Introduction To Survey Research 1204374176684974 5 (1)

Lecture 1 Survey Research & Design in Psychology James Neill, 2010 Introduction to Survey Research

Overview
Types of research
Survey research characteristics
Purposes of survey research
Goals of survey research
Pros and cons
Summary

Types of Research

Types of Research ( Research Methods ) There are 3 main research methods:
Experimental
Quasi-experimental
Non-experimental
Surveys and questionnaires may be applied in each type of research.

Types of Research - Experimental Characterised by:
Random assignment
Control over extraneous variables
Powerful method, but can be difficult to do and may not be ecologically valid

Types of Research - Quasi-experimental Characterised by:
Use of “naturally occuring” groups e.g., fans of different football codes
Non-random assignment
Control over some extraneous variables e.g., use criteria for selecting codes and fans

Types of Research - Non-experimental Characterised by:
No “groups” or “conditions” are used e.g., students at a university
Minimal control over extraneous variables

Quiz question 1 What type of research is the following? A researcher seeks to survey community attitudes to eating non-traditional meat (e.g. venison, kangaroo).
Experimental
Quasi-experimental
Non-experimental

Quiz question 2 What type of research is the following? A researcher conducts a study in which the study habits of university students who regularly use marijuana are compared with uni students who do not regular use marijuana.
Experimental
Quasi-experimental
Non-experimental

Quiz question 3 What type of research is the following? A researcher randomly allocates volunteers to either a morning or evening exercise routine and measures their sleep patterns.
Experimental
Quasi-experimental
Non-experimental

Survey Research Characteristics

History of survey research
Survey research methodology was initially developed in the 1940's – 1960's.
Since the 1980's, theories and principles evolved to create a unified perspective on the design, conduct, and evaluation of surveys ( survey science ).

Some Fields Which Use Survey Research Field Examples Demographics Census Marketing Customer satisfation Politics Polls Psychology Attitudes, Emotions Sociology Social trends

Some Psychological Topics in Survey Research
Attitudes and opinions: o/55's feelings about extending retirement age
Behaviours: extent to which households recycle
Motivations: reasons for attending university
Emotions: Levels of stress and anxiety
Satisfaction: Custom experiences

Usage : Surveys are widely used in the social sciences.
Systematic : Follows specific procedures based on survey science and the scientific method.
Types : Often presented as interviews or questionnaires.

Impartial sampling: Units are selected from the population without prejudice or preference and so as to be representative.
Data : Often quantitative, but can be qualitative.
Replicable : Other people using the same methods are likely to get essentially the same results

Purposes of Survey Research

Purposes of Survey Research There are two broad purposes of survey-based research:

Purposes of Survey Research – Information Gathering The goal is to gather information e.g.,
polls
census
customer satisfaction
attitudes

Purposes of Research – Theory Testing & Building The goal is to test and build theory e.g.,
Personality and social psychology theories
Often surveys do some info gathering and some theory testing.

Survey Research Purposes Further consider four possible purposes of survey research: Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory Predictive

Survey Research Purposes - Exploratory The goal is to discover and explore phenomena e.g., “ What psychological issues are being experienced by survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004?”

Survey Research Purposes - Descriptive The goal is to describe phenomena e.g.,
Consumer profiles (age, gender)
Working conditions (hours, pay)

Survey Research Purposes - Explanatory The goal is to explain phenomena by looking at the relations between, and patterns amongst, variables e.g.,
“ Are extraverts happier than introverts? Why? ( or why not?)

Survey Research Purposes - Predictive The goal is to be able to make accurate/useful predictions – i.e., what will happen?, e.g.,
“ Does a couple’s length of time together prior to having children predict relationship satisfaction after having children?”

Quiz question 4 What is the purpose of this study? A researcher surveys conducts an ethnographic study to investigate what its like to live as a member of a particular religious commune.
Exploratory
Descriptive
Explanatory
Predictive

Quiz question 5 What is the purpose of this study? A researcher surveys community attitudes to eating non-traditional meat (e.g. venison, kangaroo).
Exploratory
Descriptive
Explanatory
Predictive

Quiz question 6 What is the purpose of this study? A researcher surveys student attitudes towards attending lectures and tutorial and also measures the Big 5 personality variables.
Exploratory
Descriptive
Explanatory
Predictive

Pros and Cons

Advantages of Survey-Based Research
Ecological validity
Access to wide range of participants
Potentially large amounts of data
May be more ethical (than experiments)

Disadvantages of Survey-Based Research
Lack of control -> less internal validity
Data may be 'superficial'
Can be costly to obtain representative data
Self-report data only
Potentially low compliance rates

Survey Research Exercise (Part of Quiz 1) Worth 50% of Quiz 1 (~1% overall) Deadline: Midnight, Sunday 28th February, 2010

Survey Research Exercise Start a new forum thread and post :
Descriptive title/subject line
APA style reference and link to an openly-available survey-based research study in the psychological sciences
1-para summary of the survey research method
1-para summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the survey-based research method
Approx. 250 to 300 words

Summary

Summary - 1
Three main types of research: experimental, quasi-experimental, or non-experimental.
Survey research is often non-experimental, using interviews or questionnaires.
Survey research is characterised by its systemic approach to sampling representative units.

Summary - 2
Two main purposes of research are info gathering and theory testing/building (and both).
Four research goals are: exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, or predictive goals.

Summary - 3 Survey research pros:
ecological validity
efficiency
Cons include:
lack of control over extraneous variables,
low compliance, and
reliance on self-report data.

References Backstrom, C. H., & Hursh-César, G. (1981). Survey research (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.

Introduction To Survey Research 1204374176684974 5 (1)

by kwing on Apr 04, 2010

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