1.

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN
A questionnaire is a set of questions aimed to generate data necessary to achieve the research objective. It allow valid basis to compare respondents answers and provides uniformity in data gathering. Questionnaire design process: DETERMINE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE -> DETERMINE DATA COLLECTION FORMAT-> QUESTION FORMAT AND WORDING-> QUESTIONNAIRE LAYOUT-> EVALUATION OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE-> PRETEST AND REVISE Always ask yourself: do the respondents have the ability and willingness to answer your questions? Question format: Open-response questions: useful for sensitive topics; when there are many respondents; highly rely on respondents articulateness Close-response questions: are easy to answer; provide easy comparison among others answers; sometimes may force the answer!

Number of response categories: 4 to 7; categories should be exhaustive (respondents should feel in the right answer), mutually exclusive and in one dimension; they should be presented in order (from low to high or from high to low; use a scale). Question wording: simple vocabulary, avoid ambiguous meaning; avoid loaded questions (answer IN the question); dont provide confusing instructions; be sure the questions are applicable to all respondents; 22-30 words per question. Optimal questionnaire layout: 1. Cover letter and Intro (include sponsor, purpose, privacy warranty; use id. numbers to keep track of the respondents) 2. Screening questions (easy and nonthreatening to build confidence and establish rapport) in the beginning 3. Simple and interesting questions 4. Involving questions in the middle 5. Threatening and sensitive questions near the end 6. Classification (demographics) questions in the end 7. Say thanks Special concerns: Ordering effect: happens when the answer to a particular question is influenced by the context of previous questions

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Funnel Sequence: from general question to specific question Inverse Funnel: from specific question to general question

Branching/skip pattern: use it only if really necessary; not often used in mail surveys; can be used more often in on PC survey but dont overuse it Grouping questions: the questionnaire should flow logically and smoothly, not skipping from one theme to another Handle sensitive questions: a. they can be hidden among innocent questions; b. state that the described behavior is not unusual; c. state the response in categories that the respondents may simply check; d. state in terms of how a respondent may feel or react (dont be too direct!)

Evaluation and pretest: first evaluate the questionnaire with clients; then evaluate and pretest it with researchers; then pretest it with respondents; then pretest it with interviewers; finally assess time and cost Properties of a good questionnaire: Insert prompters (little intros to guide the respondent through the questions) Facilitate data entry Make it fast and easy to code and edit Well-design any question Make it convenient for the respondents Generate necessary decision-making information

2. SAMPLING FUNDAMENTALS
Sampling process: 1- Define the population: sampling is intended to gain information about a population; if the population is defined improperly, the research probably will answer the wrong question. So the definition of a target population should contain information on sampling elements (children or parents), sampling units (households with children, magazine readers etc) and area of coverage (New York, L.A. etc). 2- Identify the sampling frame: it is different from the population because it is a list of population members used to obtain a sample. Its a description of the population and it should be an accurate representation of it 3- Select a sampling design/technique 4- Determine the sample size 5- Obtain the sample Sampling techniques: Probability vs. Non-probability Sampling: non-probability are less time consuming and less expensive; theoretically, generalizations about the population can only be done under probability sampling; but in practice, researchers also generalize from nonprobability sampling Non-probability Sampling: o Convenience sampling: to obtain quick and cheap information, convenoience sampling contacts sampling units that are convenient (a church activity group; a classroom etc.). be careful: those information must not be taken as absolutely reliable! Judgmental sampling: an expert uses judgment to identify representative samples (like cities to represent the country; managers of shopping centers to represents the residents of a city); its useful if the sample size is very small (less than 10) because it provides more reliable and accurate data than a probability sample Snowball sampling: is very appropriate to reach small, specialized populations. Each respondent, after being interviewed, is asked to identify one or more others in his field. A big problem is that those who are socially visible are more likely to be selected

Quota sampling: in this sampling, the sample includes a minimum number of each specified subgroup in the population based especially on demographics (age, gender, income, education). As a result, the researcher knows that the sample matches the population with respect to these demographics.

Probability Sampling: aka random sampling, is an objective procedure in which the probability of selection is nonzero and is known in advance for each population unit o Simple Random sampling: each population member is directly selected from the sample frame and has equal probability to be selected (all names in a bowl; mix it and draw the desired number; or use random number generator\random number tables) Systematic sampling: order all units of the sampling frame and number them from 1 to N; choose a random start from 1 to N and select every k (e.g. 10) people after that. Potential errors: if sample frame is in random order, it has same effect as SrS; if it is sorted can do better than SrS; if it is arranged in order can do worse than SrS Stratified sampling: basically, it improves the sample efficiency by increasing the accuracy at a faster rate than the cost increase. The chosen sample is forced to contain units from each of the strata of the population; this is divided into strata based on an appropriate population characteristic; then, simple random samples are drawn from each stratum Direct Proportional Stratified sampling: in this sampling procedure, the number of sampling units chosen from each stratum is proportional to the number in the population Disproportional Stratified sampling: when different strata are compared and their respective size are small, a proportional stratified sampling will not provide a sample size large enough to allow comparisons; which means that you use this disproportional stratified sampling when the sample size in each stratum is NOT proportional to the segment size in the population

Cluster sampling: the population is divided in clusters (subgroups) that adequately represent the population; then, a simple random sampling of some of these clusters is selected; finally, all or just some random units contained in those few selected clusters are picked and studied. This is a technique that decrease cost at a faster rate than accuracy

Cluster vs. Stratified sampling: Cluster (divide population in comparable groups; randomly sample from some groups; more error compared to SrS; reduces costs to sample only some areas); Stratified (divide the population into different groups; sample randomly from each group; provides less error than SrS; is more expensive). Generally, we use stratified when our primary research objective is to compare groups (it may also reduce sampling errors); we use cluster if there are fixed costs associated with each

data collection location, and also when theres a list of clusters but not of individual population members. Sample errors: discrepancy between observed sample and the population Sampling errors: errors that occur because the selected sample does not represent the population (the random error can be controlled by augmenting the sample size: the larger it is, the smaller the sampling error) Non-sampling errors: o Non-response error: occurs when units selected as part of the sampling procedure do not respond totally or in part (Exception: if non-respondents are the same as those that did respond, there is no non-response error!!!) Response error: is any systematic bias that occurs during data collection, analysis or interpretation (respondent error who forgets or lies; interviewer bias; recording errors when inputting data)

Sampling Size: too small sample size leads to undesirably large sampling error; while too large sample size wastes time and money. More diversified population and more accurate information require a larger sample size. To determine the sample size we have 2 methods: Ad-Hoc Methods: used when a person knows from experience what sample size to adopt or when there are any constraints. o Rules of Thumbs: Sudman suggests that the sample should be big enough so that when its divided into groups, each group will have a minimum sample size of 100 or more Budget Constraints: when you have a strict budget, you ask if a small sample size is still worthy or if you should drop your research Comparable studies: you use previous sample size Use of expert guidance

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Statistical Methods: (: population mean; : sample mean : standard deviation; divided per the square root of n: standard error of the mean; 95% confidence level: 1.96 z-value; 90% confidence level: 1.65 z-value) Formula to obtain the sample size: n= z-value divided by interval of +- E

(check slides or ask God for this!) Example: what is the sample size with 95% confidence interval of +- 10 and =100? SHOULD BE: 1.96100 divided by 10