1. © LOUIS COHEN, LAWRENCE MANION AND KEITH MORRISON
SURVEYS
© LOUIS COHEN, LAWRENCE MANION AND KEITH MORRISON

2. STRUCTURE OF THE CHAPTER
What is a survey?
Some preliminary considerations
Planning a survey
Low response and non-response, and how to reduce them
Survey sampling
Longitudinal, cross-sectional and trend studies
Strengths and weaknesses of longitudinal, cohort and cross-sectional studies
Postal, interview and telephone surveys
Comparing methods of data collection in surveys

3. KEY FEATURES OF SURVEYS
Gather data on a one-shot basis;
Represent a wide target population;
Generate numerical, often large-scale data;
Provide descriptive, inferential and explanatory data;
Manipulate key factors and variables;
Gather standardized information;
Ascertain correlations;
Remove contextual data;
Gather data from multiple choice, closed questions, test scores or observation schedules;
Support or refute hypotheses about the target population;
They are piloted;
Make generalizations about, and observe patterns of response in, the targets of focus;
Gather data which can be processed statistically.

4. TYPES OF SURVEY LONGITUDINAL CROSS-SECTIONAL TREND/ PREDICTION STUDIES
PANEL STUDY/SAME SAMPLE / COHORT OVER TIME
CROSS-SECTIONAL
SNAPSHOTS OF DIFFERENT SAMPLES AT ONE OR MORE TIMES
TREND/
PREDICTION STUDIES
SELECTED FACTORS CONTINUOUSLY OVER TIME

5. PLANNING A SURVEY Specify the exact purpose of the enquiry:
Primary topics
Subsidiary topics
Specific information requirements
Specify the population on which the survey is to focus
Specify the resources that are available:
Human (e.g. for administering and processing survey)
Material
Financial
Administrative
Temporal
Geographical
Software

6. PLANNING A SURVEY Data collection Researcher-administered
Self-administered
Postal survey
Telephone survey
Internet survey
Face-to-face interviews

7. PLANNING A SURVEY Self-reporting
Problem of bias, under-reporting (e .g. to avoid socially undesirable responses), over-reporting (to give socially desirable answers).
Words are inherently ambiguous
Ethics
Researcher must make it clear what the consent is being given for
Confidentiality, anonymity, privacy and non-traceability
Data security and identify protection
Do no harm

8. PLANNING A SURVEY Problem definition Sample selection
Design of measurements
Concern for participants

9. STAGES IN SURVEY DESIGN
DEFINE OBJECTIVES
DECIDE INFORMATION
SAMPLING
INSTRUMENTATION
PILOT
TRAINING
DATA COLLECTION
DATA ANALYSIS
REPORTING

10. PLANNING ISSUES Research questions
The conceptual framework: the concepts that will be used
Operationalizing the research questions (e.g. into hypotheses)
The instruments to be used for data collection
Sampling strategies and sub-groups within the sample
Pre-piloting the survey (to generate items for the survey)
Piloting the survey
Data-collection practicalities and conduct
Data preparation
Data analysis
Reporting the findings (answering the research questions)
© 2018 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison; individual chapters, the contributors

11. PLANNING ISSUES The kind of survey to be used Ethical issues
Questionnaire and instrument design and appearance
Question construction (measures, responses, measurement error)
Validity and reliability
Sampling
Response rates, non-responses and attrition
The medium of delivery, completion and return of the survey
Data entry and data cleaning
Data analysis and reporting
Missing data
Data archiving
© 2018 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison; individual chapters, the contributors

12. STAGES IN CONDUCTING A SURVEY1
Define the objectives 2
Decide the kind of survey required 3
Formulate research questions or hypotheses 4
Decide the issues on which to focus 5
Decide the information that is needed to address the issues 6
Decide the sampling required 7
Decide the instrumentation and metrics required

13. STAGES IN CONDUCTING A SURVEY8
Generate the data collection instruments 9
Decide how the data will be collected 10
Pilot the instruments and refine them 11
Train the interviewers (if appropriate) 12
Collect the data 13
Analyze the data 14
Report the results

14. PROBLEMS IN SURVEYS Poor sampling
Poor question design and wording (failure to operationalize)
Incorrect or biased responses
Low response or non-response

15. HOW TO IMPROVE RESPONSE RATES
Identify where the problem lies:
The survey never reached the intended people;
People refuse to answer;
People may not be available;
People may not be able to answer the questions;
People may not actually have the information requested;
People may overlook some items in error;
The survey was completed and posted but failed to return;
The pressure of competing activities on the time of the respondent;
Potential embarrassment at their own ignorance if respondents feel unable to answer a question;

16. HOW TO IMPROVE RESPONSE RATES
Ignorance of the topic/no background in the topic;
Dislike of the contents or subject matter of the interview;
Fear of possible consequences of the survey to himself/herself or others;
Lack of clarity in the instructions;
Fear or dislike of being interviewed;
Sensitivity of the topic, or potentially insulting or threatening topic;
Betrayal of confidences;
Losing the return envelope or return address;
The wrong person may open the mail, and fail to pass it on to the most appropriate person.

