Survey Research Methods

 Covers the full range of basic topics necessary for beginning survey research.

Review: PART I. THE SCIENTIFIC CONTEXT OF SURVEY RESEARCH. 1. The Logic of Science. The Traditional Perspective. The Debunking of Science. Science in Practice. What is Science? 2. Science and Social Science. The Search for Social Regularities. The Characteristics of Social Science. Methods of Social Scientific Research. 3. Survey Research as a Method of Social Science. A Brief History of Survey Research. The Scientific Characteristics of Survey Research. A Comparison of Survey and Other Methods. Is Survey Research Really Scientific? PART II. SURVEY RESEARCH DESIGN. 4. Types of Study Design. Purposes of Survey Research. Units of Analysis. Basic Survey Designs. Variations on Basic Designs. Choosing the Appropriate Design. 5. The Logic of Survey Sampling. The Logic of Probability Sampling. Sampling Concepts and Terminology. Probability Sampling Theory and Sampling. Distribution. Populations and Sampling Frames. Types of Sampling Designs. Disproportionate Sampling and Weighting. Nonprobability Sampling. Nonsurvey Uses of Sampling Methods. 6. Examples of Sample Designs. Sampling University Students. Sampling Medical School Faculty. Sampling Episcopal Churchwomen. Sampling Oakland Households. 7. Conceptualization and Instrument Design. Logic of Conceptualization. An Operationalization Framework. Types of Data. Levels of Measurement. Guides to Question Construction. Measurement Quality. General Questionnaire Format. Ordering Questions in a Questionnaire. Instructions. Reproducing the Questionnaire. 8. Index and Scale Construction. Indexes Versus Scales. Index Construction. Scale Construction. Typologies. PART III. DATA COLLECTION. 9. Self-Administered Questionnaires. Mail Distribution and Return. Postal Options and Relative Costs. Monitoring Returns. Follow-up Mailings. Acceptable Response Rates. A Case Study. 10. Interview Surveys. Imporance of Interviewer. General Rules for Interviewing. Interviewer Training. The Interviewing Operation. 11. Data Processing. Computers in Survey Research. Coding. Codebook Construction. Coding and Data Entry Options. Precoding for Data Entry. Data Cleaning. 12. Pretests and Pilot Studies. Conducting Pretests. Conducting Pilot Studies. Evaluating Pretests and Pilot Studies. PART IV. SURVEY RESEARCH ANALYSIS. 13. The Logic of Measurement and Association. The Traditional Image. The Interchangeability of Indexes. Implications. 14. Constructing and Understanding Tables. Univariate Analysis. Subgroup Descriptions. Bivariate Analysis. Multivariate Analysis. 15. The Elaboration Model. History of the Elaboration Model. The Elaboration Paradigm. Elaboration and Ex Post Facto Hypothesizing. 16. Social Statistics. Descriptive Statistics. Inferential Statistics. 17. Advanced Multivariate Techniques. Regression Analysis. Path Analysis. Factor Analysis. Analysis of Variance. Discriminant Analysis. Log-Linear Models. 18. The Reporting of Survey Research. Some Basic Considerations. Organization of the Reports. Guidelines for Reporting Analysis. PART V. SURVEY RESEARCH IN SOCIAL CONTEXT. 19. The Ethics of Survey Research. Voluntary Participation. No Harm to Respondents. Anonymity and Confidentiality. Identifying Purpose and Sponsor. Analysis and Reporting. A Professional Code of Ethics. Ethics -- Relevant Illustrations. 20. The Informed Survey Research Consumer. Research Design. Measurement. Sampling. Data Analysis. Data Reporting. APPENDICES. Appendix A. Table of Random Numbers. Appendix B. Estimated Sampling Error for a Binomial (95% Confidence Level). Appendix C. Distribution of Chi Square. Appendix D. Normal Curve Areas.