PART ONE
PLANNING AND DESIGNING THE SURVEY 1

Chapter 1
Initiating a Survey 3

The Quest for Information 3

Why Surveys Are Conducted 3

Surveys of an Audience 3

Surveys of a Clientele 4

Surveys of Other Populations 5

Alternative Research Methods 5

Primary Data Collection Options 6

Expectations of Survey Results 7

Survey Attributes 7

Survey Limitations 8

Surveys Don't Dictate Decisions 9

The Roles of the Participants 9

The Sponsor's Role 10

The Researcher's Role 10

Respondent Rights 12

Potential Survey Topics 13

Attitudes 13

Images 15

Decisions 17

Needs 19

Behavior 20

Lifestyles 22

Affiliations 22

Demographics 24

Conclusion 25

Chapter 2
Planning the Project 26

The Survey Process 26

Specifying Information Needs 27

Survey Information Value 28

Planning the Survey Elements 31

Data Collection 32

Sampling Design 38

Instrumentation 44

Data Processing 46

Report Generation 47

Project Costs and Timing 48

Cost Estimation 49

Project Timing 51

The Final Project Plan 54

Chapter 3
Designing the Sample 55

The Purpose of Sampling 55

Specification of the Population 55

Sample Unit Specification 56

Sample Frame Selection 57

Reliability and Validity 58

Validity and Bias 58

Reliability and Error 59

Sample Size Determination 60

Sample Size and Error 60

Confidence Level 61

The Outside Limits 62

Variance in the Population 64

Subsample Sizes 67

Judgment and Determination 68

Preliminary Sampling 70

Progressive Sampling 70

Sampling Designs 71

Random Sampling Benefits 71

Stratified Sampling 71

Cluster Sampling 74

Telephone Economy 76

Other Economies 76

Quota Sampling 76

Special Designs 78

Sample Selection Procedure 79

Random Selection Methods 79

Sample Selection Bias 80

Science and Art of Sampling 84

PART TWO
DEVELOPING SURVEY INSTRUMENTS 87

Chapter 4
Composing Questions 89

The Core of the Survey 89

Basic Attributes of Questions 89

Expressing the Questions 92

Instrumentation Bias and Error 95

Sources of Response Bias 101

Social Desirability 102

Question Format 107

Composing Categorical Items 110

Verbal and Numeric Items 113

Chapter 5
Creating Item Scales 116

Why Scales Are Used 116

Specificity of Scales 116

Scale Data Types 117

Multiple-Choice Question 118

Multiple-Response Items 118

Single-Response Items 119

Conventional Scale Types 120

The Likert Scale 120

The Verbal Frequency Scale 122

The Ordinal Scale 124

The Forced Ranking Scale 125

The Paired Comparison Scale 127

The Comparative Scale 129

The Linear, Numeric Scale 130

The Semantic Differential Scale 132

The Adjective Checklist 134

The Semantic Distance Scale 135

The Fixed Sum Scale 137

Scale Combinations 138

The Multiple-Rating List 138

The Multiple-Rating Matrix 140

The Diagram Scale 141

Nonverbal Scales 142

The Picture Scale 142

The Graphic Scale 142

Scale Selection Criteria 143

Chapter 6
Building Questionnaires 146

Function of the Questionnaire 146

Survey Introduction 146

A Sample Questionnaire 147

Questionnaire Organization 147

Creating Questionnaire Sections 156

Grouping Items by Topic 156

Grouping Items by Scaling Technique 157

Grouping Items Both Ways 157

Directing Response Flow 157

Conditional Branching 158

Unconditional Branching 161

Branching Limitations 161

Unlimited Branching 162

Instructions to Respondents 163

Concluding the Questionnaire 169

Minimizing Threat or Intimidation 170

The Demographic Section 171

Precoding the Questionnaire 173

Pretesting the Questionnaire 177

PART THREE
COLLECTING AND PROCESSING DATA 179

Chapter 7
Self-Administered Surveys 181

Self-Administered Questionnaires 181

Online Data Collection 181

Plain Text E-Mail Surveys 181

E-Mail Questionnaire Attachments 182

Web Surveys 183

Static Web Questionnaires 184

Interactive Web Questionnaires 185

Web Survey Samples 191

Software and Services 194

Postal Mail Surveys 194

The Paper Stock 196

Print Characteristics 197

Page Layout 198

Vendors and Services 198

Mailing Piece Components 201

The Mailing Envelope 202

