1- Survey

Why Should I Care?

Surveys are very common. However, many are not done well. There are many traps most people don’t know about that reduce their scientific validity.

Definitions

Survey:
the act of measuring objects or phenomena.

Social survey:  
a research technique that observes a sample of individuals by asking questions and analyzing the responses.

Questionnaire:
an instrument made of a written set of questions, mostly made up of closed-ended questions, and organized in a sequence appropriate to the purpose of a survey, or psychological test.

Interview:
an instrument made of a loose set of questions, mostly designed to allow for an open-ended conversation.

Usefulness of Surveys

Surveys allow for a “real-time” expression of opinions and attitudes on a particular topic. It might only take less than 6 days to conduct a telephone survey. This is very useful for marketers and politicians who might want to change their strategy, or tactics, quickly.

For political scientists, sociologists, and economists, survey results allow for a snap-shot of public opinion at different points in time. This allows to see shifts in opinion, or the impact of specific events on the views. Surveys can also allow for cross-sectional analysis since they often measure socio-demographic variables, such as gender, or mother-tongue language, as well as political opinions, or market preferences.

 

 

In politics, allows to identify shifts in opinions, and relate them to a particular event (speech, riot, etc.)

Business people need them to prepare marketing strategies, advertising campaigns, etc.

Video - Basic Steps to do Surveys

 

 

 

 

Watch - CBC Documentary

Ask A Silly Question - CBC Documentary - 1997
https://curio.ca/en/catalog/a4b8ee23-1dbe-41e6-ad06-0ab78dc40812

Objects of Measurement

Type of Object	Yes	No	Maybe	Example
Personal Characteristic	X			Eye colour, Height, Accent
Socio-Demographic Characteristic	X			Religion, Language, Income, Gender, Ethnicity, Marital Status
Opinion	X			I don’t like Rice Krispies Cereal
Motivations			X	Fear, Hope, Ambition, Greed
Ideology	X			Right-Wing, Left-Wing
Biases / Prejudice	X		X	I trust tall people more than short people
Preferences	X		X	Commercial example: pricing, marketing
Personal History / Background	X		X	Immigration, Settler, Indigenous, Divorce
Family Dynamics	X		X	Number of siblings, Rank in Family, Class
Cultural History	X		X	Military History, Political History, Class
Perception / Self-Perception	X		X	Other people are smarter than me
Aptitude /Ability	X		X	Can hit 3-point shot. Can manipulate others
Behavior / Actions		X		Domestic Violence. Narcissist. Kind.
Personality	X			Agreeable, Irritable, Outgoing
Moods / Emotions	X			Sad, Happy
Performance			X	Productivity, Quality
Level of Knowledge	X			School test. Diagnostic quiz.

Sampling

Hopefully RANDOM and LARGE, especially when using a questionnaire.

This is possible using a list of the population such as a local phonebook, which is difficult to achieve with email and internet surveys.

With interviews, samples are non-random and rather small.

Types of Surveys

1. Cross-sectional: compare many independent variables to a dependent variable
2. Longitudinal: compare a few variables over time
   • Trend: similar samples taken at different time points
   • Panel: same sample followed through time

Instruments

1. Questionnaire: set question list, closed-ended questions, larger sample
   • In-person
   • Telephone
   • Internet
   • Group
2. Interview: starting question list, open-ended questions, smaller sample
   • Field interview
   • Formal Face-to-face interview

Scientific Power

Mostly descriptive studies, which focus on 5Ws.

May also be used for explanatory studies which validate hypotheses and their causal relationships (why), using cross-sectional tables.

Warning – “Surveys” are often used by corporations as a commercial ploy to engage a sales pitch, or to build an email mailing list for future advertising.