Quantitative Methods: Survey

Design

Valerie Dao and Matthew Schwarz

Fulbright Research Mentorship
Program
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The Basics of Survey

Design

Surveys 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 Resources
3. Population and Sample
4. Variables in the study
5. Instrumentation
6. Collect Data
7. Process data
8. 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 purpose
Draw from a sample to generalize about a population
2. rational for survey research
In terms of measuring the variable and convenience of

data collection in this method

Indicate time frame

Cross sectional vs. longitudinal

Form of data collection

Questionnaires, interviews, structured record

reviews, structured observations

Step 2: Assess the

Resources
What are you internal resources?
What are you external resources?

Assess the Resources

You need to explore the available resources

at your disposal to better plan and edit

your survey
Internal
Your research institution
Budget
Facilities
Time
[staff]

External
Outside funding
Fellowships, grants

Step 3: Population and

Sample
You 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 sampling

Single-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 information
Identify 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 study
It can be an original document, a modified
instrument, or an intact instrument that
someone else has already implemented
When writing your own instrument, focus
on what you need to know

Designing your survey

Open vs. closed questions
Types of response formats
Ratings
Rankings
Multiple choice
Yes/no

Types of measurement
Attitudes
Knowledge
Beliefs
Behaviors
evaluation

How to effectively design your

questions
Your questions need to have validity
Determines whether or not you can draw

meaningful and useful inferences from your

data
When designing your questions you want to

make sure that you control for

1. Bias
2. 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
measurement
If the instrument is both accurate and precise

then it is consider to be valid

Accuracy relates to the quality of the result

whereas precision is the quality of the

operation by which the result is obtained

Step 6: Collect Data

What 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 respondents
Main Methods
In person
Mailing
Electronic/online
Telephone

Step 7: Processing Data

Coding
Open ended questions

Data Entry
Set-up your document collection
Avoid errors

Step 8: Analyzing your

results

How will you use the data you have

collected?
1. Report on level of participation
2. Response bias

How will the people who did not respond

change the results of your survey?

3. Plan to provide descriptive analysis for

dependent and independent variables

Means, standard deviations, range, etc.

4. identify the statistics/program for testing

major questions or hypotheses in your study

Rationale for each test accompanied