Module 12: Designing Surveys

This module is part of the Social Science Research Methods Course programme which is a shared platform for providing research students with a broad range of quantitative and qualitative research methods skills that are relevant across the social sciences.

This module aims to provide students with an overview of survey methods, uses and limitations; to introduce students to the practicalities of design and use of surveys; to examine complexities of question and answer process; to examine practicalities of survey sampling and response.

Mphil Students from participating departments taking the Social Science Research Methods Course as part of their research degree

Number of sessions: 4

• Session 1: Introduction to survey design
• Session 2: Selection of respondents, sample, design and non- response
• Session 3: Modes of data collection, designing a standardised questionnaire
• Session 4: Designing questions, wording, context format and response bias

Students who attend this course will be able to:

• evaluate research that uses surveys, in particular to understand issues concerning sample selection, response bias and data quality
• to appreciate and use basic principles of questionnaire design
• to trace appropriate sources of data and appropriate exemplars of good survey practice.

Presentation

Short description [1000 words] on key issues in survey design

• Sapsford, R. (2006). Survey Research 2nd ed. London: Sage
• Sue, V. (2007). Conducting On Line Surveys, London: Sage
• de Vaus, D.A. (1991). Surveys in Social Research 3rd ed. London: UCL Press.
• Grooves, R. et al (2004). Survey Methodology, Wiley.
• Moser, K. and Kalton, G. (1989). Survey Methods in Social Investigation. (2nd ed.) Aldershot: Gower.
• Lee, R. (1993). Doing Research on Sensitive Topics. London: Sage.
• Biemer, P. et al. (1991). Measurement Errors in Surveys. Wiley.
• Lyberg, L. et al. (1997). Survey Measurement and Process Quality. Wiley.
• Hippler, H-J., Schwarz, N. and Sudman, S. (1987). Social Information Processing and Survey Methodology. Springer-Verlag.

• To gain the maximum benefits from the course it is important that students do not see this course in isolation from the other MPhil courses or research training they are taking. Responsibility lies with each student to consider the potential for their own research using methods common in fields of the social sciences that may seem remote. Ideally this task will be facilitated by integration of the SSRMC with discipline-specific courses in their departments and through reading and discussion.

One session of an hour and half

Once a year in Michalemas term