Exam 7: Survey Research

Correct Answer:

Verified

Virtually all questions about behavior and feelings will be more reliable if they refer to specific times or events Turner & Martin, 1984).Without identifying a reference period, or time frame around which a question is being asked, a researcher will not know how to interpret an answer.For example, the question "How often do you carry a method of self-protection such as pepper spray?" will produce answers that have no common reference period and therefore cannot reliably be compared with answers from other respondents.A more specific way to ask the question is, "In the last month, how many days did you carry a method of self-protection such as pepper spray?"
In general, research shows that the longer the reference period, the greater the underreporting of a given behavior Cantor, 1984, 1985; Kobelarcik, Alexander, Singh, & Shapiro, 1983).As a general rule, when respondents are being asked about mundane or day-to-day activities, reference periods should be no longer than "in the past month." However, when rare events are being measured, such as experiences with victimizations, "in the last six months" as utilized by the NCVS)or "in the past 12 months" as used by the NISVS)are both more appropriate.By using longer reference periods such as these, we will more likely capture these rarer events.

Correct Answer:

Verified

Creating questions that are clear and meaningful is only half of the formula involved in creating a good survey instrument.The choices you provide respondents in closed-ended questions are also important.In this section, we provide you with several rules that will help to ensure that the response choices you provide to your questions will also be clear and concise as well as exhaustive.
Make Response Choices Mutually Exclusive
When you want respondents to make only one choice, the fixed-response categories must not overlap.For example, if you were interested in the ways foot patrol officers spent their time while working, you might ask the following question:
On average, how much time do you spend on the job each week taking care of traffic violations?
$\bullet$ Less than 1 hour
$\bullet$ 1-3 hours
$\bullet$ 3-6 hours
$\bullet$ 6-10 hours
$\bullet$ 10 hours or more
The choices provided for respondents in this question are not mutually exclusive responses because they overlap.Which choice would an officer select if he or she spent three hours a week on traffic violations? Choices that are mutually exclusive would look like this:
$\bullet$ 1 hour or less
$\bullet$ 2-3 hours
$\bullet$ 4-6 hours
$\bullet$ 7-10 hours
$\bullet$ 11 hours or more
Make the Response Categories Exhaustive
In addition to mutual exclusivity, fixed-response categories must also allow all respondents to select an option.Consider the same research question about foot patrol officers.Suppose we asked a question such as this:
In what activity do you spend the most time in an average week on the job?
$\bullet$ traffic violations
$\bullet$ disturbance-related issues
$\bullet$ felony arrests
$\bullet$ misdemeanor arrests
Regardless of how exhaustive we think the response categories are, there must always be an option for respondents who require another choice.Exhaustive response categories can easily be created if respondents are provided with a choice labeled
$\bullet$ Other, please specify: ___________
Note, however, that "Other" should be used only after you have included all options that you believe to be relevant.Otherwise, a large percentage of respondents will select the "Other" category and you will have to spend time coding their responses.
Mutually exclusive responses -- Response choices on a survey that do not overlap.
Exhaustive responses -- A variable's attributes or values in which every case can be classified as having one attribute.

Correct Answer:

Verified

Most surveys are directed at a specific research question.In contrast, an omnibus survey covers a range of topics of interest to different social scientists.It has multiple sponsors or is designed to generate data useful to a broad segment of the social science community rather than answer one particular research question.
One of the most successful omnibus surveys is the General Social Survey GSS)of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.Today, the GSS is administered every two years as a 90-minute interview to a probability sample of almost 3,000 Americans.It includes more than 500 questions about background characteristics and opinions, with an emphasis on social stratification, race relations, family issues, law and social control, and morale.Although the NCVS and the NISVS are not exactly omnibus surveys they were both developed to obtain detailed information on a number of phenomena related to victimization), they do cover related information, including injuries and medical care received for victimization, the cost of victimization including costs incurred for medical care and property lost), and whether the victimization was reported to police or other victim service agencies.