Survey Methodology EPID 626

1
Survey MethodologyEPID 626

• Survey Instruments
• Manya Magnus, Ph.D.
• Fall 2001

2
Lecture Outline

• Getting started
• Types of questions
• Group exercise

3
What is a survey instrument?

• For interviews A script for interviewers,
  including introductions, instructions, and
  questions
• For self-administered surveys A questionnaire

4
What is the worst thing you can do?

• Jump in without thinking about purpose of study,
  objectives, analysis plan!
• Think first, start slowly!

5
Essential steps in developing a survey instrument

• Statement of purposes
• What do you want to accomplish with the survey?
  Research questions, objectives
• List of the variables to be measured
• Group into logical categories
• Draft analysis plan
• What are your dependent, independent variables?
  What are potential confounders?

6
Design/variable grid
Research question Dependent variables Independent variables Potential confounders
Are clients satisfied with ancillary services? Satisfaction with individual services (yes/no) Gender Race Ethnicity Age Disease status Pregnancy Children Need for services at baseline CD4 count Viral load Medication status
Satisfaction with individual services (scale) Etc.. Etc..
7
Preliminary question design steps

• Interdisciplinary research group
• What are the research questions/
  objectives/hypotheses?
• Focus groups
• Draft questions
• Cognitive laboratory interviews
• Pilot/pre-test

8
Focus groups (1)

• Objective To compare the reality about which
  respondents will be answering questions with the
  abstract concepts embedded in the study
  objectives
• Usually 6-8 people per group have a couple of
  groups

9
Focus groups (2)

• Try to get participants who are similar to your
  survey population
• Talk about perceptions, experiences, and feelings
  related to survey subject
• Get people who are experts in focus group
  leadership

10
Drafting questions

• Look for standard questions from other surveys
• Benefit from their experience
• Enhance comparability of your survey with
  previous surveys
• Write good questions
• Dont remake the wheel!

11
Cognitive laboratory interviews

• Respondents are brought into a laboratory setting
• May be videotaped
• Interviews conducted by cognitive psychologist or
  experienced investigator
• Goal To get information about how the respondent
  understood the questions and about the way they
  answered them

12
Layout of survey instrument

• Make it clear and simple
• Usually begin with straightforward questions, put
  complicated or sensitive questions in the middle
  or at the end

13
Interviews

• Should have everything scripted, including
  introductions, instructions, transitions,
  definitions, and explanations
• Be very explicit about skip instructions
• Differentiate instructions and optional wording
  from questions
• Usually done with all caps and parentheses,
  respectively

14
Example

• Interviewer instructions read aloud all
  sentences that are in bold. Italics indicate
  instructions for interviewer that are not to be
  read aloud
• Have you been pregnant in the last three (3)
  months?