Deck 8: Survey Research

Question 1

What are the three basic choices available to the researcher in relation to questions having to do with attitudes? Specify,describe,and give an example for each of them.

Answer 1

-Standard-format question: This is type of survey research question in which the answer categories do not to include "no opinion" or "don't know."
-Example: Do you agree or disagree with this statement? "The employer is making it difficult for the union to negotiate a new settlement."
-Quasi-filter question: This is a type of survey research question that includes the answer choice "no opinion" or "don't know."
-Example: "The employer is making it difficult for the union to negotiate a new settlement." Do you agree,disagree,or have no opinion on that?
-Full-filter question: This is a type of survey research question in which respondents are first asked whether they have an opinion or know about a topic,then only the respondents with an opinion or knowledge are asked a specific question on the topic.
-Example: Not everyone has an opinion on this.If you do not have an opinion,just say so.Here's the statement: "The employer is making it difficult for the union to negotiate a new settlement." Do you have an opinion on that? If yes,do you agree or disagree?

Question 2

Specify the major weakness with the following survey question: "The Soviets cheated on every agreement to freeze nuclear weapons development since 1950.Don't you agree that Canada should give up on establishing a limitations agreement?" 1.Yes
2)Not sure
3)No

A) It is a socially undesirable question.
B) This question is too long.
C) It is a biased or leading question.
D) It is a double-barrelled question.
E) The question is ambiguous.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following items should be among the first things a researcher does once he or she has decided on the survey as the appropriate method for gathering data?

A) Decide on the target population
B) Locate respondents
C) Select the sample
D) Write the survey questions
E) Plan how to record the data

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Identify and briefly describe eight problems that should be avoided in survey question construction.

Question 5

Specify and give an example of the six types of questions common to good surveys.

Question 6

What kinds of survey questions often result in problems for the researcher? How can these problems be overcome?

Question 7

What specific ethical issues should a survey researcher be aware of?

Question 8

What are two advantages and two disadvantages of open questions?

Question 9

Which one of the following survey questions is properly phrased?

A) "Aside from work you do at home or at a job, do you do anything to stay physically fit?"
B) "Do you agree with the Canadian Medical Association that smoking is bad for your health?"
C) "Have you ever had angina or cardiac fibrillation?"
D) "Do you jog and do sit-ups every day?"
E) "How many times a month do you engage in vigorous physical exercise for a period of at least 20 minutes?"

Question 10

Survey respondents are most likely to over-report

A) tax evasion.
B) a venereal disease.
C) alcohol consumption.
D) giving to a charity.
E) salary.

Question 11

Survey respondents are most likely to under-report

A) owning a library card.
B) seeing a psychologist about depression.
C) contributing money to a religious organization.
D) voting in a recent election.
E) attending a night class at a local university.

Question 12

What are two advantages and two disadvantages of closed questions?

Question 13

From beginning to end,identify and briefly describe each of the basic steps in conducting survey-based research.

Question 14

Professor Wendy Jones created a questionnaire that contained the following question: "How often do you get sexually aroused while smoking marijuana?" What is the problem with this question?

A) It is a leading question.
B) It has social desirability bias.
C) It is a double-barrelled question.
D) It is a threatening question.
E) It contains jargon.

Question 15

What are five ways that an ordinary conversation differs from a survey research interview?

Question 16

In her survey on working class culture,Professor Janokowski wants to ask questions about very sensitive topics,such as masturbation,homosexuality,and extramarital affairs.Which type of questions should she use to explore these sensitive topics in her survey?

A) Ambiguous
B) Double-barrelled
C) Open
D) Closed
E) Funnelled

Question 17

What is the main problem with the way the following question is phrased? "Don't you agree that in order to restore order to the nation we must defeat the liberals?"

A) It is a leading question.
B) It contains loaded jargon.
C) The question is ambiguous.
D) The question assumes knowledge beyond that which most respondents possess.
E) It confuses beliefs with responsibility.

Question 18

What is the major weakness with the following survey question? "How old were you when one of your parents first took you to a restaurant?"
1)Under 6 months old
2)6 months to 12 months old
3)13 months to 24 months old
4)25 months to 3 years old
5)More than 3 years old

A) It is double-barrelled question.
B) The question contains too much unnecessary jargon.
C) The question is too long.
D) It is not mutually exclusive question.
E) Respondents are not fully capable of answering this question.

Question 19

What are some important points to consider when organizing the physical layout of a questionnaire?

Question 20

What is the major error illustrated in the following question? What is your marital status? __ Married __ Single

A) It is not mutually exclusive.
B) It is not exhaustive.
C) It is a double-barrelled question.
D) It makes a false premise.
E) It is too personal.

Question 21

What is a "probe" in survey research?

A) A trick question to determine whether a respondent is lying
B) A two-part question in survey research where the answer to the first part of the question determines which of two different questions a respondent next receives
C) A sequence of questions starting with general ones and ending with specific ones
D) The name for the middle or neutral choice among the answers to an attitude question
E) A follow-up question where a respondent is asked to clarify or elaborate on a previous answer

Question 22

Which one of the following features is most likely to increase respondent cooperation in all types of surveys?