The Cover Letter 202

Inducements to Respond 205

Selecting Inducements 206

Types of Inducements 207

Mailing and Receipt 210

Self-Administered Surveys 211

Chapter 8
Collecting Interview Data 213

Role of the Interviewer 213

Mode of Interviewing 213

Data Collection Agencies 215

Interviewer Management Functions 223

Interviewing Error 229

The Interview Questionnaire 231

The Personal Interviewing Process 236

The Telephone Interview Process 238

Chapter 9
Processing the Data 242

Receipt of Questionnaires 242

Data Receipt 242

Handling Completed Questionnaires 243

Sight-Editing Printed Documents 244

Postcoding the Data 246

Data Entry Documents 253

Computer Data Editing 255

Data Processing 257

Purpose of Data Processing 258

Scale and Data Types 258

Nominal Scale Data 259

Ordinal Scale Data 260

Interval Scale Data 260

The Ratio Scale 261

Recoding the Data 261

PART FOUR
INTERPRETING AND REPORTING RESULTS 267

Chapter 10
Describing Data Distributions 269

Statistical Data Description 269

Category Data Description 270

Interpreting Category Data 273

Continuous Data Distribution 277

Central Tendency and Averages 278

Measures of Dispersion or Spread 280

Shape of the Distribution 283

Interpreting the Statistics 286

The Meaning of Bimodality 295

Statistical Inference 297

Standard Error of the Estimate 297

Confidence Interval 299

Chapter 11
Measuring Item Interactions 301

Relationships Between Variables 301

Dependent and Independent Variables 302

Statistical Measures of Association 304

Cross-Tabulation 308

Interpreting Cross-Tabulation 311

Analysis of Variance 314

Interpreting Analysis of Variance 318

Interpreting Paired t-Tests 321

Discriminant Analysis 323

Regression and Correlation Analysis 324

Interpreting Correlation 326

Interpreting Regression Analysis 333

Interpreting versus Reporting 338

Chapter 12
Reporting the Information 341

Information Need Satisfaction 341

Report Introduction 342

Tabular Reporting 345

Graphic Reporting 347

Reporting Data Description 351

Reporting Multiple-Choice Items 351

Likert Scale Item Reports 355

Verbal Frequency Scale Reports 356

Ordinal Scale Reports 357

Forced Ranking Scale Reports 359

Paired Comparison Scale Reports 360

Comparative Scale Reports 362

Linear, Numeric Scale Reports 364

Semantic Differential Scale Reports 364

Adjective Checklist Reports 367

Semantic Distance Scale Reports 368

Fixed Sum Scale Reports 370

Measures of Association 373

Cross-Tabulation Reports 373

Analysis of Variance Reports 375

Paired t-Test Reports 376

Correlation Analysis Reports 379

Regression Analysis Reports 380

Concluding the Project 383

Hard Copy Reports 383

Online Report Generation 384

Wrapping Up the Project 384

Appendix A
Conducting Focus Groups 386

Focus Group Characteristics 386

Advantages and Disadvantages 386

Focus Group Requirements 389

Focus Group Agenda 390

Translating Information Needs 391

Focus Group Participants 393

Selection Criteria 393

Screening Candidates 394

Focus Group Moderators 396

Personal Attributes 396

Focus Group Interpretations 398

Monitoring and Recording 398

Analysis and Application 400

Appendix B
Conducting Experiments 403

Experimentation and Causality 403

Types of Experiments 403

Experimental Designs 406

Seriously Flawed Designs 407

Genuine Experimental Designs 409

Imperfect Experimental Designs 412

External Validity of Experiments 416

Artificiality and Generalizability 416

Blind Testing 417

Experimentation and Survey Methods 418

Appendix C
Presenting Survey Results 420

Why Do a Presentation? 420

Presentation Advantages 420

Presentation Disadvantages 420

Planning and Preparation 421

Selecting Content 422

Choosing Presenters 422

Organization and Timing 426

Presentation Technology 430

Presentation Software 430

Projection Equipment 431

Making the Presentation 433

Presentation Anxiety 433

Using Notes Effectively 433

Pacing and Timing 434

Concluding the Presentation 434

Glossary 437

Index 452