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.
Questionnaire: an instrument made of a written set of questions 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 produce an open-ended conversation.
Watch - Ask A Silly Question - CBC Documentary - 1997
https://curio.ca/en/catalog/a4b8ee23-1dbe-41e6-ad06-0ab78dc40812
Usefulness
Allows for a “real-time” expression of opinions and attitudes on a particular topic.
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.
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
- Cross-sectional: compare many independent variables to a dependent variable
- Longitudinal: compare a few variables over time
- Trend: similar samples taken at different time points
- Panel: same sample followed through time
Instruments
- Questionnaire: set question list, closed-ended questions, larger sample
- In-person
- Telephone
- Internet
- Group
- 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.