GSSR

Research Methodology and Methods of Social Inquiry

www.socialinquiry.wordpress.com

December 13, 2011

I. The Interview

II. Survey Research

I. The Interview

Basic rules:– Courtesy, tact, and acceptance;– Appearance (dress);

– Confidentiality

The interview as social situation

Structured (scripted) & Unstructured intreviews; semi-structured interviews

- Advantages

- Disadvantages

Procedures in Conducting an Interview

- Gaining entry (trust)

- Introduction (explaining the study; confidentially, voluntary participation)

- Asking the Questions (structured/semi-structured/ unstructured)

- Probing

- Recording the Response

- Concluding the Interview

Focus Groups

Functions:- exploratory: test methodological techniques, try out

definition of concepts; identify key informants; pre-testing question wording; measurement

scales, ...

- triangulation: used to complement survey; but also participant observation

Methodological challenge: Interviewer also moderator- Avoid that 1/few person(s) dominate the group;- Encourage recalcitrant respondents;- Obtain responses from entire group to have fullest

coverage of topics

Advantages: inexpensive; data rich; flexible, stimulating to respondents,

recall aiding, cumulative and elaborative, over and above individual responses

Problems: - emerging group culture interferes with individual

expression; - threat of domination- group format makes inquiry on sensitive topics difficult- interviewer skills must be v. high due to group dynamics

II. Survey Research

Survey Designs

Cross-sectional studies:

data are collected from a sample at one point in time;

- Contextual studies;

- Social network studies.

Longitudinal Studies:

- Trend studies

- Panel Studies

Polish Panel Survey, POLPAN, conducted in 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, and 2008

- supported & administered by the Polish Academy of Sciences;

1st wave (1988): national random sample of adult population, aged 21-65 (N=5,817).

For 2nd wave (1993): random sample from the sample of 1st wave (N=2,500)

For the next waves (1998, 2003, and 2008) the same people were followed + samples of new cohorts.

1988-2008 panel: n = 938 respondents, aged 46 – 84 years in 2008

Survey Modes• Questionnaires; • Interviews; • Mixed-mode Surveys

Questionnaires:

- the respondent completes himself/herself & returns by a specified deadline;

Mail questionnaire (pen-and-pencil; internet)

Group-administered questionnaire

Household drop-off surveys (home/business)

Interviews: - completed by the interviewer based on what the

respondent says;

Telephone, Internet, Face-to-Face, Focus Groups

CATI

CAPI

Mixed-mode Surveys:

- combination of modes to sample and/or collect the data.

Constructing the Survey

The Survey instrument should:

- ensure effective two-way communication between respondents and the researcher;

- assist respondents in recalling & clarifying their experiences, attitudes and thoughts;

- keep the respondent interested and motivated.

Types of Questions

A. Open-ended & closed-ended questions

B. Direct and Indirect questions

C. Funnel sequence questions

D. Reason Analysis

E. Filter or Contingency Questions

A. Open-ended questions:

How would you rate the President’s performance in office so far?

Closed-ended questions:

How would you rate the President’s performance in office so far? () Poor() Below average() Average() Above average() Excellent

See Singleton & Straits, p. 269-270 for considerations on when to choose open vs. closed-end questions.

B. Direct and Indirect questions

“Would you mind having a woman as supervisor?”

vs.

“Do you believe your co-workers would mind having a woman as supervisor?”

C. Funnel sequence (questions): - move from a very general question to progressively

more specific questions.

Inverted funnel sequence: begins with the most specific questions, and ends with the most general

D. Reason Analysis: - well-devised serious of questions to get at R’s decision

process, instead of asking just “Why?”

Understanding students’ choice of going to UW:

1. Decision to go to college “When did you first consider seriously going to college? How did you

reach this decision?

2. Selection of schools applied to“Did you apply to any other colleges and univ? Which ones?”

3. Final choice of UW

“Did your parents, friends, teachers or other persons help you come to this decision? Who? How much influence did this have on you?”

E. Filter or Contingency Questions

- to determine whether the respondent is qualified to answer your question of interest.

Response Formats

Structured & Unstructured

Structured

Dichotomous: the question has 2 possible responses;

Yes/No, True/False or Agree/Disagree response.

Questions using Rating Scales

Survey questions that attempt to measure on an interval level:

Likert response scale

Cumulative or Guttman scaleR check each item with which they agree. The items themselves

are constructed so that they are cumulative

The semantic differential rating approach: an object is assessed by the respondent on a set of bipolar adjective pairs (using 5-

point, or 7-point rating scale):

General Issues on Questions & their Content

Is the question necessary/useful?

Are several questions needed?

Does it cover all possibilities?

Double-barreled question (a question in which 2 separate ideas are represented together as a unit)

“What are your feelings towards African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans?”

- “and” “or”

Does the question need to be more specific?

“How well did you like the book?” on scale ranging from "Not At All" to "Extremely Well."

What does it mean to say you liked a book very well?

Instead:

“Did you recommend the book to others?”

or

“Did you look for other books by that author?”

Avoid Biased/emotionally loaded questions

Leading questions

- suggest a possible answer/ make some responses seem more acceptable than others

“How often do you smoke marijuana?”

(for certain underreported behavior, this type of questions may be necessary)

“Do you agree that ….”

Are the questions personal or sensitive (i.e. will respondents answer truthfully)?

Can the question be misunderstood?

What assumptions does the question make?

Specify the time frame

“Do you think the government will increase taxes?”