The practice of survey research : theory and applications / Erin E Ruel; William E Wagner; Brian Joseph Gillespie

Focusing on the use of technology in survey research, this book integrates both theory and application and covers important elements of survey research including survey design, implementation and continuing data management.

Part I: Before the Survey Chapter 1: Introduction to Survey Research What is survey research? How do you know if a survey is good? Surveys about Teachers: Are They Good Teachers? Applications of Survey Research Technology and Survey Research The Ethics of Survey Research Key Decisions about Survey Research: What's Ahead Part II: Questionnaire Design Chapter 2: Types of Surveys Omnibus Surveys Administration Importance of Proper Training of Interviewers Types of Surveys Chapter 3: The Survey Instrument The Cover Letter The Survey Instrument Appearance, Formatting, and Design Chapter 4: Survey Question Construction Concept Measurement: Traits, Assessments, and Sentiments Complex Concepts Question Development Responses to Questions Measurement Error Chapter 5: Validity and Reliability Reliability Correlation Types of Reliability and Estimation Validity Chapter 6: Pre-testing and Pilot Testing Pre-testing Pilot Testing Pre-test and Pilot Test Limitations Part III: Implementing a Survey Chapter 7: Selecting a Sample: Probability Sampling Sampling Terminology Sampling Theory Probability Sampling Techniques Chapter 8: Non-Probability Sampling and Sampling Hard to Find Populations Convenience Sampling Quota Sampling Purposive Sampling Sampling Hard to Find Populations Chapter 9: Improving Response Rates and Retention Response Rates and Non-response Errors Non-response Bias Attrition in Panel Studies Methods to Increase Participant Contact and Participant Cooperation Chapter 10: Technologies to Develop and Implement Surveys Mail Survey Administration Computer-assisted Interviewing Post-survey Data Entry and Data Cleaning Technology Contracting with a Research Center to Conduct the Survey Chapter 11: Data Collection The Self-administered Cross-sectional Mailed Survey The Self-administered Longitudinal Panel Mailed Survey Interviewer-administered Surveys Self-administered Web Surveys Comparing Survey Types Storage Needs Part IV: Post-Survey Data Management and Analysis Chapter 12: Data Entry Data Entry Documentation Chapter 13: Data Cleaning Simple Cross-sectional Data Cleaning Cosmetic Cleaning Skip Patterns Multiple-response Questions, Other Specify and Open-ended Questions Cleaning for Diagnostics Interviewer Effects/Mode Effects Cleaning Longitudinal Data The Codebook Chapter 14: Data Analysis for a Policy Report Policy Reports Descriptive Statistics Analysis for a Policy Report Summary The Report Write-up Chapter 15: More Advanced Data Analysis Explanatory Research Questions Journal Article Format Regression Analysis Addressing Missing Data OLS Regressions of the Positive Relocation Scale Creating Tables for the Journal Article and Writing-up the Results Chapter 16: Data Archiving Seeking External Funding for Your Survey Project Archiving Original and Final Data Data Format Archiving and Making Data Publicly Available Archives Epilogue Survey Administration checklist Survey Design and Organization Checklist Writing Good Questions Checklist Piloting or Pre-Testing the Survey Checklist Choosing a Sample Checklist Improving Response Rates Checklist.