SOC221H5 Study Guide - Final Guide: Social Desirability Bias, Design Issues, Jargon
SOC221 Final Exam Review
Ch 5+6
Research Questions Appropriate for a Survey
• Survey research developed within the positivist approach
• The following can be asked in a survey
o Behavior
▪ how frequently do you go to art galleries?
o Attitudes/beliefs/opinions
▪ What kind of job do you think the mayor is doing?
o Expectation
▪ Do you plan to buy a new car and then 12 months?
o Characteristics
▪ Are you married, cohabiting, single, divorced, etc.?
o Self-classification
▪ Would you say you are religious or nonreligious?
o Knowledge
▪ Who was elected mayor in the last election?
• Reseahes o agaist usig sues to ask h uestios (ie. Why do you think
crime occurs?)
o Why questions are appropriate, however, if a researcher wants to discover a
responded subjective understanding or informal theory (ie. The respondents
own view of why he or she acts a certain way)
o This is because few respondents are fully aware of the casual factor that shapes
their beliefs or behavior
• An important limitation of survey research is that it provides data only of what a person
or organization says, and this may differ from what he or she actually does
The logic of survey research
• What is a survey?
o Survey research or sample many respondents to answer the same questions, in
the same order, in the same way
o Survey researchers use questions as control variables to approximate the
rigorous test for casualty that experimenters achieve with their physical control
over the temporal order and alternative explanations
▪ In other words, control variables are other characteristics that the
researcher accounts for so as to minimize the possibility of spuriousness
• Steps in conducting a survey
o In the first step, the researcher develops an instrument– A survey questionnaire
or interview schedule – that here she uses to measure variables
▪ Interview schedule: the name of a survey research questionnaire when
the telephone or face-to-face interview is used
o A survey researcher conceptualizes and operationalizes variables as questions
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▪ He or she writes and rewrites questions for clarity and completeness, and
organizes questions on the questionnaire based on the research
question, the respondents, and the type of survey
o He or she pilot tests the questionnaire with a small set of respondents similar to
those in the final survey
▪ He o she asks espodets i the pilot test hethe the uestios e’e
clear and explores their interpretations to see if his or her intended
meaning with clear
o After the planning phase, the researcher is ready to collect data
▪ He or she locates sample respondents in person, by telephone, or by mail
▪ respondents are given information and instructions on completing the
questionnaire
Constructing a questionnaire
• Principles of good question writing
o There are three principles for effective survey questions: keep it clear, keep it
simple, and keep the espodets’ perspective in mind
o Good survey questions help respondents feel that they understand the question
and that their answers are meaningful in addition, it gives the researcher valid
and reliable measures
o researchers face a dilemma
▪ They want all respondents to hear exactly the same questions, but will
the questions be equally clear, relevant, and meaningful to all
respondents?
▪ If respondents have diverse backgrounds and frames of reference, the
same wording may not have the same meaning
o things to avoid when writing survey questions
▪ 1. Avoid jargon, slang, and abbreviations
▪ ambiguity
▪ 2. Avoid double-barreled questions
• ex. Does the company have pension and health insurance
benefits. This is because the company may have 1 and not the
othe ut, ou ould’t ko hih oe
▪ 3. avoid leading questions
• e. You do’t soke, do ou? leads espodets to state that
they do not smoke
▪ 4. Avoid emotional language
▪ 5. Avoid false premises
• e. Assuig the post offie has to cut back its operating
hous…
▪ 6. Avoid asking about intentions in the distant future
• e. “uppose a e goe stoe ope do the oad i thee
eas. Would ou shop at it?
▪ 7. Prestige Bias
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• Ex. Lawyers and judges believe that Canadians are less litigious
than Americans. Do you agree?
o because you are saying that these prestigious individuals
are saying Canadians are less litigious than Americans.
Then it says do u agree with these individuals
▪ 8. Beyond espodet’s capabilities
• Aiding respondent recall
o The complexity of responding to recall does not mean that survey researchers
cannot ask about past events; Rather, they need to customize questions and
interpret results cautiously
o They should also provide aid to respondent recall, such as a fixed timeframe or
location preferences
▪ fo eaple, athe tha askig ho ofte do ou atted the sporting
eet last ite?, eseahes should ask ho ofte did ou atted
the sporting event last winte. Let’s go oth oth, Thik ak to
Jaua
• Types of questions and response categories
o Threatening questions: a type of survey research question in which respondents
are likely to lie about their true beliefs because they fear a loss of self-image
o Social desirability bias: A bias in survey research in which respondents give a
formative response or a socially acceptable answer rather than giving a truthful
answer
o Knowledge questions: questions that attempts to understand the knowledge of
the respondents based on a specific topic. Studies suggest that a large majority
of the public cannot correctly answer elementary geography questions or
identify important political documents
o Contingency question: two – or more part question and survey research. The
answer to the first part of the question determines which of two different
questions are responded next receive
o Partially open question: a type of survey research question in which respondents
are given a fixed set of answers to choose from, but in addition, another
atego is offeed so that the a speif a diffeet ase. E. othe
o Standard format question: A type of survey research question in which the
ase ategoies fail to ilude o opiio o do’t ko
o Quasi-filter question: a type of survey research question including the answer
hoie o opiio o do’t ko
o Full filter question: research question in which respondents are first asked
whether they have an opinion or know about a topic, then only the respondents
with an opinion or knowledge are asked a specific question on that topic
• Open vs. closed questions
o Each form has advantages and disadvantages
▪ It is under what conditions of form is most appropriate
o Closed
▪ Advantages
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Document Summary
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