9. Survey design and data analysis

What are the main activities associated with constructing a data set from completed surveys in SPSS?

Marking returned surveys for identification, creating the variable in SPSS by entering the name, label, values (codes) and missing values. Entering the values according to the coding for each measure.

What is involved in cleaning and preparing the data and why are these activities important?

Checking for errors in transcribing data, ensuring variable labels and values are correct, recoding data, assessing missing data from variables, creating composite measures. These activities are important because they prepare the data for analysis and go some way to reducing errors.

What are the benefits of recoding?

To make data more manageable and efficient to analyse.

How is data analysis related to question construction in survey design?

The type of data analysis that can be undertaken is directly related to the types of questions a survey has that define their level of measurement, which in turn permits or excludes various kinds of analysis.

What is the difference between a scale and an index?

A scale is a composite measure composed of a number of the same question types concerning a concept and an index is a composite measure composed of different question types relating to an underlying concept.

What are some of the main uses of univariate analysis?

To see the distribution of a variable, to assess how a measure might have changed over time and to establish key patterns for variables of interest.

What is the difference between bivariate analysis and multivariate analysis?

Bivariate analysis is analysis between two variables, an independent and dependent variable, and multivariate analysis if analysis between two or more independent variables on two or more dependent variables.