SOAN 2120 Lecture : Survey Research.docx

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology and Anthropology
• Course: SOAN 2120
• Professor: Scott Schau

Document Summary

Select a sample of respondents and give them a standardized questionnaire. Used for descriptive, explanatory, and exploratory purposes. Best method for collecting original data for describing a population too large to observe directly. Make items clear: concise, precise and unambiguous language. Closed ended questions should be mutually exclusive and jointly exhaustive. Begin with easy and interesting questions: save most threatening questions for later. Keep an order of questions that will maintain the respondents interest. Questionnaires should be spread out and uncluttered. Questionnaires should contain clear instructions and introductory comments where appropriate. Pretest questionnaires in order to protect against errors. Respondents must be willing to answer: avoid questions that ppl will be reluctant or uncomfortable answering. Used more than 1 question if necessary. General questionnaire format: don"t put questions side by side, lots of white space. Formats for respondents: make it appealing to respondents. Contingency questions: ex: if yes, Indicate for the following whether you strongly agree, agree, disagree etc.