types of questions ; Increasing the validity of factual reporting ; Increasing the validity of answers describing subjective states ; Question design and error

Evaluating survey questions And instruments ; Defining objectives ; Preliminary question design steps ; Presurvey evaluation ; Design, format, and layout of survey instruments ; Field pretests ; Survey instrument length ; Conclusion

Survey interviewing: Overview of interviewer job ; Interviewer recruitment and selection ; Training interviewers ; Supervision ; Survey questions ; Interviewing procedures ; Validation of interviews ; The role of interviewing in survey error

Preparing survey data for analysis: Formatting a data file ; Constructing a code ; Approaches to coding and data entry ; Data cleaning ; Coding and data reduction as sources of error

Analyzing survey data ; Adjusting for sample nonresponse and sample frame deficiencies ; Coping with item nonresponse ; Adjusting for different probabilities of selection ; Calculating sampling errors ; Conclusion

Ethical issues In survey research: Informing respondents ; Protecting respondents ; Benefits to respondents ; Ethical responsibilities to interviewers ; Conclusion

Providing information about survey methods

Survey error In perspective: The concept of total survey design ; Error in perspective ; Conclusion .