An Introduction to Survey Research, Volume II: Carrying Out the Survey

139 Pages·2019·2.652 MB·English

by  Emeritus L. Cowles, Edward Nelson

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Curriculum-oriented, born- Ernest L. Cowles • Edward Nelson
An Introduction to
digital books for advanced
business students, written Survey research is a powerful tool to help understand how and why
by academic thought individuals behave the way they do. Properly conducted, surveys
can provide accurate insights into areas such as attitudes, opinions, Survey Research,
leaders who translate real-
motivations, and values, which serve as the drivers of individual
world business experience
behavior. This two-volume book is intended to introduce funda-
into course readings and
mentals of good survey research to students and practitioners of Volume II
reference materials for
the survey process as well as end-users of survey information.
students expecting to tackle
This second volume focuses on carrying out a survey— including
management and leadership how to formulate survey questions, steps that researchers must Carrying Out the
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Ernest L. Cowles is professor emeritus of sociology at California T Second Edition
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State University, Sacramento. He served as the director of the O
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and printing Institute for Social Research for 8 years and continues as a sen- T
ior research fellow. Before becoming director of the Institute for O
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of Illinois for 10 years. Beyond his academic work, he has served R
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taught research methods, quantitative methods, critical thinking, I
and computer applications. He has published books on observation
in sociological research, and using SPSS, a statistical computing
package widely used in the social sciences.
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Donald N. Stengel, Editor
An Introduction to Survey
Research, Volume II

An Introduction to Survey
Research, Volume II
Carrying Out the Survey
Second Edition
Ernest L. Cowles
Edward Nelson
An Introduction to Survey Research, Volume II, Second Edition: Carrying
Out the Survey
Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2019.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—
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brief quotations, not to exceed 250 words, without the prior permission
of the publisher.
First published in 2019 by
Business Expert Press, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.businessexpertpress.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-94999-128-4 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-94999-129-1 (e-book)
Business Expert Press Quantitative Approaches to Decision Making
Collection
Collection ISSN: 2153-9515 (print)
Collection ISSN: 2163-9582 (electronic)
Cover and interior design by S4Carlisle Publishing Services Private Ltd.,
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First edition: 2015
Second Edition: 2019
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Dedication
As we complete this second edition of Introduction to Survey Research, I am
again indebted to the many people who have provided me with support,
insights, and patience along the way. My wife, Ellison, deserves a special
thank-you for having given up many opportunities for adventures because
I was sequestered at my computer for “just a little while longer.” I am also
grateful for her help in editing, reference checking, and other commonplace
aspects of writing the book, which plunged her deeper into survey research
than she probably would have liked. Finally, I am very fortunate to have
had Ed Nelson working with me, who, despite suffering a deep personal loss,
persevered in completing the manuscript. His work and dedication continue
to make him an invaluable colleague.
—Ernest L. Cowles
I dedicate this book to my wife, Elizabeth Nelson, and my children, Lisa
and David, for all their support over many years. Elizabeth and I were
both in the Sociology Department at California State University, Fresno,
for many years and shared so much both at work and at home with our
family. It has been a pleasure to work with my coauthor, Ernest Cowles,
on this book. Both of us were directors of survey research centers until our
retirements, and we have combined our years of experience in this project.
—Edward Nelson

Abstract
This two-volume work updates a previous edition of our book that was
intended to introduce the fundamentals of good survey research to students
and practitioners of the survey process as well as end users of survey informa-
tion. It describes key survey components needed to d esign, understand, and
use surveys effectively and avoid the pitfalls stemming from bad survey con-
struction and inappropriate methods. In the first volume, we first considered
the ways to best identify the information needed and how to structure the
best approach to getting that information. We then reviewed the processes
commonly involved in conducting a survey, such as the benefit of repre-
sentative sampling and the necessity of dealing with the types of errors that
commonly distort results. Volume I concluded with a chapter that examines
the elements to consider when developing a survey followed by a chapter
that acquaints the reader with the different modes of delivering a survey.
In this second volume, we focus on carrying out a survey. We begin
with a brief overview of the importance of research questions and the
research design and go on to discuss key elements in writing good ques-
tions. We then focus on the steps that researchers must go through when
conducting the survey. We next turn our attention to the impacts of rap-
idly changing technology on survey research, including rapidly evolving
mobile communication, specifically, online access, the expanded use of
web-based surveys, and the use of survey panels, and the opportunities
and challenges provided by access to “Big Data.” We conclude with an
important, but often neglected, aspect of surveys: the presentation of re-
sults in different formats appropriate to different audiences. As with the
previous edition, each chapter concludes with a summary of important
points contained in it and an annotated set of references for readers who
want more information on chapter topics.
Keywords
Big Data; ethical issues; Internet surveys; interviewer training; mailed
surveys; mixed-mode surveys; mobile devices; sampling; surveys; s urvey
content; survey construction; survey panels; survey processes; survey
reports; survey technology; telephone surveys; web surveys

Contents
Preface ..................................................................................................xi
Acknowledgments .................................................................................xiii
Chapter 1 Introduction .....................................................................1
Chapter 2 Writing Good Questions ...................................................7
Chapter 3 Carrying Out the Survey .................................................33
Chapter 4 Changing Technology and Survey Research .....................53
Chapter 5 Presenting Survey Results ................................................73
Notes....................................................................................................99
References ...........................................................................................107
About the Author ................................................................................117
Index .................................................................................................119