Deck 12: Survey Research

Question 1

A cross-sectional study

A) is one that tests an entire population.
B) involves collecting successive independent samples.
C) involves collecting data only once.
D) is rarely used in survey research.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following types of internet surveys would be preferred because of higher response rates and tighter control over multiple responses by a single individual?

A) e-mail surveys
B) pop-up surveys
C) website surveys
D) blog surveys

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Changes in students' attitudes toward school are assessed in yearly surveys from grade 9 through 12. This would represent a design.

A) panel
B) trend
C) cross-sectional
D) between subjects

Answer 3

A

Question 4

For your study on attitudes toward abortion, you elect to do an electronic survey because of the advantages it affords over other ways of doing a survey. The advantages of an electronic survey consist of all the following except

A) lowered cost.
B) access to individuals anywhere in the world.
C) being able to easily download the responses into a file that can be analyzed statistically.
D) being able to insure the anonymity and privacy of the responses because they are made and transmitted in private.

Question 5

Survey research is appropriate for which of the following situations?

A) to measure individuals' attitudes
B) to track changes in beliefs over time
C) to test theoretical models
D) all of the above

Question 6

Compared to written surveys, phone interviews

A) reduce the problem of question ambiguity.
B) are a lot cheaper.
C) are immune from interviewer bias problems.
D) have a lower response rate.

Question 7

A nationwide study was done in which samples of drivers were asked their opinions about the reliability of their cars. The results of the survey were analyzed for differences among drivers of different models and makes of cars. What survey design is being used in this study?

A) cross-sectional design
B) longitudinal design
C) successive independent samples design
D) correlated samples design

Question 8

When using the telephone interview method, the problem of unlisted numbers

A) is a significant problem resulting in biased samples.
B) can be overcome through follow-up questioning.
C) can be overcome through the use of random-digit dialing.
D) is not a problem because almost all numbers can be found on the internet.

Question 9

Interviews are generally preferred over questionnaires because

A) they are cheaper.
B) they reduce the potential for bias.
C) they allow the researcher to administer follow-up questions.
D) all of the above

Question 10

Each year the graduating class at Stoner High is given a survey to assess their drug use. The same survey has been used for 10 years allowing school administrators to track changes in drug use over time. This method of survey collection is referred to as

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

Question 11

The distinguishing characteristic of the longitudinal design is that

A) several independent groups of individuals are tested once.
B) different groups of people are tested over time using the same survey.
C) the same sample of respondents is surveyed more than once.
D) the survey item is particularly lengthy.

Question 12

The director of marketing for a local company mails out 10,000 surveys in her city to evaluate the appeal of her company's new products. Based on what she learned in her college research methods course, she can expect a return rate of after the initial mailing.

A) less than 10%
B) 20-30%
C) about 60%
D) 80-90%

Question 13

Previously, Dr. Winchester used anonymous written course evaluations to assess his teaching. This semester, he plans to ask each student in his seminar to see him privately, after grades are turned in, to discuss the course. Technically, Dr. Winchester will be doing what kind of survey?

A) private
B) evaluative
C) academic
D) face-to-face

Question 14

Group-administered questionnaires

A) are commonly used as part of focus groups.
B) are of questionable value due to ethical concerns.
C) typically have a low response rate.
D) are commonly used in workplace setting.

Question 15

When conducting a survey, face-to-face or telephone interviews yield the most complete information, but are expensive and time consuming. An alternative is to mail surveys, but a major problem with mail surveys is that

A) they are usually sent to an unrepresentative sample.
B) the survey return rate is typically low.
C) people are more likely to misrepresent their views by mail.
D) people are inclined to add lengthy written comments on surveys and these are hard to quantify.

Question 16

All of the following characterize face to face interviews except

A) cost can be a problem.
B) the interviewer can clarify ambiguous questions.
C) getting a representative sample is easier than with the other methods.
D) they might be limited to a small geographical area.

Question 17

Sax and her colleagues 2003) studied changes in the values and goals of college freshman from 1966 to the present. They drew random samples from each year's incoming class. Which survey research design did these researchers use?

A) cross-sectional design
B) successive independent samples design
C) longitudinal design
D) convenience design

Question 18

A researcher interested in assessing marital satisfaction mailed surveys to 1,000 participants including various age groups and ethnicities. If the individuals are only surveyed one time this would represent a design.

A) cross-sectional
B) panel
C) longitudinal
D) successive independent samples

Question 19

Which of the following is a problem for written surveys?

