Survey methodology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Statistics Canada publication, see Survey Methodology.

A field of applied statistics, survey methodology studies the sampling of individual units from
a population and the associated survey data collection techniques, such asquestionnaire
construction and response accuracy.
Different methods create mode effects that change how respondents answer, and different
Personal in-home
nonresponse[6] in telephone and face-to

will be described. Last, it allows both an expression of the surveyor's appreciation of

cooperation and an

surveys.[11]

Interviewer effects[edit]
Survey methodologists have devoted much effort to determining the extent to which interviewee
responses are affected by physical characteristics of the interviewer. Main interviewer traits that
have been demonstrated to influence survey responses are race, [12] gender,[13] and relative body
weight (BMI).[14] These interviewer effects are particularly operant when questions are related to
the interviewer trait. Hence, race of interviewer has been shown to affect responses to measures
regarding racial attitudes,[15] interviewer sex responses to questions involving gender issues,
[16]
and interviewer BMI answers to eating and dieting-related questions.[17] While interviewer
effects have been investigated mainly for face-to-face surveys, they have also been shown to
exist for interview modes with no visual contact, such as telephone surveys and in videoenhanced web surveys. The explanation typically provided for interviewer effects is social
desirability bias: survey participants may attempt to project a positive self-image in an effort to
conform to the norms they attribute to the interviewer asking questions.

See also[edit]
Statistics portal

Data Documentation Initiative

Enterprise feedback management (EFM)

Likert Scale

Official statistics

Paid survey

Quantitative marketing research

Questionnaire construction

Ratio estimator

Social research

Total survey error

References[edit]
1.

Jump up^ "WhatIsASurvey.info". WhatIsASurvey.info. Retrieved 2013-10-03.

2.

^ Jump up to:a b Groves, R.M.; Fowler, F. J.; Couper, M.P.; Lepkowski, J.M.; Singer, E.;
Tourangeau, R. (2009). Survey Methodology. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-11821134-2.

3.

Jump up^ Salant, Priscilla, I. Dillman, and A. Don. How to conduct your own survey. No.
300.723 S3.. 1994.

4.

^ Jump up to:a b Mellenbergh, G.J. (2008). Chapter 9: Surveys. In H.J. Adr & G.J.
Mellenbergh (Eds.) (with contributions by D.J. Hand), Advising on Research Methods: A
consultant's companion (pp. 183209). Huizen, The Netherlands: Johannes van Kessel
Publishing.

5.

Jump up^ Lynn, P. (2009) (Ed.) Methodology of Longitudinal Surveys. Wiley. ISBN 0-47001871-2

6.

Jump up^ Lynn, P. (2008) "The problem of non-response", chapter 3, 35-55,

in International Handbook of Survey Methodology (ed.s Edith de Leeuw, Joop Hox & Don A.
Dillman). Erlbaum. ISBN 0-8058-5753-2

7.

Jump up^ Dillman, D.A. (1978) Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method.
Wiley. ISBN 0-471-21555-4

8.

Jump up^ De Leeuw, E.D. (2001). "I am not selling anything: Experiments in telephone
introductions". Kwantitatieve Methoden, 22, 4148.

9.

Jump up^ Bogen, Karen (1996). "THE EFFECT OF QUESTIONNAIRE LENGTH ON

RESPONSE RATES -- A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE" (PDF). Proceedings of the Section on
Survey Research Methods (American Statistical Association): 10201025. Retrieved2013-03-19.

10.

Jump up^ "Does Adding One More Question Impact Survey Completion Rate?". 201012-10. Retrieved 2013-03-19.

11.

Jump up^ "Respondent engagement and survey length: the long and the short of it".
research. April 7, 2010. Retrieved 2013-10-03.

12.

Jump up^ Hill, M.E (2002). "Race of the interviewer and perception of skin color:
Evidence from the multi-city study of urban inequality". American Sociological Review 67 (1): 99
108.doi:10.2307/3088935. JSTOR 3088935.

13.

Jump up^ Flores-Macias, F.; Lawson, C. (2008). "Effects of interviewer gender on survey
responses: Findings from a household survey in Mexico". International Journal of Public Opinion
Research 20 (1): 100110. doi:10.1093/ijpor/edn007.

14.

Jump up^ Eisinga, R.; Te Grotenhuis, M.; Larsen, J.K.; Pelzer, B.; Van Strien, T. (2011).
"BMI of interviewer effects". International Journal of Public Opinion Research 23 (4): 530
543.doi:10.1093/ijpor/edr026.

15.

Jump up^ Anderson, B.A.; Silver, B.D.; Abramson, P.R. (1988). "The effects of the race
of the interviewer on race-related attitudes of black respondents in SRC/CPS national election
studies". Public Opinion Quarterly 52 (3): 128. doi:10.1086/269108.

16.

Jump up^ Kane, E.W.; MacAulay, L.J. (1993). "Interviewer gender and gender
attitudes". Public Opinion Quarterly 57 (1): 128. doi:10.1086/269352.

17.

Jump up^ Eisinga, R.; Te Grotenhuis, M.; Larsen, J.K.; Pelzer, B. (2011). "Interviewer
BMI effects on under- and over-reporting of restrained eating. Evidence from a national Dutch
face-to-face survey and a postal follow-up". International Journal of Public Health 57 (3): 643
647. doi:10.1007/s00038-011-0323-z. PMC 3359459. PMID 22116390.

Further reading[edit]

Abramson, J.J. and Abramson, Z.H. (1999). Survey Methods in Community Medicine:
Epidemiological Research, Programme Evaluation, Clinical Trials (5th edition). London:
Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier Health Sciences ISBN 0-443-06163-7

Adr, H. J., Mellenbergh, G. J., and Hand, D. J. (2008). Advising on research methods: A
consultant's companion. Huizen, The Netherlands: Johannes van Kessel Publishing.

Andres, Lesley (2012). "Designing and Doing Survey Research". London: Sage.

Dillman, D.A. (1978) Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method. New York:
Wiley. ISBN 0-471-21555-4

Engel. U., Jann, B., Lynn, P., Scherpenzeel, A. and Sturgis, P. (2014). Improving Survey
Methods: Lessons from Recent Research. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-81762-2

Groves, R.M. (1989). Survey Errors and Survey Costs Wiley. ISBN 0-471-61171-9