Survey

Question 1

Survey Research Definition

Answer 1

• a quantitative social science technique in which one systematically asks many people the same questions, then records and analyzes their answers
• asks many people – respondents about their characteristics, knowledge, beliefs, opinions, behaviours
• Researchers can ask multiple things at one time, measure many variables with multiple indicators, and test several hypothesis in a single survey

Question 2

Survey Research - Main Purpose

Answer 2

The main purposes of survey research are exploratory, descriptive and explanatory. Survey research is recognized as one of the best method to describe a population that is too large to observe directly.

Question 3

Survey Research Strengths

Answer 3

• Cheap and quick method
• More or less credible information could be gathered
• Generalizability could be high
• Describes characteristics of big population
• Make large sample feasible (especially self-administered surveys)
• Surveys are flexible. Many questions may be asked on a given topic. This provides more flexibility in analyses

Question 4

Survey Research Weaknesses

Answer 4

• Survey research can seldom deal with the context of social life
• Prone to superficial answers. No deep information could be gathered. People can skip the answers and will not think about them in depth
• Inclusiveness. Depending on the design, only specific population could be included ignoring other people which are harder to access
• The survey allows to analyze multiple variables simultaneously; thus, we could see whether there is a relationship or not

Question 5

Design Options in Survey Research - Simple Representative Design

Answer 5

This design requires randomly selecting specific population we would like to observe from a general population. This design can look as:
• General population

Question 6

Design Options in Survey Research - Trend Studies

Answer 6

• study changes within some general population over time.
• For example: Survey among 15 years old children in Kitchener. This is not the same group which is observed over time. But different group which has the same characteristics – being 15 years old.

Question 7

Design Options in Survey Research - Cohort Studies

Answer 7

Allow examining more specific subpopulation (cohort) as they change over time. This is not the identical group which is observed over time, but the group which has the same characteristics and we are observing their experiences in different ages over time.

Question 8

Design Options in Survey Research - Panel Studies

Answer 8

Allow observing the same set of people each time. For example research aims to observe every five years the same group of juvenile delinquents who received treatment program from X agency.