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.

This book addresses the needs of researchers who want to conduct surveys online. Issues discussed include sampling from online populations, developing online and mobile questionnaires, and administering electronic surveys, are unique to digital surveys. Others, like creating reliable and valid survey questions, data analysis strategies, and writing the survey report, are common to all survey environments. This single resource captures the particulars of conducting digital surveys from start to finish

A Companion to Survey Research provides a critical overview and guide to survey methods. Rather than a set of formulas, survey design is understood as a craft where the translation of research questions into a questionnaire, sample design and data collection strategy is based on understanding how respondents answer questions and their willingness to complete a survey. Following an account of the invention of survey research in the 1930s, a synthesis of research on question design is followed by a practical guide to designing a questionnaire. Chapters on sampling, which deal with the statistical basis of survey sampling and practical design issues, are followed by extensive discussions of survey pretesting and data collection. The book concludes with a discussion of the extent and implications of falling response rates. This book is written for researchers, analysts and policy makers who want to understand the survey data they use, for researchers and students who want to conduct a survey, and for anyone who wants to understand contemporary survey research.

To order please visit https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/press/books/ordering/

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.

This new edition of the best-selling Survey Research Methods aims to give those who collect, analyze or read about survey data a sound basis for evaluating data collection procedures. With an emphasis on the importance of minimizing nonsampling errors through good question design, good quality interviewing and high response rates, this book will help readers understand the relationship of the details of data collection to figures and statistics based on the survey. Presenting the most up-to-date methodological knowledge on survey research, the new edition covers: the role of microcomputers in data collection and data entry procedures; the latest research findings on the training and supervision of interviewers; and significant developments in question design and evaluation.

Preface 1 Introduction Reasons for Surveys The Components of Surveys Purposes and Goals of This Text 2 Sampling The Sample Frame Selecting a One-Stage Sample Multistage Sampling Making Estimates From Samples and Sampling Errors How Big Should a Sample Be? Sampling Error as a Component of Total Survey Error Exercise 3 Nonresponse: Implementing a Sample Design Calculating Response Rates Bias Associated With Nonresponse Reducing Nonresponse in Telephone or Personal Interview Surveys Reducing Nonresponse to Mail Surveys Reducing Nonresponse to Internet Surveys Multimode Data Collection Correcting for Nonresponse Nonprobability (or Modified Probability) Samples Nonresponse as a Source of Error Exercise 4 Methods of Data Collection Major Issues in Choosing a Strategy Summary Comparison of Methods Conclusion Exercise 5 Designing Questions to Be Good Measures Increasing the Reliability of Answers Avoiding Multiple Questions Types of Measures/Types of Questions Increasing the Validity of Factual Reporting Increasing the Validity of Answers Describing Subjective States Question Design and Error Exercises 6 Evaluating Survey Questions and Instruments Defining Objectives Preliminary Question Design Steps Presurvey Evaluation Design, Format, and Layout of Survey Instruments Field Pretests Survey Instrument Length Conclusion Exercise 7 Survey Interviewing Overview of Interviewer Job Interviewer Recruitment and Selection Training Interviewers Supervision Survey Questions Interviewing Procedures Validation of Interviews The Role of Interviewing in Survey Error Exercise 8 Preparing Survey Data for Analysis Formatting a Data File Constructing a Code Approaches to Coding and Data Entry Data Cleaning Coding and Data Reduction as Sources of Errors in Surveys 9 Ethical Issues in Survey Research Informing Respondents Protecting Respondents Benefits to Respondents Ethical Responsibilities to Interviewers Conclusion 10 Providing Information About Survey Methods Exercise 11 Survey Error in Perspective The Concept of Total Survey Design Error in Perspective Conclusion References Index About the Author.