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Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies
Unpacking The Black Box Of Survey Costs, Kristen M. Olson
Unpacking The Black Box Of Survey Costs, Kristen M. Olson
Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications
Survey costs are a critically important input to and constraint on the quality of data collected from surveys. Much about survey costs is unknown, leading to lack of understanding of the drivers of survey costs, the relationship between survey costs and survey errors, and difficulty in justifying the importance of survey data versus other available administrative or organic data. This commentary outlines a recently developed typology for survey costs, illustrates this typology using methodological articles that report on costs in pharmacy surveys, and provides recommendations for research on the relationship between fixed and variable costs as a major area for …
The Effect Of Question Characteristics On Question Reading Behaviors In Telephone Surveys, Kristen M. Olson, Jolene Smyth, Antje Kirchner
The Effect Of Question Characteristics On Question Reading Behaviors In Telephone Surveys, Kristen M. Olson, Jolene Smyth, Antje Kirchner
Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications
Asking questions fluently, exactly as worded, and at a reasonable pace is a fundamental part of a survey interviewer’s role. Doing so allows the question to be asked as intended by the researcher and may decrease the risk of measurement error and contribute to rapport. Despite the central importance placed on reading questions exactly as worded, interviewers commonly misread questions, and it is not always clear why. Thus, understanding the risk of measurement error requires understanding how different interviewers, respondents, and question features may trigger question reading problems. In this article, we evaluate the effects of question features on question …
Are Self-Description Scales Better Than Agree/Disagree Scales?, Jerry Timbrook, Jolene Smyth, Kristen M. Olson
Are Self-Description Scales Better Than Agree/Disagree Scales?, Jerry Timbrook, Jolene Smyth, Kristen M. Olson
Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications
Questions using agree/disagree (A/D) scales are ubiquitous in survey research because they save time and space on questionnaires through display in grids, but they have also been criticized for being prone to acquiescent reports. Alternatively, questions using self-description (SD) scales (asking respondents how well a statement describes them from Completely to Not at All) can also be presented in grids or with a common question stem, and by omitting the word agree, SD scales may reduce acquiescence. However, no research has examined how response patterns may differ across A/D and SD scales. In this article, we compare survey …
A Comparison Of Fully Labeled And Top-Labeled Grid Question Formats, Jolene Smyth, Kristen M. Olson
A Comparison Of Fully Labeled And Top-Labeled Grid Question Formats, Jolene Smyth, Kristen M. Olson
Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications
The grid question format is common in mail and web surveys. In this format, a single question stem introduces a set of items, which are listed in rows of a table underneath the question stem. The table’s columns contain the response options, usually only listed at the top, with answer spaces arrayed below and aligned with the items (Dillman et al. 2014).This format is efficient for respondents; they do not have to read the full question stem and full set of response options for every item in the grid. Likewise, it is space efficient for the survey researcher, which reduces …