Research Methodology

Section 4: Survey Design

Hong Muyheng
2021

(3 Hours)
 Survey Design
1. Sampling
2. Sampling Procedures
3. Questionnaires

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Survey

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Survey

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 I. Sampling
• Terms and concepts
• Sampling procedures

Sampling
Population

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 1. Sampling (Terms & Concepts)
1. Target population:
– Target population is the set of units to be studied. For Examples:
• Adult population in Country A
• Year 3 students at UP University
• People living below poverty-line in Region C
• # of the Car-buyers in Region D
• – The target population depends on your goal.
• – Let’s specify clearly what is excluded.
• If we want to learn about female’ participation on an important
issue in Phnom Penh’s election, so Female in Provinces should be
excluded from this study.
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 1. Sampling (Terms & Concepts)
1. Target population:

• When you define the target population, it is useful to

consider the following four components:
• – Element: The fundamental unit of population about
which information is sought (required).
• – Sampling units: The element or elements available for
selection at some stage of the sampling process
• – Extent: Geographic boundaries
• – Time: Period under consideration
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 1. Sampling (Terms & Concepts)
1. Target population:

Example 1: Student participation (X) and their performance (Y)

• Element: Students
• Sampling units: 100 students
• Extent: University of Puthisastra
• Time: November 10-11, 2015
Example 2: Smoking cigarette effects citizens’ income
• Element: Citizens
• Sampling units: 2000 people
• Extent: Phnom Penh residents
• Time: November 01 to December 31, 2015
• *** Considering these four components helps you clarify your target
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 Now Your Turn!!!
(Class Work)
With your Theory or Argument that
support your research question!
Then summary your survey sampling
to test your research, Why you
choose this sampling (Element,
Sampling Units, Extend and Time) ?
 2. Sampling Frame
• Sampling frame: List of population members
are used to obtain a sample.
• Examples:
• List of residents
• List of telephone numbers
• Voter registry
• Street map/ area map
• Does not necessarily match the target
population.
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 3. Sample
• Sample:
– A collection of a subset of elements from a
larger group of objects.
• – A collection of sampling units selected from
a sampling frame.
• Census: A measurement of each element in
the group or population of interest.

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 4. Respondents
Respondents are those:
• Those units in the sample (individuals,
business establishments, etc.) who are
successfully measured.
• Unit non-response: the respondent cannot be
contacted or refuses to respond.
• Item non-response: certain questions are not
answered by the respondent.

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 5. Sampling Bias
• Sampling bias: systematic error that arises due to the
sampling selection (Could occur) because:
1. When the sample is not a randomly selected sample.
2. When some members of the sampling frame are
given no chance (or reduced chance) of selection.
• – E.g. Using UP students’ test scores to infer the
overall math ability of university’s students.
• – E.g. Using opinions obtained from people at Bus Stop
Phnom Penh who are waiting for their bus to learn
about the overall Cambodia’s attitude on free trade.
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 6. Sampling Variance
• Sampling variance: measure of how variable
the sample means are over all sample
realizations.
• – It arises because there are a number of
possible sets of units drawn.
• – Each set will have different values on the
survey statistic.

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 II. Sampling Procedures
• Sampling procedures can be classified into the
following two groups:
1. Nonprobability Sampling Procedures:
• – Units are selected on the basis of convenience
or judgment or by some other means rather
than chance.
2. Probability Sampling Procedures:
• – Units are selected by chance and there is a
known chance of each unit being selected.
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1. Nonprobability Sampling Procedures
• Nonprobability Sampling Procedures:
1. Convenience Sampling
• – Contact sampling units that are convenient --- E.g.
members of your sport group, a classroom of
students, friends, neighbors, etc.
• – Inexpensive and quick.
– Prone to bias (your friends might have
characteristics
• very different from the target population) –
Oftentimes used to pretest a questionnaire.
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1. Nonprobability Sampling Procedures
2. Judgment Sampling
– Expert uses his/her judgment to identify representative
samples.
– Examples:
• Expert selecting several districts to represent a country. •
Village chief selecting “representative” residents.
• – Prone to bias. Difficult to generalize – But could be useful in
some cases.
• • When probability sampling is infeasible or extremely costly
• • When you can only select one or two districts to represent
169 similar districts across the country.
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1. Nonprobability Sampling Procedures

3. Quota Sampling:
• – Judgment sampling with the constraint that
the sample include a minimum from each
specified subgroup in the population.
• – Demographic characteristics of interest are
represented in the sample in the same
proportion as they are in the population.

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2. Probability Sampling Procedures
• Probability Sampling Procedures
1. Simple random sampling: a sampling
procedure where each element (population
member) has an equal chance of being selected
and each combination of elements is equally
likely.

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2. Probability Sampling Procedures
• Example: selecting students using simple
random sampling
• – I wanted to randomly select 100 students in UP
University campus.
• – I used the student list as a sampling frame.
• – I used a random number table to randomly
select 100 from the student list.

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2. Probability Sampling Procedures
2. Stratified sampling: the population is divided into
strata, and a random sample is drawn from each
stratum.
• – Stratum: subgroup
– For each stratum, a sample is drawn.
• – We can assure representation of subgroups in the
sample.
• – May reduce sampling variance.
• • Especially when subgroups are different from each
other.
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2. Probability Sampling Procedures
• Example:
• – Divide students into fives groups based on
department,
• Then within each group, randomly select
individuals in the proportionately.

