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Questionnaires and
Structured Interviews
Chapter 9
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Introduction
Questionnaires and structured interviews
are the two most widely used methods of data
collection in social science research.
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Introduction
Questionnaire
A data collection instrument with questions
and statements that are designed to solicit
information from respondents
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Introduction
Structured interview
A data collection method in which an
interviewer reads a standardized list of
questions to the respondent and records therespondents answers
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Introduction
Survey
A study in which the same data are collected from
all members of the sample
Usually in the form of answers to questions Often use large probability samples and cross-
sectional study design
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Introduction
Respondents
The participant in a survey who completes a
questionnaire or interview
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Introduction
Self-report method
Another name for questionnaires and interviews
because respondents are most often asked to report
their own characteristics, behaviors, and attitudes.
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The Uses of Questionnaires and
Interviews
Questions can be asked about a variety of topics
It is common to use the self-report method to gather
information on attitudes, beliefs, values, goals, and
expectations
Questions can also be used to gather a persons
level of knowledge on something or behavior
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Introduction
Stop and Think
The surveys by Public Agenda and Pew
focused on attitudes towards national energy
policies and health care, respectively. Suggest a list of other topics that you think you
could ask questions about using a questionnaire.
Would you be concerned about the accuracy of
the answers on any of these topics?
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Focal Research
Environmentalism Among College Students:A Sociological Investigationby Brandon Langand Christopher W. Podeschi
Asked college students questions aboutenvironmental issues
Interested in whether the students attitudeswere connected to some backgroundcharacteristics and to behavior patterns
Descriptive and explanatory purposes
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Focal Research
Ethics
The researchers submitted a proposal to their
universitys Institutional Review Board (IRB)
where it was approved. The respondents were informed about the
studys sponsor, were assured that the
surveys were anonymous and that they could
skip any of the questions.
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The Uses of Questionnaires and
Interviews
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The Uses of Questionnaires and
Interviews
Although surveys are widely used there are
important concerns about theirvalidity
When using self-report methods it is basedon the implicit assumption that people have
the information being asked and they will
answer based on their core beliefs and
values
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The Uses of Questionnaires and
Interviews
Answers to questions may be compromised if the
participants
Do not understand
Do not take the time to adequately answer thequestion
Influenced by current mood, events, etc.
For example, research has shown that people who are
in more positive moods answer more favorablycompared to those who are feeling more negative
(Martin, Abend, Sedikes, & Green, 1997)
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The Uses of Questionnaires and
Interviews
Measurement error
Error that occurs when the measurement we
obtain is not an accurate portrayal of what we
tried to measure The giving of inaccurate answers to the
questions
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The Uses of Questionnaires and
Interviews
Measurement error may also be affected by question wording
respondents level of knowledge on the topic
whether or not the respondent has an opinion about
the topic respondent having an accurate memory
respondent wanting to present a good image
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Participant Involvement
Response rate
The percentage of the sample contacted that
actually participates in a study
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Participant Involvement
Response rate is affected by
The number of people who cannot be
reached for the study (noncontacts)
The number who choose not to participate(refusals)
The number who are incapable of performing
the tasks required of them
For example, due to illness or language barriers
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Participant Involvement
Nonresponse error
Results from differences between nonresponders andresponders to a survey
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Participant Involvement
When participants and nonparticipants differ
in social characteristics, opinions, attitudes,
values, or behavior then generalization to a
larger population is much more difficult Some researchers have questioned whether
higher rates of refusal automatically means
more bias
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Participant Involvement
Participation in studies can best beunderstood within a social exchange context.
Social exchange means a cost/benefitapproach
Once potential sample members arecontacted, they must decide aboutcooperation after thinking about the costs andbenefits.
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Participant Involvement
Respondents are asked to give up their time, engage
in interactions controlled by the interviewer, think
about issues or topics that might cause discomfort,
and take the risk of being asked to reveal
embarrassing information.
Potential participants might worry about privacy and
lack of control over the information
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Participant Involvement
Conversely, participants might want to
participate because of an interest in a topic, a
desire to share their views, or knowledge that
their information will be useful to science andsociety
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Participant involvement
Possible ways to increase participant rates
Advance mailings
Incentives
Giving small gifts Token cash payments
Focusing on the interesting aspects of participation
Re-contacting participants to encourage participation
Minimize the costs of participation For example, time and possible embarrassment
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
Self-administered questionnaires
A questionnaire that the respondent completes by him orherself
Can be written or web-based survey
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
Interview
A data collection method in which respondents answerquestions asked by an interviewer
Can be done by phone or in person
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
Group-administered questionnaires
Questions administered to respondents in a group setting
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
Group-administered questionnaires
Advantages
Allows the researcher to explain the instructions and
answer questions.
Provides the researcher some control over the
setting in which the questionnaire is completed
Allows the respondents to participate anonymously
Helps in getting honest answers to sensitive questions
Usually results in a good response rate
Inexpensive
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
Group-administered questionnaires
Disadvantages
There might be no group setting for the
population the researcher wants to study A group setting might raise concerns over the
violation of voluntary participation
Groups typically have limits for the amount of
time they spend on a survey
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
Mailed questionnaires
Questionnaires mailed to the respondents residence or
workplace
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
A questionnaire can be individually administered oradministered as an Internet questionnaire
An individually administered questionnaire ishand delivered to the respondent and picked up after
completion Similar to using mailed questions, but the expense is
higher and has a better response rate
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
An internet questionnaire is sent by e-mailor posted on a website
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
Coverage error
A sampling error that arises when the
sampling frame is different from the intended
population
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
Cover letter
The letter accompanying a questionnaire that
explains the research and invites participation
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Interviews
Structured interview
Interviewer reads a standardized set of questions
and the response option for closed-ended
questions. The interview has some similarities to a
conversation, except that the interviewer
controls the topic, asks the questions, and does
not share experiences or opinions.
