Journalism 614: Survey Research

Survey Research Structured interview of: Sample of individuals in order to generalize to a larger population Survey modes: Face-to-face Paper-and-pencil RDD telephone Direct mail Internet

Advantages & Disadvantages Generalizability - external validity Representativeness - unbiased sample Customizability - wide variety of research questions Time - 6 months from start to finish Cost - Face-to-face vs. Telephone vs. Mail Hard to find facilities and experts Causality - Non-experimental design

Time and Survey Design Static designs: Longitudinal designs: Cross-sectional Survey - Poll Longitudinal designs: Trend studies - Multiple Polls Cohort studies – Study of Group Change Panel studies – Study of Individual Change

Cross-sectional Study Static snapshot Slice of population at one point in time E.g., an opinion poll Inherent limitation: Inability to capture change over time Usually giving correlations not causal inferences

Cross Section Example

Trend Studies Measures changes over time Sequential cross-sections of the population E.g., Changes over time in: Political knowledge levels Concern about global warming Presidential approval rating

Trend Example

Cohort Studies Tracking changes in a group as they age Baby boomers (born during the post–World War II baby boom, approximately between 1946 and 1964) Generation X Millennials Measure change across the aging process Do millenials become more conservative? Why can’t you answer this question with a cross-sectional design? Untangle lifecycle vs. cohort differences

Cohort Example

Panel Studies Goes a step further: interviewing the same people more than once Captures change in individuals over time E.g., NES Election Study Pre-election and post-election Can begin to explain which individuals are changing and why they are changing The respondent mortality problem: Are those who drop out different?

Panel Example

Misconceptions Single time-point >>> Longitudinal, Panel Designs Must be face-to-face >>> Can use telephone, mail Interviewers read questions >>> Self-administered Individuals as unit of observation >>> Family Non-experimental >>> Can embed experiments Atheoretical >>> Can test hypotheses Surveys are a very flexible research technique

Reliability of Survey Research Stability: In panel designs, test-retest correlations Reproducibility: In open-ended questions, coder agreement Internal Consistency: In scales, the consistency of item response

Validity of Survey Research Face Validity: Do items capture concepts? Content Validity: Are relevant dimensions represented by indicators? Convergent Validity: Are multiple indicators correlated? Divergent Validity: Do indicators allow us to differentiate from other concepts? Do indicators differentiate between distinct concept dimensions?

Stages in Survey Research General Research Questions Specific Research Questions Sampling Design Questionnaire Development Interviewer Training Pretest Fieldwork - Test Content Coding Analysis Computation Report Writing

Questionnaire Construction Length: :30 for telephone, longer for personal/self-administered Ordering: Put an easy question first, funnel toward specific Save sensitive question for the end Transitions: Ease them from one section to another Probes: Further information, elaboration

Training Interviewers Two parts: 1. Basic interviewing skills 2. Specific interview schedule, questionnaire

Motivations and Barriers Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivations: expression, boredom, loneliness, politeness, curiosity, loyalty Barriers: Suspicion, fear, inadequacy, privacy, distractions, time to answer Overcoming Barriers: confidentiality, listening, probing, repeating, focus, and practice