RESEARCH METHODOLOGY• SURVEY RESEARCH

• CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

• QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION

By Aysha Mohd Sharif

SURVEY RESEARCH

WHAT IS SURVEY RESEARCH?

• Survey research designs are procedures in quantitative research in which investigators administer a survey to a sample or to the entire population of people to describe the attitudes, opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of the population.

• Survey studies describe trends in the data rather than offering rigorous explanations.

• Surveys help identify important beliefs and attitudes of individuals towards national trends or policies.

ADVANTAGES ERRORS

• Survey data can be collected from many people at relatively low cost and, depending on the survey design, relatively quickly.

• Survey research is very appealing when sample generalizability is a central research goal.

• Survey research is often the only means available for developing a representative picture of the attitudes and characteristics of a large population.

• Coverage of the population can be inadequate due to a poor sampling frame.

• The process of random sampling can result in sampling error—differences between the characteristics of the sample members and the population that arise due to chance.

• Nonresponse can distort the sample when individuals refuse to respond or cannot be contacted.

-Research Design and Data Collection

TYPES OF SURVEY DESIGN

Cross sectional survey design

• A cross-sectional study can examine current attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or practices. Attitudes, beliefs, and opinions are ways in which individuals think about issues.

Longitudinal survey design

• A longitudinal survey design involves the survey procedure of collecting data about trends with the same population, changes in a cohort group or subpopulation, or changes in a panel group of the same individuals over time.

Cross-Sectional Survey Design

• A cross-sectional study can examine current attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or practices. A cross-sectional design compares two or more educational groups in terms of attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or practices.

• A cross-sectional design can measure community needs of educational services as they relate to programs, courses, school facilities projects, or involvement in the schools or in community planning.

• Some cross-sectional designs evaluate a program, such as a survey that provides useful information to decision makers.

• A final type of cross-sectional design is a large-scale assessment of students or teachers, such as a statewide study or a national survey involving thousands of participants.

Longitudinal Survey Design

• In some surveys, researchers aim to study changes within some general population over a period of time (Babbie, 1998) which is called a trend study.

• A cohort study is a longitudinal survey design in which a researcher identifies a subpopulation based on some specific characteristic and then studies that subpopulation over time. All members of the cohort must have the common characteristic.

• A panel study is a longitudinal survey design in which the researcher examines the same people over time.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

• Sampling from a population

• Collecting data through questionnaires or interviews.

• Designing instruments for data collection.

• Obtaining a high response rate.

Steps In Conducting Research

• Step 1. Decide if a Survey Is the Best Design to Use

• Step 2. Identify the Research Questions or Hypotheses

• Step 3. Identify the Population, the Sampling Frame, and the Sample

• Step 4. Determine the Survey Design and Data Collection Procedures

• Step 5. Develop or Locate an Instrument

• Step 6. Administer the Instrument

• Step 7. Analyze the Data to Address the Research Questions or Hypotheses

• Step 8. Write the Report

CORRELATIONALRESEARCH

WHAT IS CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH?

• A correlation is a statistical test to determine the tendency or pattern for two (or more) variables or two sets of data to vary consistently.

• The statistic that expresses a correlation statistic as a linear relationship is the product– moment correlation coefficient.

• This design allows you to predict an outcome, such as the prediction that ability, quality of schooling, student motivation, and academic coursework influence student achievement (Anderson & Keith, 1997).

TYPES OF CORRELATIONAL DESIGN

• An explanatory research design is a correlational design in which the researcher is interested in the extent to which two variables (or more) co-vary, that is, where changes in one variable are reflected in changes in the other.

• The prediction research design is to identify variables that will predict an outcome or criterion and includes a predictable variable which is also called criterion variable because it is the outcome of the correlational research.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

• Displays of scores (scatterplots and matrices) :- In a correlation research you can plot two scores on a graph (or scatterplot) or present them in a table (or correlation matrix).

• Associations between scores (direction, form, and strength) :- They interpret the meaning of the association between scores which includes understanding the direction of the association, the form of the distribution, the degree of association, and its strength.

• Multiple variable analysis (partial correlations and multiple regression):- In many correlation studies, researchers predict outcomes based on more than one predictor variable. Thus, they need to account for the impact of each variable.

STEPS CONDUCTING THE RESEARCH

• Step 1. Determine If a Correlational Study Best Addresses the Research Problem

• Step 2. Identify Individuals to Study

• Step 3. Identify Two or More Measures for Each Individual in the Study

• Step 4. Collect Data and Monitor Potential Threats

• Step 5. Analyze the Data and Represent the Result

• Step 6. Interpret the Results

QUESTIONNAIRECONSTRUCTION

WHAT IS A QUESTIONNAIRE?Questionnaires are used in sample surveys or censuses to elicit

reports of facts, attitudes, and other subjective states.

Constructing a Questionnaire

• Constructing a questionnaire involves many decisions about the wording and ordering of questions, selection and wording of response categories, formatting and mode of administration of the questionnaire and introducing and explaining the survey. It includes the following:-

• Question wording

• Terminology

• Complexity and ambiguity

• Presupposition

Construction

• Question Wording:- Question wording effects speak to the power and complexity of the language processing even when the respondents are paying half attention.

• Terminology:- “Avoid ambiguity” is a truism of questionnaire design. Language is inherently ambiguous and seemingly simple words may have multiple meanings.

• Complexity and ambiguity:-Ambiguity arise from contradictory grammatical and semantic elements. Overloaded with ambiguity and complexity may result in lost of questions leading to mis -interpretations.

• Presupposition:- A presupposition is true regardless whether statement itself is true of false-that it is constant under negation.

-Elizabeth Martin (2001)

TYPES OF QUESTIONS

• Personal, Attitudinal Behavioral Questions.

• Sensitive Questions

• Open and close ended Questions.

Check List For Questionnaire

• It is short and encourages the busy professional to return to it.

• Begins with demographic or personal questions that respondents can answer easily.

• Use close ended questions for getting info about (“how many years they have worked for”) etc.

• Include open ended questions where they can share their experiences and definitions.

• Should contain a pleasing layout with “white space” and a clear scale.

• Should include closing instructions thanking the respondents for participating in the study.

Thank You!AYSHA MOHD SHARIF