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Interviews
The set of instructions to the interviewer, the
list of questions, and the answer categories
make up the interview schedule
The use of structured interviews allows forsome flexibility in administration, clarification
of questions, and the use of follow-up
questions.
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Interviews
Interviews typically have good response rates
Interviews are more expensive than questionnaires,
because interviewers have to be hired and trained.
Using an interviewer adds the potential of
interviewer effect, or the changes in respondents
behaviors or answers that result from some aspect of
the interview situation
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Interviews
In-person interviews
The dominant mode of data collection from 1940 to 1970.
An in-person interview is conducted face to face.
In-person interviews are a good choice for questions
involving complex reports of behavior, for groups difficult toreach by phone, or for respondents who need to seematerial or to consult records as part of the data collection,or when the interview is long, and high response rates areessential.
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Interviews
In-person interviews
Rapport
A sense of interpersonal harmony, connection, or
compatibility between an interviewer and arespondent
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Interviews
Phone interviews
The dominant mode of survey data collection since the
1970s
Preferred because it can yield close to the same results as
an in-person interview at half the cost
Good for people who feel too busy for face-to-face
interviews
New technology allows makes it cost effective to do
computer-assisted telephone interviews in which data arecollected, stored, and transmitted during the interview
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Constructing Questions
Types of questions
Open-ended questions
Questions that allows respondents to answer in
their own words
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Constructing Questions
Types of questions
Closed-ended questions
Questions that include a list of predetermined
answers Answer categories must be exhaustive and mutually
exclusive
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Constructing Questions
Types of Questions
Deciding whether to use open- or closed-ended questions involves several issues.
Answer choices can provide a context for the
question, they can make the completion andcoding of questionnaires and interviews easier.
Respondent might not find the response that bestfits what they want to say, and answer categoriescan be interpreted differently by differentrespondents.
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Constructing Questions
Types of questions
Open-ended questions
All open-ended responses must be categorized
before the researcher does statistical analysis A limited number of answer categories must first
be created for each question, so the data may be
coded
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Constructing Questions
Types of questions
Coding
The process of assigning data to categories
Coding is a time consuming and expensive task thatcan result in the loss of data richness.
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Constructing Questions
Types of questions
Screening questions
Question that asks for information before asking the
question of interest Example
Have you applied to a graduate or professional program?
Yes or No
If yes, please list the program(s)
Example
It is important to ask someone if they voted in November,
before asking whom they voted for.
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Constructing Questions
Types of questions
A screening question is often followed with a
contingency question
A contingency question A question that depends on the answer to the
previous question.
Example
If yes, go to question #___ Example
Do you work for pay outside the home? If yes, how
many hours per week are you employed?
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Constructing Questions
Types of questions
Occasionally researchers use indirect questions, where
the link between the information the information
desired and the question is not obvious
This is done by creating scenarios orvignettes aboutpeople or situations that the researcher creates to use
as part of the data collection method.
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Constructing Questions
How to ask questions
Keep the questionnaire or interview as short as
possible
Only the necessary questions planned for dataanalysis should be asked
A preliminary draft orpilot test should be used
with a small sample
A pilot test is a preliminary draft of a set of
questions that is tested before the actual data
collection.
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Constructing Questions
How to ask questions
Avoid loaded words words that trigger an
emotional response or strong association by their
useAvoid ambiguous words words that can be
interpreted in more than one way
Dont use double negative questions questions
that can ask people to disagree with a negativequestion
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Constructing Questions
How to ask questions
Dont use leading questions questions that
encourage the respondent to answer in a
certain way, typically by indicating which is theright or correct answer
Avoid threatening questions, or questions
that make respondents afraid or embarrassed
to give an honest answer
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Constructing Questions
How to ask questions
Dont use double-barreled orcompound questions
questions that ask two or more questions in one
Ask question in the language of your respondents, using
the idioms and language appropriate to the samples levelof education, vocabulary of the region, etc.
Review Box 9.9
Examples of poorly worded questions and the suggested
revisions
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Constructing Questions
How to ask questions
Question order & context
Responses to questions can be affected by the
question order as earlier questions provide a
context for later ones and people may try to be
consistent in their answers to questions on the
same topic.
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Constructing Questions
How to ask questions Question order & context
1. Consider a logical order that makes participationeasy
2. To encourage participation start with interesting, nothreatening questions, and save questions aboutsensitive topics for the middle or end
3. Conclude with cool down to minimize discomfortof participant
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Summary
Considerations when choosing a data
collection method
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QuizQuestion 1
Open-ended questions allow for respondents to
answer
a. in their own words.
b. according to pre-determined categories.c. as often as they wish.
d. skip contingency questions
e. none of the above
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QuizQuestion 2
If close-ended questions are used, it is
important that the responses are
a. mutually exclusive.
b. exhaustive.c. created by respondents.
d. a and b
e. All of the above
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QuizQuestion 3
Which type of survey tends to have the highest
response rate?
a. Mailed questionnaire
b. Phone interviewc. In-person interview
d. All three tend to yield high response rates
e. None of these yield high response rates