Designing Surveys
A Guide to Decisions and Procedures
2nd Edition
Published on 1. December 2004
Book
Hardback
316 pages
978-0-7619-2745-7 (ISBN)
Description
The technologies used to conduct surveys have changed dramatically since the mid-90s when the First Edition appeared. The Second Edition takes into account these changes, building on the material provided in the original book. The result is an accurate account of how modern survey research is actually conducted, compiled with the needs and goals of the novice researcher in mind. It presents the design and conduct of a survey as a process of closely related decision points, the goal of which is to make optimum use of resources that are typically very limited, while ensuring that the final product - the data - is of high reliability and validity.This book features: a comprehensive section on internet surveys, their methodology, summary of experiences and practices to date and how internet surveys interface with more traditional methods; changes in telephone survey design and data collection procedures due to rising nonresponse rates (this will include combined methods of data collection and the use of respondent incentives) and call screening (and other) technologies; and, the increase use of web sites and package programs for variance estimation, data analysis and data dissemination.
Reviews / Votes
"In Designing surveys, Ronald Czaja and Johnny Blair do an excellent job of giving the academic and professional viewpoints of creating, conducting, and presenting small- to moderate-scale survey information. Designing surveys does an excellent job of defining each type of survey and providing sample question to consider. The graphics and tables presented in each chapter show the amount of research that Czaja and Blair have put into the content in this book." -- Jackie Damrau Book Reviews 20060713 "Designing Surveys: A Guide to Decisions and Procedures is, to paraphrase the authors' words, a practical and realistic guide to conducting small-to-moderate scale surveys. This is a book aimed at those beginning their survey research experience. The well-written and clearly organized text would be best suited to advanced undergraduates or graduate students beginning their own research, Czaja and Blair have clearly made an effort to build rapport with undergraduate students. Faculty adopting Designing Surveys: A Guide to Decisions and Procedures will appreciate the attention paid to the details of survey design." -- Sarah R. Phillips January 2006 20060807 "A practical and realistic guide to conducting small-to-moderate scale surveys, this is a book aimed at those beginning their survey research experience. The well-written and clearly organized text would be best suited to advanced undergraduates or graduate students beginning their own research." -- Sarah R. Phillips, Pacific University 20060126More details
Series
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Thousand Oaks
United States
Publishing group
SAGE Publications Inc
Target group
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Laminated cover
Illustrations
black & white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
635 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7619-2745-7 (9780761927457)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Ronald F. Czaja is associate professor emeritus of sociology and anthropology at North Carolina State University. He taught courses in both undergraduate and graduate research methodology and medical sociology. His methodological research focused on sampling rare populations, response effects in surveys, and the cognitive aspects of questionnaire design. From 1969 to 1990 he worked at the Survey Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago, as project coordinator, co-head of sampling, assistant director and principal investigator. Johnny Blair is Senior Survey Methodologist at Abt-SRBI. Previously, he was a Principal Scientist at Abt Associates and a manager of survey operations at the University of Maryland Survey Research Center and the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) Survey Research Laboratory. Over a forty-year career in survey research, he has designed and/or implemented surveys for health (including HIV high risk populations), education (including large-scale student assessments), environment (including contingent valuation), and criminal victimization (including proxy reporting) surveys among other areas. He has conducted methodological research on sampling rare populations, measurement error in proxy reporting, cognitive and usability testing of computer-based student writing assessments and data quality in converted refusal interviews. He has been involved in a decade-long program of research on cognitive interview pretesting, most recently on the theory of pretest sample size and the validation of pretest problem identification. He has been a member of the editorial board of Public Opinion Quarterly, and has served on several National Research Council Panels and been a consultant to many federal agencies, academic organizations, law firms and other companies. Since 1996, he has served on the Design and Analysis Committee (DAC) for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, NAEP, the Nation's Report Card.
