Alternatives to Experimentation: Surveys and Interviews

• Quota sampling - select samples through predetermined quotas that are intended to reflect the makeup of the population.
• The population consists of all people, animals, or objects that have at least one characteristic in common.
• Surveys can be particularly useful for collecting data on sensitive topics.

  Survey Research
• Convenience Sampling - any groups who happen to be available.
• Random selection, any member of the population has an equal opportunity to be selected.
• Probability Sampling

  • Simple Random Sampling
  • Systematic Random Sampling
  • Stratified Random Sampling
  • Cluster Sampling
• Willingness to answer comes into play whenever questions requires specific knowledge about facts or issues.


  Response Style
• Content Analysis - to quantify answers to open questions, however, a system must be designed to evaluate and categorize the content of each answer.
• Nominal - classifies response items into two or more distinct categories on the basis of common feature
• Unbiased method for selecting subjects.

  Random Selection
• Reliability - the extent to which the survey is consistent and repeatable.
• It is a useful way of obtaining information about people's opinions, attitudes, preferences, and behaviors simply by asking.

  Survey Research
• Stratified Random Sampling - it is obtained by randomly sampling from people in each subgroup in the same proportions as they exist in the population
• Non-probability sampling

  • Quota Samplig
  • Convenience Sampling
  • Purposive Sampling
  • Snowball Sampling
• Snowball Sampling - a researcher locates one or a few people who fit the sample criterion and asks these people to locate or lead them to additional individuals.
• Simple Random Sampling - a portion of the whole population is selected in an unbiased way.
• It is the tendencies to respond to questions or test items in specific ways, regardless of the content.

  Response Style
• Validity - usually refers to the extent to which a survey actually measured the intended topic.
• Representatives how closely the sample mirror the larger population.
• Interval - measures magnitude or quantitative size using measures with equal intervals between the values.
• Collecting Survey Data:

  • Self-administered questionnaire
  • Mail Surveys
  • Interviews
• Systematic Random Sampling - all members of a population are known and can be listed in an unbiased way, a researcher may select every nth person from the population.
• Surveys allow us to gather data about experiences, feelings, thoughts, and motives that are hard to observe directly

  Survey Research
• If your questions are multiple choice, response styles can influence the selection of answers.

  Response Style
• A sample subjects is a subset of the population of interest.
• Probability Sampling - involves selecting subjects in such a way that the odds of their being in the study are known or can be calculated.
• Constructing Surveys:

  1. Map out your research objectives
  2. Write one or more questions to evaluate each aspects
  3. Design the survey items
• Ordinal - a rank ordering of response items.
• Some subjects are based on the acquiescence or non-acquiescence.

  Response Style
• Cluster Sampling - researchers sample entire clusters, or naturally occurring groups, that exist within the population.
• Survey allow us to gather large amounts of data efficiently.

  Survey Research
• Purposive Sampling - non-random samples are selected because the individuals reflect a specific purpose of the study.
• Ratio Scale - has equal intervals between all values and a true zero point.