Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research

Features the essential methodologies and statistical tools for developing reliable and valid survey questionnaires Modern survey design requires the consideration of many variables that will ultimately impact the quality of the collected data. Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research outlines the important decisions that researchers need to make throughout the survey design process and provides the statistical knowledge and innovative tools that are essential when approaching these choices. Over fifteen years of survey design research has been referenced in order to conduct a meta-analysis that not only unveils the relationship between individual question characteristics and overall questionnaire quality, but also assists the reader in constructing a questionnaire of the highest relevance and accuracy. Among the book's most outstanding features is its introduction of Survey Quality Prediction (SQP), a computer program that predicts the validity and accuracy of questionnaires based on findings from the meta-analysis. Co-developed by the authors, this one-of-a-kind software is available via the book's related Web site and provides a valuable resource that allows researchers to estimate a questionnaire's level of quality before its distribution. In addition to carefully outlining the criteria for high quality survey questions, this book also:* Defines a three-step procedure for generating questions that measure, with high certainty, the concept defined by the researcher* Analyzes and details the results of studies that used Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM) experiments to estimate the reliability and validity of questions* Provides information to correct measurement error in survey results, with a chapter focusing specifically on cross-cultural research* Features practical examples that illustrate the pitfalls of traditional questionnaire design* Includes exercises that both demonstrate the methodology and help readers master the presented techniques Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research succeeds in illustrating how questionnaire design influences the overall quality of empirical research. With an emphasis on a deliberate and scientific approach to developing questionnaires, this book is an excellent text for upper-level undergraduate or beginning graduate-level survey research courses in business and the social sciences, and it also serves as a self-contained reference for survey researchers in any field.Table of ContentPreface. Introduction. PART I. THE THREE STEPS PROCEDURE TO DESIGN REQUESTS FOR AN ANSWER. 1. Concepts-by-postulation and concepts-by-intuition. 2. From social science concepts-by-intuition to assertions. 3. The formulation of requests for an answer. PART II. CHOICES INVOLVED IN QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN. 4. Specific survey research features of requests for an answer. 5. Response alternatives. 6. The structure of open ended and closed survey items. 7. Survey items in batteries. 8. Mode of data collection and other choices. PART III. THE EFFECTS OF SURVEY CHARACTERISTICS ON DATA QUALITY. 9. Criteria for the quality of survey measures. 10. The estimation of reliability, validity and method effects. 11. The split ballot MTMM designs. 12. The estimation of the effects of measurement characteristics on the quality of survey questions. PART IV. APPLICATIONS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH. 13. The prediction and improvement of survey requests by SQP. 14. The quality of measures for concepts-by-postulation. 15. Correction for measurement error in survey data analysis. 16. Coping with measurement error in cross-cultural research. References. Index.Review Quote"I would say that this book is quite inspiring, giving many practical ideas for survey research, especially for designing better questionnaires." (International Statistical Review Aug 2008)Biographical NoteWillem E. Saris is Professor at Escuela Superior de Administracion y Direccion de Empresas (ESADE) in Barcelona, Spain. He was Laureate of the 2005 Descartes Prize for Best Collaborative Research and has over thirty years of teaching experience in the field of survey methodology. Irmtraud N. Gallhofer is Senior Researcher of projects for the European Social Survey (ESS) at ESADE in Barcelona, Spain. The recipient of the 2005 Descartes Prize for Best Collaborative Research, she has extensive teaching and research experience in text analysis and has been an invited lecturer at numerous universities.