Deck 7: Survey Research

Question 1

Jane administers a survey to a sample of individuals graduating from college and repeats the survey with those same individuals each year for four years. What type of survey has she used?

A) Cross-sectional
B) Panel
C) Trend
D) Cohort

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The advantages of a telephone survey data collection include

A) less expense.
B) less training.
C) ability to obtain depth in data.
D) quick data collection.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Ms. Wang's study addresses the reasons that parents report for sending their children to dance lessons. She has defined her research problem, reviewed the literature, and stated her questions. The next step in Ms. Wang's study is to

A) identify and select research participants.
B) create her research instrument.
C) seek informed consent permission.
D) report on her research findings.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

According to your text, one particular challenge of survey studies is that

A) people do not believe the findings from survey studies.
B) survey studies are more challenging to conduct than other types of research.
C) survey studies often suffer from lack of participant response.
D) it is not possible to obtain valid results from survey studies.

Question 5

One of the primary benefits of interview survey methods is

A) a relative decrease in administration time.
B) that they allow for confidentiality and anonymity.
C) that the return rate is usually high.
D) the relative ease of scoring procedures.

Question 6

The two primary survey research designs are

A) self-report and achievement.
B) cross-sectional and longitudinal.
C) interviews and questionnaires.
D) projective assessments and observation.

Question 7

Of the following, which is an example of a survey research question?

A) Does the intervention increase reading skills?
B) Is there a relationship between task performance and age?
C) What are the participants' opinions regarding effective instruction?
D) Are there differences by SES on the new aptitude measure?

Question 8

Don studies high school seniors' concerns about world events during their post-secondary experiences. He surveys the entire senior class state-wide. Every year, for eight years, he surveys the senior class that year. Don is using a ___________ type of survey.

A) cross-sectional
B) trend
C) cohort
D) panel

Question 9

After identifying a topic, survey researchers next

A) select an appropriate sample.
B) review the literature.
C) collect valid and reliable data.
D) examine the research context.

Question 10

Ida is a teacher who is interested in other teachers' opinions of full day versus part day kindergarten programs. Ida's study can best be described as a

A) developmental survey.
B) school survey.
C) practical survey.
D) sample survey.

Question 11

A cross sectional survey design compared to cohort design differs in that cross sectional surveys collect data a more frequently than in a cohort design.
B) once compared to multiple times in a cohort.
C) from different groups compared to same group in a cohort.
D) twice as compared to once in a cohort.

Question 12

Of the following, which is the sample technique most often used in survey research?

A) Cluster b Stratified
C) Systematic
D) Purposive

Question 13

As a researcher you are interested in self-reported changes in interest in music in the senior population. You will collect data at the time of retirement and select a new sample of individuals at the time of retirement each year for five years. This type of research can be classified best as a(n)

A) trend survey.
B) panel poll.
C) cohort survey.
D) follow-up survey.

Question 14

A census survey is

A) a large scale cohort survey.
B) a survey of the full population.
C) a combination of a panel survey and a trend survey.
D) a follow-up survey of all potential participants.

Question 15

Which of the following is the best advantage of cross-sectional survey designs?

A) Data are more generalizable than longitudinal designs.
B) Data are more reliable than longitudinal designs
C) Data are provided more quickly than longitudinal designs.
D) Data are more valid than longitudinal designs.

Question 16

Melanie is conducting a survey for her thesis that examines administrative policies in middle schools that are intended to decrease bullying. After developing her survey and piloting the instrument with a small group, she then administers the instrument to a sample of 2300 middle school administrators. Which of the following survey research designs best describes Melanie's study?

A) Cross-sectional
B) Trend
C) Cohort
D) Panel

Question 17

Survey data are often collected via which of the following?

A) standardized tests.
B) ability measures.
C) questionnaires.
D) observations.

Question 18

Seth sends out a survey to all parents and teachers in the district to gather opinions about local school safety. Seth's study is an example of ________ survey research.

A) cross-sectional
B) trend
C) cohort
D) panel

Question 19

Of the following, which is most likely a survey research question?

A) Is there a gender difference in science achievement on The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)?
B) Do parents believe that the new middle school science club is worth the funds the district spent?
C) What is the experience of ten-year olds at the summer Science day camp held at the university?
D) Is there a relationship between science self-efficacy and students science grades in eleventh grade?

Question 20

The ________________ survey consists of the same group but different samples from that population surveyed over time.

A) cross-sectional
B) trend
C) cohort
D) panel

Question 21

Money and time are both limited at the charter school. Jill, the director, sent out a survey of parents' perceptions of purchasing priorities for the school. She had a group of parents respond to the questionnaire as a pilot. She had them rate their priorities on a rating scale with the points "necessary", "very important", "purchase if money is available", "not necessary", "don't purchase". She was disappointed to find that the pilot parents rated everything as necessary. This will not help her make purchasing decisions. Of the following, what is the best strategy for Jill?

