Handbook Of Survey Methodology For The Social Sciences

Surveys enjoy great ubiquity among data collection methods in social research: they are flexible in questioning techniques, in the amount of questions asked, in the topics covered, and in the various ways of interactions with respondents. Surveys are also the preferred method by many researchers in the social sciences due to their ability to provide quick profiles and results. Because they are so commonly used and fairly easy to administer, surveys are often thought to be easily thrown together. But designing an effective survey that yields reliable and valid results takes more than merely asking questions and waiting for the answers to arrive. Geared to the non-statistician, the Handbook of Survey Methodology in Social Sciences addresses issues throughout all phases of survey design and implementation. Chapters examine the major survey methods of data collection, providing expert guidelines for asking targeted questions, improving accuracy and quality of responses, while reducing sampling and non-sampling bias. Relying on the Total Survey Error theory, various issues of both sampling and non-sampling sources of error are explored and discussed. By covering all aspects of the topic, the Handbook is suited to readers taking their first steps in survey methodology, as well as to those already involved in survey design and execution, and to those currently in training. Featured in the Handbook: • The Total Survey Error: sampling and non-sampling errors. • Survey sampling techniques. • The art of question phrasing. • Techniques for increasing response rates • A question of ethics: what is allowed in survey research? • Survey design: face-to-face, phone, mail, e-mail, online, computer-assisted.? • Dealing with sensitive issues in surveys. • Demographics of respondents: implications for future survey research. • Dealing with nonresponse, and nonresponse bias The Handbook of Survey Methodology in Social Sciences offers how-to clarity for researchers in the social and behavioral sciences and related disciplines, including sociology, criminology, criminal justice, social psychology, education, public health, political science, management, and many other disciplines relying on survey methodology as one of their main data collection tools.

Survey Methodology is becoming a more structured field of research, deserving of more and more academic attention. The SAGE Handbook of Survey Methodology explores both the increasingly scientific endeavour of surveys and their growing complexity, as different data collection modes and information sources are combined. The handbook takes a global approach, with a team of international experts looking at local and national specificities, as well as problems of cross-national, comparative survey research. The chapters are organized into seven major sections, each of which represents a stage in the survey life-cycle: Surveys and Societies Planning a Survey Measurement Sampling Data Collection Preparing Data for Use Assessing and Improving Data Quality The SAGE Handbook of Survey Methodology is a landmark and essential tool for any scholar within the social sciences.

Taking into account both traditional and emerging modes, this comprehensive new Handbook covers all major methodological and statistical issues in designing and analyzing surveys. With contributions from the world's leading survey methodologists and statisticians, this invaluable new resource provides guidance on collecting survey data and creating meaningful results. Featuring examples from a variety of countries, the book reviews such things as how to deal with sample designs, write survey questions, and collect data on the Internet. A thorough review of the procedures associated with multiple modes of collecting sample survey information and applying that combination of methods that fit the situation best is included. The International Handbook of Survey Methodology opens with the foundations of survey design, ranging from sources of error, to ethical issues. This is followed by a section on design that reviews sampling challenges and tips on writing and testing questions for multiple methods. Part three focuses on data collection, from face-to-face interviews, to Internet and interactive voice response, to special challenges involved in mixing these modes within one survey. Analyzing data from both simple and complex surveys is then explored, as well as procedures for adjusting data. The book concludes with a discussion of maintaining quality. Intended for advanced students and researchers in the behavioral, social, and health sciences, this "must have" resource will appeal to those interested in conducting or using survey data from anywhere in the world, especially those interested in comparing results across countries. The book also serves as a state-of-the-art text for graduate level courses and seminars on survey methodology. A companion website contains additional readings and examples.

This handbook is a comprehensive reference guide for researchers, funding agencies and organizations engaged in survey research. Drawing on research from a world-class team of experts, this collection addresses the challenges facing survey-based data collection today as well as the potential opportunities presented by new approaches to survey research, including in the development of policy. It examines innovations in survey methodology and how survey scholars and practitioners should think about survey data in the context of the explosion of new digital sources of data. The Handbook is divided into four key sections: the challenges faced in conventional survey research; opportunities to expand data collection; methods of linking survey data with external sources; and, improving research transparency and data dissemination, with a focus on data curation, evaluating the usability of survey project websites, and the credibility of survey-based social science. Chapter 23 of this book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

Quantitative methodology is a highly specialized field, and as with any highly specialized field, working through idiosyncratic language can be very difficult made even more so when concepts are conveyed in the language of mathematics and statistics. The Sage Handbook of Quantitative Methodology for the Social Sciences was conceived as a way of introducing applied statisticians, empirical researchers, and graduate students to the broad array of state-of-the-art quantitative methodologies in the social sciences. The contributing authors of the Handbook were asked to write about their areas of expertise in a way that would convey to the reader the utility of their respective methodologies. Relevance to real-world problems in the social sciences is an essential ingredient of each chapter. The Handbook consists of six sections comprising twenty-five chapters, from topics in scaling and measurement, to advances in statistical modelling methodologies, and finally to broad philosophical themes that transcend many of the quantitative methodologies covered in this handbook.

Handbook of Survey Research provides an introduction to the theory and practice of sample survey research. It addresses both the student who desires to master these topics and the practicing survey researcher who needs a source that codifies, rationalizes, and presents existing theory and practice. The handbook can be organized into three major parts. Part 1 sets forth the basic theoretical issues involved in sampling, measurement, and management of survey organizations. Part 2 deals mainly with ""hands-on,"" how-to-do-it issues: how to draw theoretically acceptable samples, how to write questionnaires, how to combine responses into appropriate scales and indices, how to avoid response effects and measurement errors, how actually to go about gathering survey data, how to avoid missing data (and what to do when you cannot), and other topics of a similar nature. Part 3 considers the analysis of survey data, with separate chapters for each of the three major multivariate analysis modes and one chapter on the uses of surveys in monitoring overtime trends. This handbook will be valuable both to advanced students and to practicing survey researchers seeking a detailed guide to the major issues in the design and analysis of sample surveys and to current state of the art practices in sample surveys.

Web Survey Methodology guides the reader through the past fifteen years of research in web survey methodology. It both provides practical guidance on the latest techniques for collecting valid and reliable data and offers a comprehensive overview of research issues. Core topics from preparation to questionnaire design, recruitment testing to analysis and survey software are all covered in a systematic and insightful way. The reader will be exposed to key concepts and key findings in the literature, covering measurement, non-response, adjustments, paradata, and cost issues. The book also discusses the hottest research topics in survey research today, such as internet panels, virtual interviewing, mobile surveys and the integration with passive measurements, e-social sciences, mixed modes and business intelligence. The book is intended for students, practitioners, and researchers in fields such as survey and market research, psychological research, official statistics and customer satisfaction research.