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2. Probability Sampling Procedures
3. Cluster sampling: the population is divided into
subgroups. Then, a random sample of subgroups is
selected and all members of the subgroups become
part of the sample.
• – Simple random sampling could be enormously
costly.
• Imagine how difficult it is to put together a single list
of all the students in your university, draw a random
sample, and contact each one of them.
• – Sampling error tends to be larger.
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 2. Probability Sampling Procedures
4. Systematic sampling:
– Sampling procedure in which the sample is spread
through the list of population members.
• – Example:
• Population = 10,000
• • Sample size = 1,000 for example, Select every tenth
person
• Caution: There might be regularity in the list.
• Student lists just boy first, then followed by girl. If we only
have lists with couple, we end up selecting only boys (or
girls).
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2. Probability Sampling Procedures
5. Multistage sampling:
– Sampling procedure in which the sample is drawn in
two or more stages.
– In many of the large-scale surveys, simple random
sampling, stratified random sampling, or cluster sampling
is unrealistic or even impossible.
• A list of population elements might not exist.
If the cluster is districts, it is extremely costly to
contact each resident in each cluster.
• Example: Four-stages cluster sampling
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2. Probability Sampling Procedures
• Real Example: National Crime Victimization Survey
• Primary sampling units = counties/groups of counties
• – Divided into strata (layer) based on region, population
size, etc.
• For each stratum, select a sample of the primary
sampling units. (Probability based on population size)
• For each of the selected units, select a sample of
subunits (population ≒ 1,000).
• For each of the subunits, select a sample of groups of
four neighboring housing unit.
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 3. Sampling In Practices
• Step 1: Define the target population.
• Step 2: Identify the sampling frame.
• Step 3: Decide on a sample size. Take into account
that some people cannot be reached or refuse to
respond. (We will study next week)
• Step 4: Select a specific procedure
• Simple random sampling, cluster sampling,
stratified sampling, multistage sampling, etc.
• Step 5: Physically select the sample based on the
procedure in Step 4.
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 3. Sampling In Practices
• Also, carefully consider specific tasks you need to do in
order to physically select the sample.
• Permission is important.
1. E.g. Permission from university to use student list
2. E.g. Permission from the organization in order to
conduct a survey of the employees etc.
• Traveling time and cost need to be considered.
• Recruiting and paying salaries of assistants/
interviewers
• Office supplies (such as copy, or other materials)
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 Now Your Turn!!!
With Your Old Research Questions and
You Theory/Hypothesis!
Then Start Make Your Own Sampling by
Following 5 Steps above. Report to Class
about It!!!
Why You Choose this method?
(7 minutes)
 III. Questionnaires
• Surveys oftentimes use the questionnaire.
• Questionnaire: a standardized set of questions
given to the respondents.
• Oftentimes the questions are given in a fixed
order and with fixed answer options.
• ** Questionnaire is not absolutely necessary.
• Might use company’s sales records, student’s test
scores, GPA etc.
• But it is used in many cases.
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Stages In Survey Design (Lehnman 1985)

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 III. Questionnaires (Contents)
1. Types of Questions
2. Measurements
3. Creating Questions
4. Methods for Evaluating Draft Survey Questions

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 1. Types of Questions
1. Open Questions
• Acceptable responses are not exactly provided to
the respondent. It is give chance to respondent to
give different answers.
• Examples:
• – What health conditions do you have?
• – Where is your favorite places for holiday?
• – What do you consider to be the most important
problem facing our country today?
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 1. Types of Questions
1. Open Question
• Advantage:
• – You can collect a wide range of responses.
• – You might obtain answers that were not anticipated.
• – They may more closely reveal the real
views/fact/opinions of the respondent.
• – You do not influence the respondent by providing pre-
specified categories.
• – Some people like to express their opinions freely.
• – It is useful if the list of appropriate answers is too long.
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 1. Types of Questions
1. Open Question
• Disadvantages:
• Time-consuming for the respondent.
• Time-consuming for the researcher.
• Takes time to gather the responses.
• Takes time to code the responses.
• Difficult to classify/categorize/code the responses.
• Clarity and depths of responses depend on:
– The respondent’s ability and willingness to respond
– The interviewer’s capacity to accurately summarize the responses
(in the case of interviews).
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 1. Types of Questions
2. Closed Questions
• • A list of acceptable responses is provided to
the respondent.
• • Examples:
– Which of the following conditions do you
currently have?
• – Which of the following problems do you
consider to be the most important one facing
our country today?
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 1. Types of Questions
3. Yes/No Questions
• It is confirmation question when researcher
want to confirm something whether it is true or
false.
• • Examples:
– Do you pass the exam?
• – Do you want to go out?
• - Do you want to finish class now?

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 1. Types of Questions
2. Closed Questions
• Advantages:
• – Easier for the respondent to answer.
• – Less time-consuming.
• – Easier for the researcher to collect the responses.
• • E.g. Open questions easy in recording and repeated
interactions
• – Easier for the researcher to enter and analyze the responses.
• – Answers are directly comparable from one respondent to
another.
• • (Assuming each respondent interprets the question and answer
choices in the same way.)
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 1. Types of Questions
2. Closed Questions
• Limitations:
• – Good closed questions are difficult to develop.
• • E.g. The researcher might omit important
response alternatives.
• – It provides fewer opportunities for the
respondent to express their opinions freely.

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 Now Your Turn!!!
With Your Old Research Questions and
You Theory/Hypothesis!
Then Start Make Your Own Question, 1.
for open question and 2. for closed
question. Report to Class about It!!!
Why You Choose this question?
(7 minutes)
Q & A session!
THANKS YOU!
សូមអរគុណ!

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