Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods

Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods
Author: Paul J. Lavrakas
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Total Pages: 1073
Release: 2008-09-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 150631788X

To the uninformed, surveys appear to be an easy type of research to design and conduct, but when students and professionals delve deeper, they encounter the vast complexities that the range and practice of survey methods present. To complicate matters, technology has rapidly affected the way surveys can be conducted; today, surveys are conducted via cell phone, the Internet, email, interactive voice response, and other technology-based modes. Thus, students, researchers, and professionals need both a comprehensive understanding of these complexities and a revised set of tools to meet the challenges. In conjunction with top survey researchers around the world and with Nielsen Media Research serving as the corporate sponsor, the Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods presents state-of-the-art information and methodological examples from the field of survey research. Although there are other "how-to" guides and references texts on survey research, none is as comprehensive as this Encyclopedia, and none presents the material in such a focused and approachable manner. With more than 600 entries, this resource uses a Total Survey Error perspective that considers all aspects of possible survey error from a cost-benefit standpoint. Key Features Covers all major facets of survey research methodology, from selecting the sample design and the sampling frame, designing and pretesting the questionnaire, data collection, and data coding, to the thorny issues surrounding diminishing response rates, confidentiality, privacy, informed consent and other ethical issues, data weighting, and data analyses Presents a Reader′s Guide to organize entries around themes or specific topics and easily guide users to areas of interest Offers cross-referenced terms, a brief listing of Further Readings, and stable Web site URLs following most entries The Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods is specifically written to appeal to beginning, intermediate, and advanced students, practitioners, researchers, consultants, and consumers of survey-based information.

Administrative Records for Survey Methodology

Administrative Records for Survey Methodology
Author: Asaph Young Chun
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2021-04-06
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1119272041

ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS FOR SURVEY METHODOLOGY Addresses the international use of administrative records for large-scale surveys, censuses, and other statistical purposes Administrative Records for Survey Methodology is a comprehensive guide to improving the quality, cost-efficiency, and interpretability of surveys and censuses using administrative data research. Contributions from a team of internationally-recognized experts provide practical approaches for integrating administrative data in statistical surveys, and discuss the methodological issues—including concerns of privacy, confidentiality, and legality—involved in collecting and analyzing administrative records. Numerous real-world examples highlight technological and statistical innovations, helping readers gain a better understanding of both fundamental methods and advanced techniques for controlling data quality reducing total survey error. Divided into four sections, the first describes the basics of administrative records research and addresses disclosure limitation and confidentiality protection in linked data. Section two focuses on data quality and linking methodology, covering topics such as quality evaluation, measuring and controlling for non-consent bias, and cleaning and using administrative lists. The third section examines the use of administrative records in surveys and includes case studies of the Swedish register-based census and the administrative records applications used for the US 2020 Census. The book’s final section discusses combining administrative and survey data to improve income measurement, enhancing health surveys with data linkage, and other uses of administrative data in evidence-based policymaking. This state-of-the-art resource: Discusses important administrative data issues and suggests how administrative data can be integrated with more traditional surveys Describes practical uses of administrative records for evidence-driven decisions in both public and private sectors Emphasizes using interdisciplinary methodology and linking administrative records with other data sources Explores techniques to leverage administrative data to improve the survey frame, reduce nonresponse follow-up, assess coverage error, measure linkage non-consent bias, and perform small area estimation. Administrative Records for Survey Methodology is an indispensable reference and guide for statistical researchers and methodologists in academia, industry, and government, particularly census bureaus and national statistical offices, and an ideal supplemental text for undergraduate and graduate courses in data science, survey methodology, data collection, and data analysis methods.

Cognitive Interviewing

Cognitive Interviewing
Author: Gordon B. Willis
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2004-09-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1483389308

"As both an academic instructor in questionnaire design and a research design methodologist for the federal government, I feel this book is very timely, useful for students and practitioners, and unique in its use of real world practical examples that most everyone can relate." —Terry Richardson, General Accounting Office "The combination of theory and practical application will make this a useful book for students as well as professionals who want to learn how to incorporate cognitive interviewing into the questionnaire design process." —Rachel Caspar, RTI International The design and evaluation of questionnaires—and of other written and oral materials—is a challenging endeavor, fraught with potential pitfalls. Cognitive Interviewing: A Tool for Improving Questionnaire Design describes a means of systematically developing survey questions through investigations that intensively probe the thought processes of individuals who are presented with those inquiries. The work provides general guidance about questionnaire design, development, and pre-testing sequence, with an emphasis on the cognitive interview. In particular, the book gives detailed instructions about the use of verbal probing techniques, and how one can elicit additional information from subjects about their thinking and about the manner in which they react to tested questions. These tools help researchers discover how well their questions are working, where they are failing, and determine what they can do to rectify the wide variety of problems that may surface while working with questionnaires. Cognitive Interviewing is ideally suited as a course text for advanced undergraduate and graduate research courses across the social sciences. Professional researchers and faculty in the social sciences, as well as practice fields such as medicine, business, and education, will also find this an invaluable reference for survey research. There is no other book on the market that covers cognitive interviewing as applied to questionnaire design.

Innovations in Digital Research Methods

Innovations in Digital Research Methods
Author: Peter Halfpenny
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2015-05-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1473926955

Vast amounts of digital data are now generated daily by people as they go about their lives, yet social researchers are struggling to exploit it. At the same time, the challenges faced by society in the 21st century are growing ever more complex, and demands research that is bigger in scale, more collaborative and multi-disciplinary than ever before. This cutting-edge volume provides an accessible introduction to innovative digital social research tools and methods that harness this ‘data deluge’ and successfully tackle key research challenges. Contributions from leading international researchers cover topics such as: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research Data management Social media and social network analysis Modeling and simulation Survey methods Visualizing social data Ethics and e-research The future of social research in the digital age This vibrant introduction to innovative digital research methods is essential reading for anyone conducting social research today.

Advances in Telephone Survey Methodology

Advances in Telephone Survey Methodology
Author: James M. Lepkowski
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 700
Release: 2008-01-07
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0470173394

A complete and comprehensive collaboration providing insight on future approaches to telephone survey methodology Over the past fifteen years, advances in technology have transformed the field of survey methodology, from how interviews are conducted to the management and analysis of compiled data. Advances in Telephone Survey Methodology is an all—encompassing and authoritative resource that presents a theoretical, methodological, and statistical treatment of current practices while also establishing a discussion on how state—of—the—art developments in telecommunications have and will continue to revolutionize the telephone survey process. Seventy—five prominent international researchers and practitioners from government, academic, and private sectors have collaborated on this pioneering volume to discuss basic survey techniques and introduce the future directions of the telephone survey. Concepts and findings are organized in four parts—sampling and estimation, data collection, operations, and nonresponse—equipping the reader with the needed practical applications to approach issues such as choice of target population, sample design, questionnaire construction, interviewing training, and measurement error. The book also introduces important topics that have been overlooked in previous literature, including: The impact of mobile telephones on telephone surveys and the rising presence of mobile—only households worldwide The design and construction of questionnaires using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) software The emerging use of wireless communication and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) versus the telephone Methods for measuring and improving interviewer performance and productivity Privacy, confidentiality, and respondent burden as main factors in telephone survey nonresponse Procedures for the adjustment of nonresponse in telephone surveys In—depth reviews of the literature presented along with a full bibliography, assembled from references throughout the world Advances in Telephone Survey Methodology is an indispensable reference for survey researchers and practitioners in almost any discipline involving research methods such as sociology, social psychology, survey methodology, and statistics. This book also serves as an excellent text for courses and seminars on survey methods at the undergraduate and graduate levels.