COMM 88 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Unstructured Interview, Structured Interview, Sample Size Determination
Chapter 8
Surveys - Questioning and Sampling
●General features of survey research
1. A large number of respondents chosen to represent a population of interest
2. Structured questionnaire of interview procedures that ask a predetermined set of
questions
3. The quantitative analysis of survey responses.
●Sample accuracy is a function of two factors:
○Sample design
○Sample size
■When chosen randomly, the larger the sample, the more accurate the sample
estimates of population characteristics.
●Large scale probability samples are ideal, yet surveys vary in size and design.
○There are legit reasons for doing small-scale survey sometimes
■Low budget
■Specialized or applied research purpose
●Structured interview - a type of interview with a highly specific objective in which all questions
are written before hand and asked in the same order for all respondents, and the interviewer’s
remarks are standardized.
●Unstructured interview - a type of interview guided by broad objectives in which questions are
developed as the interview proceeds.
●Semi-structured interview - a type of interview that, while having specific objectives, permits
the interviewer some freedom in meeting them.
●Closed-ended questions - survey questions that require the respondent to choose responses from
those provided.
●Open-ended questions - a survey question that requires respondents to answer inn their own
words.
●Descriptive survey - a survey undertaken to provide estimates of the characteristics of a
population
●Explanatory survey - a survey that investigates the relationships between two or more variables,
often attempting to explain them in cause and effect terms.
●Unlike experiments, surveys place much less emphasis on manipulation.
○The basic design of a survey is to measure variables by asking people questions and than
to describe the distribution of responses to single questions or examine the relationships
among responses to multiple variables.
■Major decision is whether to ask the questions once or repeat them over time.
●Cross-sectional design - the most common survey designn, in which
data are gathered from a sample of respondents at essentially one point in
time.
●Longitudinal design - survey design in which data are collected at more
than one point in time.
Document Summary
General features of survey research: a large number of respondents chosen to represent a population of interest, structured questionnaire of interview procedures that ask a predetermined set of questions, the quantitative analysis of survey responses. Sample accuracy is a function of two factors: When chosen randomly, the larger the sample, the more accurate the sample estimates of population characteristics. Large scale probability samples are ideal, yet surveys vary in size and design. There are legit reasons for doing small-scale survey sometimes. Unstructured interview - a type of interview guided by broad objectives in which questions are. Semi-structured interview - a type of interview that, while having specific objectives, permits. Closed-ended questions - survey questions that require the respondent to choose responses from. Open-ended questions - a survey question that requires respondents to answer inn their own. Descriptive survey - a survey undertaken to provide estimates of the characteristics of a.
