Deck 9: Survey Research

Question 1

Which of the following is not a general feature of survey research?

A) direct observation of behavior
B) large probability samples
C) structured questionnaires and/or interviews
D) quantitative data analysis

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Most surveys are structured, which means that

A) there is a one-on-one relationship between the researcher and the respondent.
B) they use random selection to select respondents.
C) the same questions are asked in the same order for all respondents.
D) the interviewer decides when, where, and how to ask the questions.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The General Social Survey (GSS), described throughout Chapter 9,

A) focuses on political behavior and attitudes.
B) has a target population consisting of all undergraduate students in the United States.
C) is primarily of interest to market researchers.
D) was designed to make high-quality survey data available for secondary analysis

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The General Social Survey (GSS), described throughout Chapter 9,

A) is a panel survey.
B) is a face-to-face interview survey.
C) is a mixed mode survey.
D) uses a semi-structured interview.
E) has been Web-based since 2002.

Question 5

Suppose you hypothesize that the more sociology courses a student takes, the more sensitive he or she becomes to the needs of others. You then ask a random sample of students at your college how many sociology courses they have taken and also ask them a set of questions measuring social sensitivity. Finally, you calculate the association between the two variables. This is an example of a

A) laboratory experiment.
B) cross-sectional survey.
C) longitudinal survey.
D) social network survey.

Question 6

To study marital adjustment among newlyweds, researchers select a sample of couples who applied for marriage licenses in Worcester County, Massachusetts, between April and June 2017. They then interview the couples repeatedly over a four-year period. This is an example of a

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

Question 7

To determine how much racial prejudice declined in the last half of the twentieth century, a researcher examines answers to the same questions asked in several different polls conducted from the 1940s through 1990s. This is an example of a

A) cross-sectional survey.
B) trend study.
C) panel study.
D) cohort study.

Question 8

A survey design in which people are asked questions at essentially one point in time is called a(n) __________ study; a survey design that questions the same people repeatedly over time is called a(n) __________ study.

A) cross-sectional; panel
B) explanatory; descriptive
C) descriptive; cross-sectional
D) panel; explanatory

Question 9

If a researcher surveyed the entire 2018 graduating class at your college in order to study friendship patterns and their relationship to career choices, this would be an example of a

A) cross-sectional design.
B) cohort design.
C) panel design.
D) social network design.
E) contextual design.

Question 10

Cross-sectional survey designs are to longitudinal survey designs as __________ is to __________.

A) panel study; trend study
B) explanatory; descriptive
C) contextual; sociometric
D) one survey; two or more surveys

Question 11

Which survey design provides information on individual changes in reported attitudes and behavior?

A) trend study
B) cohort study
C) panel study
D) social network study

Question 12

A __________ study may consist of the secondary analysis of several different surveys conducted at different points in time; a __________ study surveys the same individuals at more than one point in time.

A) cross-sectional; trend
B) trend; panel
C) contextual; social network
D) panel; trend
E) panel; cohort

Question 13

Cohort studies

A) compare different age groups within a single cross-sectional survey.
B) survey specific cohorts (e.g., children of the Depression) repeatedly over their life course.
C) combine the features of social network and contextual survey designs.
D) examine the influences of life course, cohort, and historical period.

Question 14

Among the various survey designs, panel surveys have two unique problems consisting of __________ and __________.

A) attrition; panel conditioning
B) cohort effects; delayed response
C) panel routinization; testing effects
D) unreliable measurement; attitude change

Question 15

Compared with face-to-face interview studies, telephone interview studies

A) cost more.
B) take more time to complete.
C) demand greater attention to staff supervision.
D) require simpler survey questions.

Question 16

Which of the following is an advantage of the mailed questionnaire over the face-to-face interview?

A) greater flexibility
B) higher response rate
C) lower cost
D) greater control over respondents' reactions to the survey

Question 17

Sample quality tends to be lowest in a __________ survey, and response rates generally are highest in a __________ survey.

A) face-to-face; telephone
B) face-to-face; mail
C) mail; face-to-face
D) mail; telephone
E) telephone; telephone

Question 18

Presently, the most common survey design is a __________, and the most common survey mode is a __________.

A) cross-sectional design; face-to-face interview
B) cross-sectional design; telephone interview
C) cross-sectional design; mailed questionnaire
D) panel design; face-to-face interview
E) panel design; mailed questionnaire

Question 19

A telephone interview survey tends to have a higher response rate than a __________ survey and shorter answers (and more nonresponses) to open-ended questions than a __________ study.

A) mailed questionnaire; mailed questionnaire
B) mailed questionnaire; face-to-face interview
C) face-to-face interview; face-to-face interview
D) face-to-face interview; mailed questionnaire

Question 20

Random-digit dialing serves to

A) increase response rates.
B) increase sample quality by reaching respondents with unlisted numbers.
C) decrease the cost of telephone surveys by reducing dialing time.
D) increase sample size.

