Survey Research Design

Definition: A survey to obtain information about the prevalence , distribution and interrelations of variables within the population. [Denise F .Polit , 8th edition ]

Eg: Deccennial census of the US population .

If a survey is conducted on a sample of population , it s called sample survey and if entire population is involved ,it is called a population survey, such as censuses,etc.

Main Features
Survey research is a process of gathering current required data from the subjects so that new information can be obtained. The best feature of survey research is that it enables the investigators to easily collect concurrent information about what they wish to study. In survey research , information is collected from a mix of subjects who represent the total population in the characteristics being studied.

Survey research is a mode of enquiry that relies heavily upon the validity of verbal reports. Surveys can be descriptive , exploratory, comparative, and correlational , depending upon the nature of phenomenon being studied. Survey can be collected in different ways .The most common method is questioning. The information is obtainesd directly from the respondents by self reporing questionnaries

Depending on the objective Surveys are classified as : 1 Discriptive survey, 2 Exploratory survey, 3Explanatory survey, 4 Comparitive survey.

1 .Discriptive survey:
The only objective of descriptive study is to be objective . The design describes objectively the nature of situations, behavior or attitude under study.

2.Exploratory survey
In this design , the researcher explores the regions of a situation or phenomena about which little is known . Through this design , the researcher opens up new boundaries for extensive research rather than mere understanding of the relationship between phenomena.

3.Explanatory survey:

This design is applied in studies to assess the casual relationship between two variables , phenomenon or situations. The studies often involve testing of hypothesis with more significance to the qualitative aspect of the data.

4.Comparative survey:
It compares similar aspects of two distinct groups. It could be Knowledge perception or attitude level. A comparative study is different from experimental study in fact that there is no manipulation of the independent variable

Comparative study should be prospective or retrospective studies

Retrospective studies, for the dependent variable (effect) identified in the present , an attempt is made to identify the independent variables (cause ) that have occurred in the past. Such studies are also termed as ex-post facto studies (after fact studies)

Prospective studies, the effect( dependent variable ) of the present cause (independent variable )is assessed in future .Prospective studies use an experimental approach . Much of prospective studies are costly and participant dropout rate is also high. So they are less common than prospective studies. Prospective studies are commonly used by the epidemiologists.

Evaluative survey: This survey is charactreised by an evaluation judgement that would be made about the respondents . The evaluation would be formative evaluation (which is an ongoing evaluation),summative evaluation(where merits and demerits are evaluated at the end of the development of a programme )or free from evaluation (where an external evaluator reviews the findings ).

Based on method of data collection

Written survey: In a written survey, data are collected with the help of written , structured tools , such as questionnaires , opinionnaires, etc. Questionnaires differ from interviews in that they are self administered. They are sometimes referred as (SAQs), that is self administered questionnaires.

Eg: Becksand Calister and Kirchhoff 2006 mailed survey to 1409 members of American nurses association of Critical Care nurses to collect suggestions for improving end life care in intensive care units.

Oral survey

Data in an oral survey is collected by using face to face or telephonic conversation or interview with the respondents .Personal interviews in which interviewers meet in person with respondents to ask them questions . personal interviews are often costly because they tend to involve extensive preparation(eg: interviewer training ) and a lot of personnel time.

Example for survey with personal interview: Mc Facrlane and collegues (2005) conducted a personal interview survey of more than 7000 women in primary health care clinics in Texas . Their objective was to eliminate racial/ethnic difference in annual prevalence and severity of intimate partner abuse.

Electronic survey: when data is collected by using electronic means such as mail messages , web forms , mobile short message service (SMS)etc, it is known as electronic survey. Large surveys are increasingly relying on new technologies to assist in data collection . Most common are CATI andCAPI.

Example of CATI: Lauder , Mummery and Sharkey (2006)conducted a survey to examine the relationship between loneliness on the one hand and age , religiosity, and social capital on the other. A sample of more than 1200 people in United Kingdom were interviewed using CATI method.

Audio CASI(computer assisted self interview)

Audio : technology is the state of art approach for giving respondents more privacy than is possible in an .It is especially useful for populations with literacy problems.With audio CASI , respondents sit at a computer and listen to the questions over head phones. Respondents enter responses (usually simple codes like 1or 2 )directly into the key board, without the interviewer having to see the responses.

Merits of survey studies

Data collection in a natural setting . Variables are assessed as they exist in the socio therapeutic environment. The design reaches a large number of subjects and needs less time to administer. A valid result will be obtained if study is carefully planned.

The greatest advantage of survey research is flexibility and broadness of scope. The design can be applied to many populations , it can focus on a wide range of topics and information can be used for many purposes.

Demerits of survey studies

Only self report is assessed. Can involve bias when response rate is high. Researcher loses the feel of the situation unless he does an interview. The content of the survey is limited only by the extent to which respondents are able and willing to report the topic.