A) Send it out as it is. The larger general population of parents will have more variance than the small pilot.
B) Revise the instrument to include open-response items to get richer data.
C) Revise the instrument so parents must rank items to purchase relative to each other.
D) Conduct in-person interviews with the same items.

Question 22

The most common way to present results of individual survey items is to

A) report mean responses by item.
B) report the percent who selected each alternative for each item.
C) present median responses.
D) present modal responses.

Question 23

The majority of surveys use ____________ as the primary data collection method.

A) mail or e-mail
B) observation
C) interview or personal administration
D) telephone

Question 24

Li sent out a survey and received an initial response rate of 44%. If her study follows typical response patterns from the literature, what can she expect her response rate to be after a second mailing?

A) 50%
B) 54%
C) 60%
D) 64%

Question 25

The typical response rate first mailings of questionnaires is approximately

A) 10-30%
B) 30-50%
C) 50-70%
D) 70-90%

Question 26

Compared to mail as a survey data collection method, interviews generally

A) cost less.
B) take less time.
C) are more reliable.
D) have higher return rates.

Question 27

Marcy developed a survey to administer to parents of college students living on campus. One of the questions on her survey was, "Describe your level of satisfaction with your child's residence life experiences." Marcy found that few people answered this question. This is likely because

A) the item is sensitive.
B) the respondent is not in a position to answer the item.
C) the item is open-ended.
D) the item is unclear.

Question 28

Chuck administered a web-based survey and received a low response rate. What would be the best initial strategy to address the low response rate?

A) Draw a new sample from the population
B) Resend the initial cover letter
C) Send a reminder email
D) Mail a copy of the initial cover letter

Question 29

The Hidden Valley school district has space concerns. They are considering moving the fifth grade students to the middle school. However, they would like to obtain students' input. In an effort to get the best information, they administer a survey regarding whether fifth graders should move to the middle school to every fourth grade student. The survey study is best described as a

A) projective survey.
B) census survey.
C) population survey.
D) sample survey.

Question 30

Generally, as number of items increases on a survey the

A) reliability increases.
B) reliability decreases.
C) content validity increases.
D) content validity decreases.

Question 31

Jabar developed a survey to administer to measure untenured faculties perceptions of support by their Deans. One of the questions on his survey was, "Do you receive adequate support from the Dean?" Jabar found that few people answered this question. This is most likely because

A) the item is sensitive.
B) the respondent is not in a position to answer the item.
C) the item is open-ended.
D) the item is unclear.

Question 32

Hakeem developed an attitudes about the importance of green space on campus. The measure was five items long and he administered it to twenty five people in his pilot study. He conducted a reliability analysis of the scale and found it to be quite low (.25). Given he needs to have a reliability estimate of .80 to appease his dissertation committee, which of the following would you suggest to Hakeem?

A) Administer the pilot to more people and do the analysis again.
B) Lengthen the scale and send it out without another pilot.
C) Lengthen the scale and conduct another pilot to see if it goes up.
D) Reduce the number of items to two or three to increase reliability.

Question 33

An advantage of the interview over questionnaires is that they

A) are less expensive.
B) provide in-depth data.
C) are less time consuming.
D) are easier to score.

Question 34

According to your text which of the following should be included in the cover letter?

A) The human subjects protocol number
B) The purpose of the study if it is for your thesis or dissertation
C) The intended results of the study
D) The purpose of the study

Question 35

Which of the following is a criteria for writing questionnaire items?

A) Do not include potentially controversial items
B) Include questions that influence respondents
C) Organize items from specific to general
D) Limit items to the same format

Question 36

One drawback of personal administration methods is that

A) it is difficult to get personal data.
B) there is a strong possibility of response sets.
C) administrators must be trained.
D) possible interviewer bias.

Question 37

Max conducted a survey study and received an initial response rate of approximately 68% with his first mailing. What do you suggest for Max now?

A) His response rate is low. Try to determine if there is a systematic reason why.
B) His response rate is low. Send a second mailing.
C) His response rate is adequate. Send a second mailing.
D) His response rate is too high to send a second mailing. Analyze his data and report his findings.

Question 38

Pam conducted a survey study and received an initial response rate of approximately 34%. She sent a second mailing and obtained an additional 6%. What do you suggest for Pam now?

A) Her response rate is adequate. Analyze her data and report her findings.
B) Her response rate is low. Send a third mailing.
C) Her response rate is low. Redesign the survey.
D) Her response rate is low. Try to determine if there is a systematic reason why.