A Practical Introduction to Survey Design: A Beginner's Guide
Student Resources
8. Survey administration
Why is sampling important in survey research?
So as to realise a key advantage of survey research: generalisability back to the broader population.
What are the two main forms of sampling and what are the differences between them?
Probabilistic and non-probabilistic. Probabilistic sampling is based on the mathematical concept of probability meaning that every case in the sampling frame should have equal chance of being selected for the sample. Non-probabilistic sampling does not seek to give all cases in the sampling frame equal chance of being selected in the sample.
What are some of the current problems researchers face in constructing a representative sample?
Various modes of survey administration such as phone surveys, because landline subscriptions listed in a phone book have declined considerably. Some web-based surveys also suffer because not everyone is connected to the internet, social media, or email.
What are the main modes of survey administration?
Face-to-face, telephone interview, mail-out and return, and web-based.
What are four key tasks of survey administration?
Deciding on a mode, construction of sample, construction of the survey, and creating a codebook.
What are the benefits and limitations of each mode of survey administration?
Face-to-face: interviewer on hand to ask questions. Can be intrusive, expensive, and people need to be trained.
Telephone interview: same as face-to-face, however much lower qualities of samples due to increasing numbers of potential respondents not being able to be contacted by phone.
Mail-out and return: inexpensive, efficient, and can reach a representative sample easier. Self-completion can pose problems for respondents who might struggle with some questions, or who might disregard the survey altogether.
Web-based: easy to design, can reach respondents efficiently, quite easy to complete. Cannot reach potential respondents who are not connected to the internet, social media, or email. Can be hard to construct representative samples.
Why are aesthetics important in survey design?
To make the survey clear and legible for ease of identifying and answering questions, to make the survey appealing, to give the survey an ideologically neutral tone, and to make the survey look professional.