Content
Series Foreword Preface Chapter 1. An Introduction to Surveys and to This Book The Practice of Survey Research The Uses of Surveys Overview of the Survey Process A Brief Summary of This Book Chapter 2. Stages of a Survey Stage 1: Survey Design and Preliminary Planning Stage 2: Pretesting Stage 3: Final Survey Design and Planning Stage 4: Data Collection Stage 5: Data Coding, Data-File Construction, Analysis, and Final Report
Example of a Time Schedule for a Study Chapter 3. Selecting the Method of Data Collection Evaluating the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Four Survey Methods Mail Surveys Internet Surveys Telephone Surveys Face-to-Face Surveys Combinations of Methods Chapter 4. Questionnaire Design: Writing the Questions Questionnaire Design as Process Factors in Questionnaire Development Writing Questions Chapter 5. Questionnaire Design: Organizing the Questions Introducing the Study What Questions Should the Questionnaire Begin With? Grouping Questions into Sections Questionnaire Length and Respondent Burden Avoiding Other Flaws in Mail Questionnaire Design Chapter 6. Questionnaire Design: Testing the Questions Importance of Respondents' Comprehension of and Ability to Answer Questions Conventional Pretests and Interviewer Debriefings Post-Interview Interviews Behavior Coding A Note on Intercoder Reliability Cognitive Interviews Respondent Debriefing Expert Panel Examining Interviewer Tasks Revising and Retesting: Deciding Which Pretest Problems to Address Deciding How Much Testing Is Enough Pilot Tests Combined Methods Some Last Advice Chapter 7. Designing the Sample The Basics Defining the Population Constructing a Sampling Frame Matching Defined Populations and Sampling Frames Recognizing Problems with Sampling Frames Determining Sample Size Hypothesis Testing and Power Using Census Data Chapter 8. Selecting a Sample Example 1: A Community List-Assisted Telephone Sample Example 2: A Directory-Based Community Telephone Sample Example 3: Other RDD Telephone Samples Selecting Respondents within Households Example 4: A List Sample of Students Example 5: A Sample of University Classes Chapter 9. Reducing Sources of Error in Data Collection The Origins of Error Chapter 10. Special Topics Ethical Issues in Survey Research The Methodology Report The Utility of the Methodology Report What to Include in the Methodology Report Costs and Contingencies: Planning for the Unexpected For Further Study: Suggested Readings Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Glossary/Index
Example of a Time Schedule for a Study Chapter 3. Selecting the Method of Data Collection Evaluating the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Four Survey Methods Mail Surveys Internet Surveys Telephone Surveys Face-to-Face Surveys Combinations of Methods Chapter 4. Questionnaire Design: Writing the Questions Questionnaire Design as Process Factors in Questionnaire Development Writing Questions Chapter 5. Questionnaire Design: Organizing the Questions Introducing the Study What Questions Should the Questionnaire Begin With? Grouping Questions into Sections Questionnaire Length and Respondent Burden Avoiding Other Flaws in Mail Questionnaire Design Chapter 6. Questionnaire Design: Testing the Questions Importance of Respondents' Comprehension of and Ability to Answer Questions Conventional Pretests and Interviewer Debriefings Post-Interview Interviews Behavior Coding A Note on Intercoder Reliability Cognitive Interviews Respondent Debriefing Expert Panel Examining Interviewer Tasks Revising and Retesting: Deciding Which Pretest Problems to Address Deciding How Much Testing Is Enough Pilot Tests Combined Methods Some Last Advice Chapter 7. Designing the Sample The Basics Defining the Population Constructing a Sampling Frame Matching Defined Populations and Sampling Frames Recognizing Problems with Sampling Frames Determining Sample Size Hypothesis Testing and Power Using Census Data Chapter 8. Selecting a Sample Example 1: A Community List-Assisted Telephone Sample Example 2: A Directory-Based Community Telephone Sample Example 3: Other RDD Telephone Samples Selecting Respondents within Households Example 4: A List Sample of Students Example 5: A Sample of University Classes Chapter 9. Reducing Sources of Error in Data Collection The Origins of Error Chapter 10. Special Topics Ethical Issues in Survey Research The Methodology Report The Utility of the Methodology Report What to Include in the Methodology Report Costs and Contingencies: Planning for the Unexpected For Further Study: Suggested Readings Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Glossary/Index