Survey Research Design

7/28/2019 Survey Research Design

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Survey Research Design



Definition: A survey to obtain information

about the prevalence , distribution and

interrelations of variables within the

population.

[Denise F .Polit , 8th edition ]

Eg: Deccennial census of the US

population .



If a survey is conducted on a sampleof population , it s called sample

survey and if entire population is

involved ,it is called a populationsurvey, such as censuses,etc.



Main Features

Survey research is a process of gathering current required data from thesubjects so that new information can beobtained. The best feature of surveyresearch is that it enables theinvestigators to easily collect concurrentinformation about what they wish tostudy.

In survey research , information iscollected from a mix of subjects whorepresent the total population in the

characteristics being studied.



Survey research is a mode of enquiry that

relies heavily upon the validity of verbal

reports. Surveys can be descriptive ,

exploratory, comparative, and correlational ,depending upon the nature of phenomenon

being studied.

Survey can be collected in different ways.The most common method is questioning.

The information is obtainesd directly from the

respondents by self reporing questionnaries



Depending on the objective Surveysare classified as :

1 Discriptive survey,

2 Exploratory survey,

3Explanatory survey,

4 Comparitive survey.



1 .Discriptive survey:

The only objective of descriptive

study is to be objective . The design

describes objectively the nature of situations, behavior or attitude under

study.



2.Exploratory survey

In this design , the researcher

explores the regions of a situation or

phenomena about which little is known. Through this design , the researcher

opens up new boundaries for

extensive research rather than mereunderstanding of the relationship

between phenomena.



3.Explanatory survey:

This design is applied in studies to

assess the casual relationship

between two variables , phenomenonor situations. The studies often involve

testing of hypothesis with more

significance to the qualitative aspect of the data.



4.Comparative survey:

It compares similar aspects of two

distinct groups. It could be

Knowledge perception or attitudelevel. A comparative study is different

from experimental study in fact that

there is no manipulation of theindependent variable

C



Comparative study should be

prospective or retrospective

studies Retrospective studies, for thedependent variable (effect) identified

in the present , an attempt is made to

identify the independent variables(cause ) that have occurred in the

past. Such studies are also termed as

ex-post facto studies (after –

fact –

studies)



Prospective studies, the effect( dependent

variable ) of the present cause

(independent variable )is assessed in

future .Prospective studies use anexperimental approach . Much of

prospective studies are costly and

participant dropout rate is also high. Sothey are less common than prospective

studies. Prospective studies are

commonly used by the epidemiologists.



Evaluative survey: This survey is

charactreised by an evaluation judgement

that would be made about the

respondents . The evaluation would beformative evaluation (which is an ongoing

evaluation),summative evaluation(where

merits and demerits are evaluated at theend of the development of a programme

)or free from evaluation (where an

external evaluator reviews the findings ).



Based on method of data

collection Written survey: In a written survey,

data are collected with the help of

written , structured tools , such as

questionnaires , opinionnaires, etc.Questionnaires differ from interviews

in that they are self administered.

They are sometimes referred as(SAQs), that is self administered

questionnaires.



Eg: Becksand Calister and Kirchhoff 2006 mailed survey to 1409 members

of American nurses association of

Critical Care nurses to collectsuggestions for improving end life care

in intensive care units.



Oral survey

Data in an oral survey is collected byusing face to face or telephonicconversation or interview with the

respondents .Personal interviews inwhich interviewers meet in personwith respondents to ask themquestions . personal interviews are

often costly because they tend toinvolve extensive preparation(eg:interviewer training ) and a lot of personnel time.



Example for survey with personalinterview: Mc Facrlane and collegues

(2005) conducted a personal interview

survey of more than 7000 women inprimary health care clinics in Texas .

Their objective was to eliminate

racial/ethnic difference in annualprevalence and severity of intimate

partner abuse.



Electronic survey: when data iscollected by using electronic means

such as –mail messages , web forms

, mobile short message service(SMS)etc, it is known as electronic

survey. Large surveys are increasingly

relying on new technologies to assistin data collection . Most common are

CATI andCAPI.



Example of CATI: Lauder , Mummeryand Sharkey (2006)conducted a

survey to examine the relationship

between loneliness on the one handand age , religiosity, and social capital

on the other. A sample of more than

1200 people in United Kingdom wereinterviewed using CATI method.



Audio –CASI(computer assisted

self interview) Audio : technology is the state of art

approach for giving respondents more

privacy than is possible in an .It is

especially useful for populations withliteracy problems.With audio CASI ,

respondents sit at a computer and

listen to the questions over head phones.

Respondents enter responses (usuallysimple codes like 1or 2 )directly into the

key board, without the interviewer having

to see the responses.



Merits of survey studies

Data collection in a natural setting .

Variables are assessed as they exist

in the socio therapeutic environment.

The design reaches a large number of subjects and needs less time to

administer.

A valid result will be obtained if studyis carefully planned.



The greatest advantage of surveyresearch is flexibility and broadness of

scope.

The design can be applied to manypopulations , it can focus on a wide

range of topics and information can be

used for many purposes.



Demerits of survey studies

Only self report is assessed.

Can involve bias when response rate

is high.

Researcher loses the feel of thesituation unless he does an interview.

The content of the survey is limited

only by the extent to whichrespondents are able and willing to

report the topic.



Documents

Survey Research Design