Question 21

By automating many of the interviewer's tasks, computer-assisted personal and telephone interviewing (CAPI and CATI)

A) reduce interviewer mistakes such as asking questions in the wrong order and recording inappropriate responses.
B) eliminate biases due to respondents' reactions to the interviewer's gender, race, and personality.
C) increase the need for staff supervision and feedback.
D) reduce the degree of rapport between interviewer and respondent.

Question 22

Compared with other survey modes, Internet surveys

A) are more costly.
B) place greater constraints on questionnaire design.
C) generally have higher response rates.
D) are subject to greater coverage error.

Question 23

Which survey mode is likely to produce the least error in terms of coverage and nonresponse?

A) face-to-face interview
B) telephone interview
C) mailed questionnaire
D) Internet survey

Question 24

Suppose you are doing a survey in which sample quality and precision are of utmost importance, and you need to ask some critical open-ended questions. Which survey mode would work best?

A) face-to-face interview
B) telephone interview
C) mail questionnaire
D) mixed mode combining telephone interviews with a mailed questionnaire

Question 25

Mixed-mode surveys

A) are of limited use because of their added cost.
B) are recommended when the timeliness of the survey is important.
C) may be used to screen and locate respondents and to increase response rates.
D) have declined in popularity because they tend to compound survey error.

Question 26

Which of the following sequences is correct regarding the process of planning and conducting a survey?

A) choose sampling frame  design sample  choose survey mode  recruit respondents
B) choose survey mode  construct questionnaire  pretest  collect data
C) construct questionnaire  pretest  choose survey mode  collect data
D) pretest  choose survey mode  recruit respondents  collect data
E) design sample  choose sampling frame  choose survey mode  recruit respondents

Question 27

A good cover letter for a mailed questionnaire would do all but which of the following?

A) communicate the general purpose of the study
B) give assurances of respondents' anonymity and/or confidentiality
C) explain how the respondent was selected
D) not identify the survey sponsor in order to avoid bias
E) offer incentives such as a copy of the study

Question 28

According to the theory of survey participation, interviewers are most likely to gain the cooperation of a respondent if they

A) always dress formally (e.g., men wear a tie) and act in an official manner.
B) use a brief but effective introduction.
C) make it clear that the interview is confidential.
D) tailor their approach to their observations of the neighborhood and the respondent's reactions.

Question 29

In a structured or standardized interview, the interviewer should

A) ask every question in its proper sequence and exactly as written.
B) avoid using probes such as "Is there anything else?"
C) suggest the most common answer if the respondent is uncertain.
D) allow respondents to take as long as they need to answer questions.

Question 30

Which of the following procedures is recommended in a standardized interview?

A) Pull the respondent back on track if he or she strays from the point of the question.
B) Change the wording of the question if it seems appropriate for a particular respondent.
C) Change the order of questions if a respondent's answer suggests a question that appears later in the interview.
D) To save time, record responses to open-ended questions immediately after the interview is completed rather than during the interview.

Question 31

Proponents of standardized interviewing argue that its main advantage is that it

A) reduces interviewer error.
B) makes it easier for the interviewer to establish rapport with the respondent.
C) prevents respondents from misinterpreting the meaning of questions.
D) simplifies the task of supervising interviewers and verifying completed interviews.

Question 32

Some social scientists are critical of the practice of standardized interviewing because

A) there is no evidence that shows that it reduces interviewer error.
B) it can lead interviewers to disregard respondents' misinterpretations of questions.
C) it ignores different interviewer styles.
D) it restricts the form and content of the questions that may be asked.
E) it prevents respondents from making different interpretations of questions.

Question 33

Response effects in surveys represent a problem in

A) measurement validity.
B) nonresponse bias.
C) sampling error.
D) study design.

Question 34

Response effects and interviewer effects in surveys

A) represent problems in measurement reliability.
B) are comparable, respectively, to demand characteristics and experimenter effects in experiments.
C) can be reduced by increasing the response rate.
D) are least problematic in a face-to-face survey.

Question 35

Response effects are most likely be a problem in __________ surveys, and supervision and quality control are least likely to be a problem in __________ surveys.

A) face-to-face; telephone
B) telephone; face-to-face
C) face-to-face; mail
D) mail; face-to-face

Question 36

The best rule of thumb on follow-up mailings in mail surveys is that

A) researchers should use as many follow-ups as necessary to achieve a satisfactory response rate.
B) more than one follow-up is ineffective and may anger respondents.
C) more than three follow-up mailings is generally fruitless.
D) a copy of the questionnaire should be included with each follow-up.

Question 37

Regarding the stages of and procedures for conducting a survey,

A) the purpose of pretesting is to check for associations among variables to see if a larger study is worth doing.
B) one purpose of a cover letter is to deceive respondents so they won't become preoccupied with figuring out the true purpose of the survey.
C) the goal of standardized interviewing is to eliminate the interviewer as a source of measurement error.
D) follow-up efforts seldom are made because of their negligible effects on response rates.

