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Published byDominic Cunningham Modified over 9 years ago
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Journalism 614: Survey Research
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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
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Advantages & Disadvantages 9 Generalizability - external validity 9 Representativeness - unbiased sample 9 Customizability - wide variety of research questions 4 Time - 6 months from start to finish 4 Cost - Face-to-face vs. Telephone vs. Mail 4 Hard to find facilities and experts 4 Causality - Non-experimental design
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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Training Interviewers Two parts: –1. Basic interviewing skills –2. Specific interview schedule, questionnaire
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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
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