Lecture # 04 for Media Research (Survey Research)

1. 11
Dr. Akhlas Ahmed
Greenwich University
Lecture # 04 July 23rd
2014

2. 2
 Descriptive research is also known as non-
experimental research
 Asks the basic question: What is?
 No manipulation of variables
 Measure and record events that would happen
anyway
2
Descriptive Research

3. 3
 Manipulation of variables may be impossible or
unethical
 Effects of megadoses of anabolic steroids on strength
 Deliberately causing injury to study different types of
therapy
 No randomization, therefore less control and
many threats to internal validity
 Cause-and-effect is more difficult to establish
3

4. 4
 Survey – technique of
descriptive research that
seeks to determine
present practices or
opinions of a specified
population
 Types of survey research
include the questionnaire,
interview, and normative
survey
4
Survey

5. 5
 Durell, D. L., Pujol, T. J., & Barnes, J. T. (2003). A
survey of the scientific data and training methods
utilized by collegiate strength and conditioning
coaches. J Strength Cond Res, 17(2), 368-373.
 Schick MG, Brown LE, Coburn JW, Beam WC, Schick
EE, Dabbs NC. Physiological profile of mixed martial
artists. Medicina Sportiva. 14(4):182-187, 2010.
 Rossi MD, Brown LE, Whitehurst M. Knee extensor
and flexor torque characteristics before and after
unilateral total knee arthroplasty. American Journal
of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. 85(9):737-
746, 2006.

6. 6
 Questionnaire – type of paper-and-pencil
survey used in descriptive research in which
information is obtained by asking
participants to respond to questions rather
than by observing their behavior
 Limitation is that results are simply what
people say they do, believe, like, dislike, etc.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOqXlbWf9Io
6
Questionnaire

7. 7
 Determine the objectives
 What information is wanted?
 How will the results be analyzed?
 Will comparisons be made between groups of
respondents?
7
Questionnaire, cont’d

8. 8
 Delimit the sample
 What is the specific population you wish to
examine?
▪ Adults vs. children
▪ Exercisers vs. nonexercisers (how do you define exercisers?)
▪ Elite coaches
8
Questionnaire, cont’d

9. 9
 Your sample must be representative of the
population
 Sampling error
▪ Many samples may be drawn from a population
▪ Each sample will yield different results
▪ The difference between samples is the sampling error
(amount of error to expect in a single sample)
 Sample size
▪ Must be adequate to represent population of interest
▪ Must be practical from the standpoint of time and cost
9
Questionnaire, cont’d

10. 10
 Construct the questionnaire
 Open-ended questions
▪ Category of question in questionnaires and interviews
that allows the respondent considerable latitude to
express feelings and to expand on ideas
▪ Example: “How do you think things went today?”
▪ Drawbacks:
▪ Respondents don’t like them
▪ They are time-consuming to answer
▪ Limited control over the types of answers given
▪ May be more difficult to analyze
10
Questionnaire, cont’d

11. 11
 Closed questions
▪ Category of question found in questionnaires or
interviews that requires a specific response and that
often takes the form of rankings, scaled items, or
categorical responses
▪ Ranking – type of closed question that forces the
respondent to place responses in a rank order according
to some criterion
11
Questionnaire, cont’d

12. 12
▪ Example of Ranking: From what sources has most of
your nutrition information come? Rank top 3
12
Questionnaire, cont’d

13. 13
▪ Scaled items – type of closed question that requires
participants to indicate the strength of their agreement
or disagreement with some statement or the relative
frequency of some behavior
▪ Example of scaled item: In a required physical
education program, students should be required to
take at least one dance class.
1. Strongly disagree
2. Disagree
3. Undecided
4. Agree
5. Strongly agree
13
Survey Research Process, cont’d

14. 14
▪ Likert-type scale – consists of 3 to 9 items
▪ Equal intervals between responses, i.e., difference
between “strongly agree, and “agree is considered
equivalent
14
Questionnaire, cont’d

15. 15
▪ Categorical response – type of
closed question that offers
the participant only two
responses, such as yes or no
▪ Possible responses include
yes/no, true/false,
female/male, etc.
15
Questionnaire, cont’d

16. 16
 Appearance and design
▪ Appearance has been shown to affect response rate
▪ Provide written instructions for completion
▪ First few questions should be easy to answer
▪ Short questionnaires have higher response rates
16
Questionnaire, cont’

17. 17
 Conduct a pilot study
 Send questionnaire to colleagues or
acquaintances
 Revise and send to sample of population of
interest
 Analyze results as part of pilot study
 Revise again and use
17
Questionnaire, cont’d

18. 18
 Write the cover letter
 Be professional and concise
 Explain purpose and importance
 Assure respondent of their privacy and anonymity
 Use institutional letterhead if applicable
 Rewards and incentives may be used, including
money
18
Questionnaire, cont’d

19. 19
 Send the questionnaire
 Include self-addressed, stamped envelope
 E-mail, fax, and the internet may also be used
19
Questionnaire, cont’d
http://www.surveymonkey.com/?cmpid=us:ps:google&gclid=CPb-u_7WmqACFQVaago

20. 20
 Follow-up
 Wait at least 10 days for follow-up
 Wait another 10 days then send another
questionnaire
 Keep in mind that respondents are “self-selected”
and this biases your results
20
Questionnaire, cont’d

21. 21
 Analyze the results
 These topics will be discussed later in class
21
Questionnaire, cont’d

22. 22
 Delphi survey method – survey technique
that uses a series of questionnaires in such a
way that the respondents (usually experts)
reach a consensus about the subject
 Survey is sent to respondents (experts)
 Results are sent to respondents and they are
asked to reconsider their answers
22
Delphi Survey Method

23. 23
 Essentially the same as the questionnaire
except questioning is done orally instead of in
writing
 Higher response rate but smaller samples
than questionnaire
23
Personal Interview

24. 24
 Advantages of the
personal interview:
 More adaptable
 Interviewer can
observe the
respondent
 Greater rate of return
than questionnaire
 Easier to explain
questions
24
Personal Interview, cont’d

25. 25
 Normative survey – survey method that
involves establishing norms for abilities,
performances, beliefs, and attitudes
 Similar to questionnaire except that tests are
administered
 AAHPERD Youth Fitness Test (1958)
 National Children and Youth Fitness Study
(1985, 1987)

26. 26