Question 38

Regarding the stages of and procedures for conducting a survey,

A) computer-assisted interviewing eliminates the need for pretesting the survey instrument.
B) follow-up efforts are especially important in mail surveys.
C) supervision and quality control are most difficult in a telephone survey.
D) in personal interview surveys, interviewer training generally focuses on teaching interviewers how to detect whether respondents are telling the truth.

Question 39

Which of the following steps would not be included in the field administration of a survey?

A) pretesting
B) manipulation check
C) interviewer training
D) field supervision
E) follow-up efforts

Question 40

To gain the cooperation of nonrespondents, survey researchers

A) may make numerous follow-up attempts to reach them.
B) have found that more than one follow-up is not cost effective.
C) use follow-ups in telephone surveys, but not in FTF or mail surveys.
D) never attempt to convert clear refusals to participate.

Question 41

Compared with experiments, surveys generally are

A) less economical.
B) less susceptible to reactive measurement effects.
C) less effective in testing causal relationships.
D) lower in external validity.

Question 42

Which of the following is not an advantage of survey research?

A) feasibility of large samples
B) detailed social description
C) broad scope of possible topics
D) flexible data analysis
E) nonreactive measurement

Question 43

What is a serious weakness that surveys share with experiments?

A) susceptibility to reactive measurement effects
B) use of convenience samples
C) limited number of variables that can be studied
D) frequent use of deception

Question 44

Which of the following is a weakness of survey research?

A) sample size
B) cost effectiveness
C) range of possible topics
D) reliance on self-reports

Question 45

Most survey interviews are unstructured.

Question 46

Surveys may be used for both descriptive and explanatory research.

Question 47

Social researchers today are more apt to do a secondary analysis than to conduct an original survey themselves.

Question 48

The General Social Survey is an adjunct to the decennial census that is conducted every ten years.

Question 49

The most common survey design is the cohort study.

Question 50

The principal difference between a trend study and a panel study is whether or not the same individuals are surveyed over time.

Question 51

Social network and contextual studies are types of longitudinal surveys.

Question 52

A major consideration in choosing a survey mode is coverage error.

Question 53

Face-to-face interviewing is the most expensive and time-consuming mode of survey research.

Question 54

Face-to-face interviews tend to have higher response rates than other survey modes.

Question 55

Although popular in the 1970s, telephone interviewing is now seldom used because of its high cost.

Question 56

Administration and staff supervision in a telephone interview are simpler than in a face-to-face interview study.

Question 57

Computer-assisted interviewing can eliminate biases due to the respondent's reaction to personal characteristics of the interviewer.

Question 58

Web surveys generally allow for more flexible questionnaire design than other survey modes.

Question 59

One way to increase return rates in questionnaire studies is to reduce costs for the respondent.

Question 60

The major weakness of Internet surveys is the strictures they place on questionnaire design.

Question 61

Like cover stories in experiments, most cover letters for surveys necessarily involve deception.

Question 62

Interviewer training consists mostly of teaching interviewers how to detect whether respondents are telling the truth.

Question 63

Interviewer training may be combined with pretesting the survey instrument.

Question 64

A good way to minimize interviewer bias is to withhold information about the general purpose of the study.

Question 65

The purpose of pretesting is to check for associations among variables to see if a larger study is worth doing.

Question 66

Standardization prevents respondents from misinterpreting the meaning of survey questions.

Question 67

Follow-up efforts seldom are made in surveys because of their negligible effect on response rates.

Question 68

Researchers may use monetary incentives and specially trained interviewers to convert reluctant respondents.

Question 69

Like experiments, surveys are susceptible to reactive measurement effects.

Question 70

Compared with experiments, surveys generally study larger samples and a wider range of topics.

Question 71

Compared with experiments, surveys generally are less effective in testing for cause and effect.

Question 72

Suppose the Office of Student Involvement at your college has decided to submit a grant proposal to conduct a campus survey of student volunteering. The aims of the survey are to document volunteering among current students-who volunteers, the kinds of volunteer activities in which students engage, and their motivations for volunteering. They have hired you as a research consultant to help them prepare the proposal. Carefully describe what you would recommend regarding (a) type of survey design, (b) choice of survey mode, and (c) sampling design. Be sure to justify your recommendations by describing the pros and cons of each.

Question 73

In what ways is the choice of a survey mode crucial to the design and planning of a survey? How does it affect (a) time and cost, (b) type of questions that can be asked, (c) choice of sampling frame, and (d) quality of the sample?

Question 74

What are the principal arguments pro and con regarding the use of standardized interviewing procedures?

Question 75

Describe some sources of measurement error in surveys attributable to the (a) interviewer and (b) respondent.

Question 76

Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of surveys and experiments.