A) question ambiguity
B) return rate
C) both 'a' and 'b'
D) none of the above

Question 20

Volunteer sampling which may produce non-representative samples is a particular problem with

A) face to face interviews.
B) mail questionnaires.
C) group-administered questionnaires.
D) internet surveys.

Question 21

Which of the following is a disadvantage of the group administered questionnaire?

A) low return rate
B) cannot be used if individual participants are spread out across locations
C) expensive and time consuming
D) time consuming

Question 22

Consider the following survey question: "Most Americans consider a cell phone to be a necessity. Do you agree?" This is an example of a question.

A) leading
B) loaded
C) double-barreled
D) Likert

Question 23

A mutually exclusive question is one that

A) is open ended.
B) includes categories that do not overlap.
C) includes both open ended and closed-ended questions.
D) includes all possible responses.

Question 24

Which of the following is a sentence that contains a double negative?

A) I do think that women should not be allowed to have an abortion.
B) I do not think that teenagers should not be allowed to drive at age 14.
C) I do not think that men should be allowed to physically attack women.
D) I do think that vaccinations should be free of charge.

Question 25

The length of a survey should be

A) short enough to maintain the respondent's cooperation until completed.
B) as long as required to get everything you may want to know.
C) shorter for closed-ended questions and longer for open-ended questions.
D) as short as possible to save time and money.

Question 26

What is wrong with the following question? Please indicate the total number of college credits you have earned
0 to 32
32 to 64
64 to 96
96 to 128

A) the categories are not mutually exclusive
B) the categories are not exhaustive
C) both 'a' and 'b'
D) neither 'a' nor 'b'

Question 27

A survey researcher chose to administer a survey using the Internet. This sample likely overrepresents people who own a computer and underrepresents people who don't own a computer. This problem in the researcher's survey is best described as

A) selection bias.
B) low response rate.
C) social desirability.
D) response set.

Question 28

The problem of survey participants attempting to present a positive image of themselves is referred to as

A) experimenter bias.
B) social desirability bias.
C) response set bias.
D) good subject bias.

Question 29

Consider the following survey item: "Some people feel that abortion is akin to killing babies. Do you agree?" This is a bad survey item because it includes

A) a loaded statement.
B) a leading statement.
C) a double-barreled statement.
D) both 'a' and 'b'

Question 30

A survey question that asks, "Are you worried about the economy and getting a job?" is an example of a:

A) loaded question.
B) double-barreled question.
C) leading question.
D) Likert scaled question.

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT true in reference to writing survey items to match research objectives?

A) construct items that cover the different areas and content needed to fulfill your objectives.
B) conduct an extensive review of the literature to make sure you have identified all areas that you need to cover
C) use technical language that is specific to the construct that you are researching
D) write items and construct a questionnaire that will have the psychometric properties of providing reliable and valid data

Question 32

When a survey item implies a preferred response within the wording of the question itself it is called a

A) loaded question.
B) leading question.
C) double-barreled question.
D) fixed response question.

Question 33

An emotional laden term is considered

A) loaded.
B) leading.
C) double-barreled.
D) open-ended

Question 34

On a form for student evaluation of faculty teaching, students were asked to agree or disagree with this statement: "This professor encouraged discussion and/or answered students' questions." This item is

A) double barreled.
B) dual encoded.
C) ambivalent.
D) open ended.

Question 35

Survey question should be

A) short
B) long
C) simple
D) a and c

Question 36

A student is asked in a survey question about whether he enjoys spending time with his family. The student really doesn't like his family very much but doesn't want to seem like a bad guy and so says that he does enjoy spending time with his family. The student is likely responding to the pressure of

A) social desirability.
B) sensitivity bias.
C) response bias.
D) consensus responding.

Question 37

Which of the following should be considered in reference to the participant when writing survey questions?

A) reading level of the participant
B) cultural characteristics of the participant
C) demographics of the participant
D) all of the above

Question 38

When writing items that are appropriate for the respondents being surveyed you must NOT

A) use stilted or pretentious language
B) write items that are meaningful and understandable by participants
C) use natural and familiar language
D) consider the view of the participant while you are writing.

Question 39

The major problem with a phone survey is

A) unlisted numbers
B) expense
C) social desirability bias
D) response rate

Question 40

All of the following are closed questions except

A) Is Kobe Bryant the best basketball player in the world?
B) Who is the best basketball player in the world - Kobe Bryant or LeBron James?
C) What criteria would you use to determine the best basketball player in the world?
D) Do you enjoy watching basketball?

