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Instructors: Selina Graulich
Event type:
Seminar / exercise
Org-unit: Communication & Cultural Management
Displayed in timetable as:
Adv. Meth. | Survey
Hours per week:
1,5
Credits:
3,0
Location:
Campus der Zeppelin Universität
Language of instruction:
Englisch
Min. | Max. participants:
5 | 30
Priority scheme: Standard-Priorisierung
Course content:
This course introduces students to survey research as a fundamental method of standardized, quantitative data collection.
Surveys are tools for gathering information on attributes, attitudes, or actions of a specific group of individuals or other subjects (the population) by asking a subset of this population standardized questions. Surveys come in many guises: public opinion polls, household panels, customer satisfaction surveys, population censuses etc.
The following issues and questions will be addressed:
- Appropriateness of surveys as tools of data collection
When should we consider using surveys as a method of data collection?
How do they compare to other quantitative methods of data collection as well as to non-standardized interviewing?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different survey modes (face-to-face, mail, email, telephone, and web surveys)?
- Procedural aspects (survey sampling, questionnaire design, pretesting)
How do we conduct surveys and draft questionnaires?
Hands on example: How do we conduct a web survey using Social Science Survey?
Which aspects do we have to consider in each phase of the survey process?
How can we assess survey quality?
What are potential problems that might arise during the different stages of the survey process and how do they affect the quality of the survey?
How can we avoid these errors respectively deal with them when they are inevitable?
How can we analyze survey data once it is collected? However, the focus of this course is on data collection via surveys. Consequently, the different methods of analysis are only shortly presented as a prospect.
- Prospect: Challenges and opportunities for survey research
Educational objective:
The aim of this course is to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to design, conduct, analyze and critically evaluate sample-based surveys and analyses. It is relevant for all those generally interested in the collection and analysis of quantitative social science data.Please note: Rather than being a purely theoretical introduction to survey research, this course aims at helping students to conduct their own surveys successfully (for example, within the scope of their B.A./ M.A. thesis) and will be accompanied by hands on examples. A further, more general aim is to provide students with the necessary knowledge to choose an adequate method for data collection and analysis in their own research projects, especially with regard to their research question. Thus, students will learn how to link the steps of the research process successfully.
Further information about the exams:
- A written final exam consisting of multiple choice questions and some open-ended questions (50% of the grade)
- A midterm consisting of a group presentation (10-20 minutes) and a written handout (3-5 pages), in which the students are encouraged to present a research design on a topic of their choice, design a questionnaire, and explain their choice of methods (40% of the grade). The group sizes as well as the presentation time depend on the number of students signed up.
- Thorough preparation of assigned literature and active participation in class (10% of the grade)
Further information will be provided in the first session.
Transparency on course contents and assesment is essential. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions in advance (selina.graulich@zu.de).
Mandatory literature:
Students should read the following texts in order to get a solid understanding of the method and its application:
Dillmann, D. A., Smyth, J.D., & Christian, L. M. (2014). Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode surveys. The tailored design method (4th edition). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Groves, R. M., Fowler Jr, F. J., Couper, M. P., Lepkowski, J. M., Singer, E., & Tourangeau, R. (2011). Survey methodology (2nd edition). New York, NY: Wiley.
Leeuw, E. D. de, Hox, J. J., & Dillman, D. A. (Eds.). (2008). International handbook of survey methodology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Marsden, P. V., & Wright, J. D. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of survey research. Bingley: Emerald.
Wolf, C., Dominique, J., Smith, T. W., & Fu, Y. (Eds.) (2016). The SAGE handbook of survey methodology. London: Sage.
I do not intend students to read the whole textbooks in advance, but rather to read and prepare the respective chapters for each session. The book chapters will be accompanied, where approproate, by journal articles and by chapters from introductory textbooks on methods of empirical science and statistics. Whether the additional introductory literature will be necessary depends on my impression of your prior knowledge in these areas and will be discussed in the first introductory session.
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