17. HOW TO IMPROVE RESPONSE RATES
Ensure that the topic is interesting and motivating;
Ensure that it is easy to complete and layout is attractive;
Include a covering letter that explains the survey;
Choose a good time to conduct the survey;
Follow-ups and polite reminders;
Pre-paid return stamped addressed envelopes;
Institutional affiliation, survey sponsorship or support from a high-status agent;
Financial incentives and rewards for return;
Make instructions about responses and return very clear;
Avoid open-ended questions unless these are really important;
Avoid placing open-ended questions at the start of a questionnaire;

18. HOW TO IMPROVE RESPONSE RATES
Have easy-to-follow instructions and spacing of the text;
Flatter the participants without being seen to flatter them;
Provide information about the research through a covering letter and/or advance notification;
Make the survey look very unlike junk mail;
Consider asking the respondents for an interview to complete the survey questionnaire;
Deliver the questionnaire personally rather than through mail;
Ensure that the questions or items are non-judgemental;
Assure confidentiality and anonymity;

19. HOW TO IMPROVE RESPONSE RATES
Follow a sequence:
Send non-respondents a friendly reminder after ten days, stressing the importance of the research;
Send a further friendly reminder ten days after the initial reminder, stressing the importance of the research;
Make a telephone call to the respondents shortly after the second reminder, indicating the importance of the research.

20. CONSIDERATIONS IN SAMPLING
A probability and non-probability sample
Confidence level and interval
The desire to generalize, and to whom
The sampling frame
The sample size
The representativeness of the sample
Access to the sample
Anticipated response rate

21. LONGITUDINAL DATA ARE AFFECTED BY ...
History
Events occurring may change the observations of a group under study
Maturation
Participants mature at different speeds and in different ways
Testing
Test sensitization may occur – participants learn from exposure to repeated testing/interviews
The timing of cause and effect
Some causes may produce virtually instantaneous effects and others may take a long time for the effects to show

22. LONGITUDINAL DATA ARE AFFECTED BY ...
The direction of causality
It is not always clear or singular
Comparability of data
Over time, over groups
Attrition
Dropout
Respondents’ memory
Capability for recall

23. MEMORY IS AFFECTED BY ...
The time that has elapsed since the event took place;
The significance of the event for the participant;
The amount of information required for the study – the greater the amount, the harder it is to provide;
The contamination/interference effect of other memories of a similar event (i.e. the inability to separate similar events);
The emotional content or the social desirability of the content;
The psychological condition of the participant at interview;
Hindsight.

24. ADVANTAGES OF POSTAL SURVEYS
Reach many people
Comparatively cheap
Can be completed at respondents’ preferred time
No risk of interviewer bias
Can reach scattered populations
Can gather sensitive data (as nobody else present)

25. DISADVANTAGES OF POSTAL SURVEYS
Low response rate
No check on understanding
No check whether all items are completed
Need to have a very simple format
Presentation matters affect completion

26. ADVANTAGES OF INTERVIEW SURVEYS
Improves response rates
Can clarify queries from respondents
Can stimulate the respondent to give full answers
Can be flexible (e.g. in item sequence)
Benefit from non-verbal communication
Can build in trust and rapport
Ensures that only the respondent answers the questions

27. DISADVANTAGES OF INTERVIEW SURVEYS
Interviewer characteristics affect responses
Conduct of interview affects responses
Flexibility can reduce standardization
Costly in time, travel and training

28. ADVANTAGES OF TELEPHONE SURVEYS
Reduce bias in the researcher or the interviewee
Reduce costs of time and travel
Easy to find more people to contact

29. DISADVANTAGES OF TELEPHONE SURVEYS
Not everyone has a telephone
Not everyone is available for interview
People are ex-directory
The person answering the call may not be the most suitable person
Multiple choice and rating scale questions are difficult
Order effects can be strong
People may lie or hang up if questions are unwelcome, sensitive, too long, too many
Lack of non-verbal cues