How to Conduct Surveys

Arlene Fink (PhD) is Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, and president of the Langley Research Institute. Her main interests include evaluation and survey research and the conduct of research literature reviews as well as the evaluation of their quality. Dr. Fink has conducted scores of evaluation studies in public health, medicine, and education. She is on the faculty of UCLA’s Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and is a scientific and evaluation advisor to UCLA’s Gambling Studies and IMPACT (Improving Access, Counseling & Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer) programs. She consults nationally and internationally for agencies such as L’institut de Promotion del la Prévention Secondaire en Addictologie (IPPSA) in Paris, France, and Peninsula Health in Victoria, Australia. Professor Fink has taught and lectured extensively all over the world and is the author of more than 130 peer-reviewed articles and 15 textbooks.

The book is very readable with an easy-to-follow structure and lots of practical advice. For example, Fink provides a useful table on the pros and cons of using different survey types. Examples taken from real-life surveys are also used to good effect throughout, helping to make the text more engaging. The summing up section at the end of each chapter is also a helpful reference for readers to know where to find what they might need and to check their own understanding.

• PrefaceAbout the AuthorChapter 1: Conducting Surveys: Everyone Is Doing ItWhat Is a Survey?When Is a Survey Best?Self-Administered Questionnaires and Interviews: The Heart of the MatterThe Friendly CompetitionA Survey Continuum: From Specific to General UseEthics, Privacy, and ConfidentialityChildren and Survey EthicsInternational SurveysFormal Standards for Ethical SurveysChapter 2: The Survey Form: Questions, Scales, and AppearanceThe Content Is the MessageDefine the TermsSelect Your Information Needs or HypothesesMake Sure You Can Get the InformationDo Not Ask for Information Unless You Can Act on ItWriting QuestionsOrganizing Responses to Open-Ended Survey Items: Do You Get Any Satisfaction?Rules for Writing Closed Survey QuestionsResponses for Closed QuestionsRating ScalesChildren and SurveysOnline SurveysPlain and Simple Survey Questions and ResponsesScalingChapter 3: Getting It Together: Some Practical ConcernsLength CountsGetting the Survey in OrderQuestionnaire Format: Aesthetics and Other ConcernsBranching Questions, or the Infamous “Skip” PatternAdministration: Who Gives What to Whom?Reliability and Validity: The Quality of Your SurveySelecting and Adapting SurveysFinding Surveys on the WebThe Survey Is Put on Trial: Guidelines for Pilot TestingA Far-Reaching World: Surveys, Language, and CultureChapter 4: SamplingSample Size and Response Rate: Who and How Many?Random Sampling MethodsStratified Random SamplingSimple Random Cluster SamplingSystematic SamplingConvenience SamplesOther Convenience Sampling MethodsFinding the Sample: Who Is In? Who Is Out?How Large Should Your Sample Be?Statistical Methods: Sampling for Two Groups and an InterventionResponse RateWeightingMargin of Error and Confidence LevelChapter 5: Survey Design: Environmental ControlWhich Designs Are Available?Cross-Sectional Survey DesignsLongitudinal SurveysExperimental Survey DesignsOther Survey Designs: Normative and Case ControlCase Control DesignSurvey Design ValiditySurveys, Research Design, and Internal and External ValiditySurveys With Qualitative Data: Threats to Internal and External ValidityChapter 6: Analyzing and Organizing Data From SurveysWhat Is Typical Anyway? Some Commonly Used Methods for Analyzing Survey DataSurveying Differences: Usual MethodsTo Be or Not to Be: Statistician or Qualitative Analyst?Content Analysis, Open-Ended Responses, and CommentsPutting the Cart in Front of the Horse: Selecting Analysis MethodsData ManagementChapter 7: Presenting the Survey ResultsReproducing the QuestionnaireUsing TablesDrawing Pie DiagramsUsing Bar GraphsUsing Line GraphsDrawing Diagrams or PicturesWriting the Results of a SurveySurvey Reporting Checklists and GuidesThe Oral PresentationSlide PresentationsOral versus Written Reports: A Difference in ConversationIndex