Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Since the first publication of Designing Surveys: A Guide to Decisions and Procedures in the mid-90s, the technologies used to conduct surveys have changed dramatically. New technologies have not only aided survey research, but they have created new and difficult problems and obstacles. The public's sensitivity to matters of privacy and the use of data may have been raised by the impact of more powerful technologies for data linkage and data dissemination.
The Second Edition accounts for changes in telephone, Internet, and email surveying and provides a more comprehensive treatment on questionnaire testing. Despite changing technologies, however, the principles of scientific survey design remain unchanged, including the selection of the sample, the writing of questions to solicit an unbiased response, and the ethical treatment of human subjects. This new edition addresses these issues in the context of new and emerging technologies and their relationship to survey design and the social sciences.
New to the Second Edition Addresses the methodology of Internet surveys, including a summary of experiences and practices to date, and how Internet surveys interface with more traditional methods Analyzes the changes in telephone survey design and data collection procedures due to rising nonresponse rates as well as call screening and other technologies Explores the increased use of Web sites and package programs for variance estimation, data analysis, and data dissemination Provides expanded material on behavior coding, cognitive interviewing, and the implications for pretesting practices Includes an updated and expanded bibliography and glossary
Designing Surveys provides anaccurate account of how modern survey research is actually conducted, but with the needs and goals of a novice researcher in mind. The text is aimed at the undergraduate survey research or survey methods courses in the social sciences, including Sociology, Social Work, Anthropology, and Political Science.