Valerie Dao and Matthew SchwarzFulbright Research Mentorship ProgramHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Quantitative Methods: Survey Design

The Basics of Survey DesignSurveys provide a numeric (quantitative) description of the trends, attitudes, or opinions within a given population The researcher uses a subset of the populationor a sample, to generalize and draw conclusions about the entire population

Components of a Survey Method Plan 1. Clarify the purpose 2. Assess Resources3. Population and Sample4. Variables in the study5. Instrumentation6. Collect Data 7. Process data8. Analyze results

Step 1: Clarifying the Purpose

Why conduct a survey?Who are the stakeholders?Who is the population of interest?What issues need to be explored?

The Initial Proposal The first section of the survey design should highlight :1. basic purposeDraw from a sample to generalize about a population2. rational for survey researchIn terms of measuring the variable and convenience of data collection in this methodIndicate time frameCross sectional vs. longitudinal Form of data collectionQuestionnaires, interviews, structured record reviews, structured observations

Step 2: Assess the Resources What are you internal resources?What are you external resources?

Assess the ResourcesYou need to explore the available resources at your disposal to better plan and edit your surveyInternalYour research institution Budget Facilities Time[staff]External Outside funding Fellowships, grants

Step 3: Population and SampleYou will not be able to test the entire population, so you need to define a sample to draw conclusions from How many people will be included?What is the size of your target population?What can the budget allow?How will the size affect your results?How will the respondents be selected?

The Population and the Sample Types of samplingSingle-stage: access to names in population, direct Multi-stage(clustering): sample organizations/groups initially, obtain more info from within those clusters, and then samples with the given informationIdentify selection process Random sample vs. non-probability Stratification Proportionality and representation of true population Take samples from each subgroup within a population

Step 4: Variables in the study Relate what is measured (the variable) directly to the questions in the instrument Identify the independent and dependent variables

Step 5: Instrumentation The survey instrument is the actual questionnaire or data collection document that will be used in the studyIt can be an original document, a modified instrument, or an intact instrument that someone else has already implementedWhen writing your own instrument, focus on what you need to know

Designing your survey Open vs. closed questionsTypes of response formatsRatingsRankingsMultiple choiceYes/noTypes of measurementAttitudesKnowledgeBeliefsBehaviorsevaluation

How to effectively design your questionsYour questions need to have validityDetermines whether or not you can draw meaningful and useful inferences from your dataWhen designing your questions you want to make sure that you control for1. Bias2. Precision

Validity of instrumentation Accuracy is how close the estimator is to the true value of the parameter being measured Precision refers to the repeatability of the measurementIf the instrument is both accurate and precise then it is consider to be validAccuracy relates to the quality of the result whereas precision is the quality of the operation by which the result is obtained

Step 6: Collect DataWhat is the medium you will use for collecting your data? Consider what you are asking and what will be most convenient and comfortable for your respondentsMain MethodsIn personMailingElectronic/onlineTelephone

Step 7: Processing DataCodingOpen ended questions Data EntrySet-up your document collectionAvoid errors

Step 8: Analyzing your resultsHow will you use the data you have collected? 1. Report on level of participation2. Response biasHow will the people who did not respond change the results of your survey?3. Plan to provide descriptive analysis for dependent and independent variablesMeans, standard deviations, range, etc.4. identify the statistics/program for testing major questions or hypotheses in your study Rationale for each test accompanied