Question 41

When Jenn completes the Student Evaluation of Instruction form at the end of the semester she doesn't really think much about it, she just gives her professor all "5's" indicating that he is great. Jenn's method of completing the evaluation survey would seem to be indicative of the response bias referred to as

A) social desirability.
B) selection.
C) response set.
D) confirmation.

Question 42

The problem of response set can be addressed by

A) eliminating center choices such as "undecided."
B) by interspersing open-ended questions within closed-ended.
C) including reverse-scored items.
D) all of the above

Question 43

When using Likert scaling researchers often combine survey items resulting in a single value to represent the construct being measured. In doing so the researcher must be confident that the survey is internally reliable. As a measure of internal reliability they should report

A) Cohen's
B) Cronbach's alpha.
C) ANCOVA.
D)
D) measures of predictive validity.

Question 44

Why is a five point rating scale generally preferred over a dichotomous scale?

A) it results in data that is easier to code and analyze.
B) it is easier to classify the strength of an opinion.
C) it is easier for participants to understand.
D) a dichotomous scale does not include exhaustive categories

Question 45

is a scaling method that includes a series of opposing adjective pairs

A) Binary forced choice
B) Semantic differential
C) Antonym choice
D) Mutually exclusive choice
E)g., happy - sad) as end-point anchors on a scale.

Question 46

Which of the following is an example of a dichotomous closed-ended question?

A) Do you drive a car? Yes or No
B) What type of car do you drive?
C) I experience road rage… Never Sometimes Always
D) I drive miles a day.

Question 47

items should be used to measure constructs in a survey.

A) Very few
B) Multiple
C) Single
D) Over 100

Question 48

Which of the following is an example of an open-ended question?

A) Captain Crunch is my favorite cereal yes/no)
B) I love Captain Crunch cereal 1 = agree; 2 = undecided; 3 = disagree)
C) Please list your favorite cereals
D) all of the above are open-ended

Question 49

questions are a combination of both open and closed ended questions.

A) Combo
B) Open-closed
C) Mixed
D) Blended

Question 50

Pilot testing your survey can help to

A) identify problems
B) practice protocols.
C) clear up ambiguity
D) all of the above

Question 51

Suppose you want to assess student attitudes of the new campus center by surveying 100 students at your school. In this example the group of 100 students represents the and all of the students at your school represent the .

A) sample; random sample
B) population; sample
C) sample; population
D) cluster sample; sample

Question 52

Which of the following is NOT true of binary forced choice questions?

A) They can reduce response set.
B) Participants choose from three choices on each question.
C) They can be difficult for item analysis.
D) They are typically not recommended.

Question 53

questions ask the respondent to check all responses that apply

A) Checklist
B) Binary
C) Ranking
D) Likert

Question 54

questions ask the respondent to put their responses in ascending or descending order.

A) Checklist
B) Binary
C) Ranking
D) Likert

Question 55

The principle advantage of open-ended questions is that they

A) are easier to score and code.
B) eliminate the problem of social desirability bias.
C) offer the respondent greater flexibility.
D) minimize the problem of expressiveness and spontaneity.

Question 56

Dr. Bell is interested in creating a survey on road rage. Since not everyone drives a car, he should ask an) question at the beginning of the survey to see which participants drive cars and then have only those who do drive answer questions 2-10 on road rage while driving.

A) contingency
B) open ended
C) double barreled
D) response bias

Question 57

You plan to develop a survey and would like to compute a single score to represent the construct you are measuring. Which type of items should you use?

A) open-ended
B) forced alternative
C) multiple choice
D) Likert scales

Question 58

A question that directs the survey taker to a particular place within the survey

A) contingency
B) directive
C) indicator
D) command
E)g., "if your income is over $50,000 go to question #15") is called an) question.

Question 59

When ordering the questions on your survey it is advisable to include questions first.

A) demographic
B) positive
C) negative
D) complicated

Question 60

Using a face-to-face interview method of 200 randomly selected college students Juanita found that no one had ever used marijuana. Juanita's results may be compromised by

A) social desirability bias
B) low response rate
C) improper sample selection procedure
D) all of the above

Question 61

Sampling error can be kept low if

A) a convenience sample is used.
B) a random sample is used.
C) good survey items are used.
D) a multi-method design is utilized

Question 62

In survey research is more important than in experimental research and so sampling is more likely to be utilized.

A) establishing causality; convenience
B) establishing causality; random
C) generalizability; random
D) generalizability; convenience

Question 63

Normal variation of sample values from population values is referred to as

A) sampling error.
B) variability error.
C) population error.
D) response error.