Surveys are a reliable instrument for social measurement and evaluation when used correctly. Some of the first surveys were conducted in ancient Egypt with concern to population census.
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By 1886, Charles booth published Life and Labour of the People in London, a comprehensive social survey to measure the economic and social conditions of London’s residents.
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In the 1900s, Paul Lazarsfeld and Robert Merton were some of the first pioneers that advocated the use of surveys with their editing of The American Soldier.
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The methodological dominance of survey research since Lazarasfeld and Merton’s time has continued unabated through to the present time.
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Today, social science researchers are typically faced with the dilemma of whether to conduct interviews rather than a survey. This is because interviews have the ability of probing people’s views further than short questionnaires. StatsBusters is certainly equipped to conduct interviews. However, we warn clients that the time and financial costs of hiring people to conduct depth interviews is often prohibitive. A better option is to structure a well-designed questionnaire that minimizes unwanted biasness.
Questionnaires have advantages over in-depth personal interviews. Inglehart states, “It can provide a vastly larger number of cases than that normally obtained with depth interviews…”
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He also observed:
…the public opinion survey has proven to be quite accurate for many purposes. There may be a dismaying amount of fluctuation at the individual level, but the overall distribution of responses is often remarkably reliable. Surveys of voting intentions do predict the actual election results; data on consumer attitudes do predict how the economy is going to behave. The random error inherent in survey research tends to cancel itself out. It is not a perfect instrument, but used skillfully it can be one of the most powerful tools available to social science.
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Of course, the phrase ‘used skillfully’ should stand out in the above quote. Researchers should consult an expert when selecting a pre-existing questionnaire or designing a new survey instrument.
Pre-existing questionnaires are typically time tested and shown to be reliable and valid instruments for conducting survey research. Our consultants have access to a wide variety of databases in psychology, politics, sociology, biology, anthropology, and other fields to suggest appropriate pre-existing questionnaires for survey research.
If you are in a new area of research, our consultants are also capable of helping you to standardize your questionnaire through investigating individual questions and conducting a series of pilot study administrations over time. Many of our consultants are experts in psychometric testing and aware of the pitfalls involved with survey research such as poorly worded, loaded, and intrusive questions.
StatsBusters experts are also capable of lending ‘face validity’ to questionnaires that meet professional standards. Using an appropriate questionnaire is key to collecting valuable data, and for this reason, we suggest that you contact StatsBusters if you are considering using surveys
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