1. The Nature of Survey Research
January 19, 2011

2. Objectives By the end of this meeting, you should be able to:
Describe the uses of survey studies.

3. Uses of Polls in Modern Life
Political Polls
Market Research Polls
Government Surveys
Court Surveys
Academic Research
Media Polls

4. What Can Surveys Measure?
Attitudes- likes and dislikes
Preferences- comparisons of attitudes towards different objects
Beliefs- opinions about the state of the world
Note: beliefs may be true or untrue
Predictions- expectations about the future

5. What Can Surveys Measure?
Facts- recollections of tangible characteristics (number of children, years of schooling, etc. )‏
These could include previous behaviors

6. Goals of Surveys Prevalence of attitudes, beliefs or behavior
Changes over time
Differences between groups
Casual propositions
What did you think of the handgun article?

7. Research Design Surveys are only one way of collecting information
Other choices include:
Experiments
Aggregate data (which could be lots of surveys)‏
Danger of the ecological fallacy
Focus group\audience reaction
Deliberative poll

8. A Few Examples

9. A Few Examples

10. A Few Examples Source: Pew Center for the People and the Press/Pew Hispanic Center March 2006

11. A Few Examples
Top 10 Programs on Network TV: Week of January 4, 2010 (Nielsen)
Rank Program Network Rating Viewers (000)
1 NBC NFL PLAYOFF GAME 2(S) NBC ,124
CITI BCS NAT CHMP GM(S) ABC ,776
3 NBC NFL PLAYOFF PRE-KICK2(S) NBC ,978
4 FOX NFC WILDCARD POST GME(S) FOX ,180
5 NCIS CBS ,372
6 NCIS: LOS ANGELES CBS ,070
7 BCS CHAMPIONSHIP PRE-GAME(S) ABC ,278
8 GOOD WIFE, THE CBS ,975
9 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ABC ,025
10 TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL(S) FOX ,819

12. For next time:
Read WKB Chapter 2