Een complete samenvatting voor het vak Onderzoekspracticum I: Survey (OP I: Survey) aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA) ter voorbereiding voor het tentamen.. Dit document bevat alle hoorcolleges en alle literatuur die is voorgeschreven gegeven voor het vak. Dit is alle stof die je moet kennen. ...
Onderzoekspracticum: Survey
Januari 2021
Valid answers? Proper questions! (week 1)
Hoorcollege aantekeningen
What is survey research about?
Goal: draw conclusion about population based on a sample | produce statistics/ draw
inferences about a target population | provide information about a population
Bijschrijven
Two inferences: to get information about population
(1) If we pose proper questions, then we should
also assume that the answers given by the
participants measure the desired concept
Variabele meten door middel van het stellen
van goede vragen die die variabele meten
(2) if we draw a proper sample, then we should
assume that our sample reflects the actual
population
Goede sample: aannemen dat onze sample
de populatie goed reflecteert
Op deze manier zullen we de kenmerken
achterhalen van de algehele populatie
Together: Characteristics of population = information about the population
We don’t care about individual answers/ respondents, we can use these answers on
a group level to say something about the population as a whole
Common sources of error in surveys:
A poorly worded question: respondents do not know how to answer -->
gevolg: invalid findings
Deviations from the script by the interviewer: Face-to-face/ phone surveys
– interview is asking the questions (if script is different everytime, this will lead
to different findings)
Misunderstanding on the part of the interviewee: if you have unclear
questions (door vage begrippen) --> oplossing: wees duidelijk
, Onderzoekspracticum: Survey
Januari 2021
Memory problems on the part of the interviewee: mostly with very long
questions (respondent have to think what is being told) --> oplossing: niet
doen
The way the information is recorded by the interviewer: important source
for error (verjaardagen)
The way the information is processed, either when answers are coded or
when data are entered into the computer (source of error) --> wees secuur
Two types of error
(1) Random error: the difference due to chance between the observed and the true
value of something – effects our findings in unpredictable ways
(2) Systematic error or bias: consistent difference between observed values and
true values – effects our findings in predictable ways
Both can be applied to sample and to the question level
What errors can be made?
Random Biased (systematic)
Sample: Sampling error Sample bias
Attitude t.o.v. CW Attitude t.o.v. CW
Het kan zijn dat de sample een beetje Only Dutch students? Zijn ze allemaal
verschilt van de echte populatie representatief voor de student CW?
(bv: meer vrouwen dan mannen als in Misschien zijn international studenten
de echte populatie) wel heel anders.
-- niet bekend wat de invloed is op de
uiteindelijke resultaten
It happens
Questions: invalidity Question bias
Vraag: hoeveel liedje geluisterd deze Did you read the literature?
week op spotify? In class: overrepresented?
Vaak overestamted / underestameted
door individuen (lastige vraag) Systematische fout – over het algemeen
-- Individueel niveau: antwoorden zijn overrepresented
niet valide (kloppen vaak niet
helemaal)
-- Groepsniveau: gemiddelde klopt vaak
Honest mistake
What is wrong with these questions?
Practise!
- Vermijd EN (= double-barreled question) --> oplossing: vraag in 2 vragen splitten
- Vermijd hinten naar het geliefde antwoord (= leading question = biased)
- Vermijd sociaal disaribility (= biased) --> oplossing: extra aandacht aan besteden
, Onderzoekspracticum: Survey
Januari 2021
Question wording
Desigining questions: general rules
Remember your research question: know what concept to operationalize
Decide exactly what you want to find out: what relations are you
investigating and how do you want to analyze this (think beforehand)
Consider your audience: do they understand your questions – pretest!
Imagine yourself as a respondent: is it clear how to respond to certain
questions – are there questions misleading, biased?
o Would you answer the questions?
o How would you answer the questions?
o Identify any vague or misleading questions
Common mistakes
Ambiguous terms: subjective terms: often, regularly, frequently
Long questions: relying on memory --> oplossing: chop it in pieces
Double-barreled questions: there might be different answers to each part of
the questions that is included in the question
Very general questions: lack a frame of reference
Leading questions: hinting at a preferred response already (= expectation
bias)
Negative terms: not, never, double negatives (= too complicated)
Technical terms: should be avoided
o Voorbeeld: is your systolic pressure normal at this moment --> moet
zijn: is je bloeddruk normal op dit moment?
A question
Do respondents have the knowledge to answer the question?
If you just want a yes/no answer; have you given more possibilities
Have you thought whether you should include ‘don’t know’ options
Are you relying too much on the respondent’s memory?
The don’t know option
If we include the don’t know option --> gevolg: this can effect the distribution of all our
responses
Problem? If you use the don’t know option, people are going to use it – do you don’t
know if the people actuallty don’t know, or they are just too lazy – have to keep in
mind
Conclusion: if you use it, people will use it (even though the question might be really
easy)
Saying ‘’I don’t know’’ varies over e.g., level of education
o highly educated people probably have a higher chance of
understanding the question --> Ev. gevolg: je meet alleen de
hoogopgeleidde omdat je de laagopgeleidde de don’t know option
aanvinken = bias
-- vooral gebruiken voor bijvoorbeeld moeilijke woorden! Alleen dus als de
mogelijkheid er is dat mensen de vraag misschien niet snappen
-- vooral gebruiken voor moeilijke onderwerpen
Midpoints
, Onderzoekspracticum: Survey
Januari 2021
‘’ no opinion ‘’
Similair to the don’t know option
Should u use midpoint or don’t know option?
If you include don’t know option it, people will use it: (= you can not tell of
people are just lazy or really don’t know)
o If you need people to choose one or the other: do not include don’t
know
o If it is possible that people lack the knowledge required to answer a
particular question: including don’t know can be sensible (moeilijke
begrippen)
o Some will spend less time thinking about difficult questions
Same holds for middle category
o ‘’neutral’’, ‘’agree nor disagree’’
Beware:
o Leaving out DK/middle option may cause irritation (especially when its
viable)
o And sometimes middle ground/ don’t know is a possibility
Answers options and measurement levels
Do you agree or disagree?
o Totally agree – agree – disagree – totally disagree
Ordinal
Combine multiple items (at least 3) interval
Agree - -- --- --- --- ------ disagree (more options, more then 7 =
o Ordinal treat as interval
Why? It is usally quite difficult to collect interval data in social
science
You can always go from a higher level to a lower level (Age -->
age groups (ordinal) – but you can not go from a lower level to a
higher level) – exception: when we combine multiple items into 1
new scale
How often do you go to the bar?
o Never – now and then – regularly – often (my often can be different
then your often however it is easier for the respondent to answer) --
just select the word that fits FOR THEM
o … times per week (= more objective, but harder to answer because
you are relying on memory) – interpretation = easy, it is not subjective
you just compare numbers with each other
Being specific
How often do you go the bar?
How detailed should the answer be?
More precise is more burdensome (and exhausting) – don’t include too many
specific
Very precise
o How many children? Not hard
o How many songs streamed this week? Too hard
o Rounding off answers
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