A) Offerings a prepaid incentive
B) Guaranteeing anonymity and confidentiality
C) Describing the purpose of the research in complete detail
D) Sending letters in advance of an interview
E) Repeatedly emphasizing the importance of the interview

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways survey interviews differ from ordinary conversations?

A) The interviewer is nonjudgmental and does not try to change the respondent's opinions or beliefs.
B) The respondent provides almost all information. The interviewer does not correct a respondent's factual errors.
C) The interviewer employs ritual responses to stimulate respondents.
D) The interviewer controls the topic, direction, and pace. He or she keeps the respondent "on task," and irrelevant diversions are contained.
E) The respondent should not evade questions and should give truthful, thoughtful answers.

Question 24

Which type of survey allows for the longest interview and the most complex questions?

A) The telephone interview
B) The mail questionnaire
C) The face-to-face interview
D) The web survey
E) The computer-assisted interview

Question 25

What is the following type of question called? "Please tell me if you Agree,Disagree,or Have No Opinion regarding the following statement: The Canadian government should change the age at which a person can legally purchase alcohol to 25 for all provinces."

A) A partially open question
B) A quasi-filter question
C) A open-ended question
D) A full-filter question
E) A standard form question

Question 26

Reginald Dogood is constructing a short web survey on charitable giving.What potential problem should he be most concerned with?

A) Order effects
B) Social desirability bias
C) Survey length
D) Interviewer bias
E) Locating a representative sample

Question 27

When reporting survey research results,what is one item that you do NOT have to include?

A) Date of survey
B) Size of sample
C) Exact question wording
D) Method of survey (face-to-face, telephone, etc.)
E) The questionnaire

Question 28

Professor Sam Spade asks a respondent 18 questions about a politician where the possible responses are "agree" and "disagree." All 18 questions are worded in such a way that a person who favours the politician will say "agree." The respondent quickly answers "agree" to all 18 questions without really thinking about each individual question.This is an example of

A) social desirability effect.
B) prestige question effect.
C) sleeper effect.
D) response set effect.
E) order effect.

Question 29

Which of the following characteristics pertains to survey interviews but not ordinary conversation?

A) Questions and answers from each participant are relatively equally balanced.
B) Judgments are stated and attempts are made to persuade the other of a particular point of view.
C) A person can reveal deep inner feelings to gain sympathy or as a therapeutic release.
D) Ritual responses are common (e.g., "Uh-huh," shaking head, "How are you?" "Fine").
E) The respondent should not evade questions and should give truthful, thoughtful answers.

Question 30

When is it most appropriate to use an open-ended question?

A) When the sample contains many floaters
B) When there are only a few simple choices for most of the questions in the survey
C) When doing exploratory research
D) When lots of statistics are required
E) When the sample consists of many people with limited speaking and writing abilities

Question 31

Professor Wendy Jones is organizing the questions in her survey on the prevalence of marijuana consumption among high school students.Which one of the following rules should she be sure to follow?

A) She should double-check to ensure that all relevant questions include jargon or slang so that her respondents will understand what is being asked.
B) Professor Jones should organize the survey so that specific questions are asked before general ones.
C) She should try to mix questions on different topics to maintain respondent interest.
D) Professor Jones should make certain that all threatening questions are asked at the beginning of the survey.
E) She should organize her questions into common topics.

Question 32

What is a major disadvantage of open-ended survey questions?

A) Coding the responses can be tedious and difficult.
B) Misinterpretation of a question can go unnoticed.
C) They force participants to make simplistic responses to complex issues.
D) Respondents with no opinion or no knowledge can answer anyway.
E) They permit an unlimited number of possible answers.

Question 33

Which type of survey has the lowest response rate?

A) The telephone interview
B) The mail questionnaire
C) The face-to-face interview
D) The web survey
E) The computer-assisted interview

Question 34

Identify the following type of question: "Do you have an opinion about the recent events in China?" [TO INTERVIEWER: IF NO,SKIP TO NEXT QUESTION.IF YES,CONTINUE.] "Please tell me if you 'Agree,' 'Disagree,' or 'Have No Opinion' regarding the statement: 'The Chinese government should give in to the demands of people staging mass demonstrations to free Tibet.'"

A) A partially open question
B) An open-ended question
C) A standard form question
D) A quasi-filter question
E) A full-filter question

Question 35

Which type of survey has the highest response rate?

A) The telephone interview
B) The mail questionnaire
C) The face-to-face interview
D) The online survey
E) The computer-assisted interview

Question 36

A _____ question offers respondents a "don't know" alternative.

A) standard format
B) quasi-filter
C) full filter
D) partially open
E) contingency

Question 37

Undergraduate student David Davidson's questionnaire has two series of questions.One series asks Caucasians about South Asian people,and the other asks South Asians about Caucasians.The series of questions respondents answer depends on their answer to the second question in the questionnaire,"What is your ethnicity?" Davidson is using a

A) dual-ballot question.
B) forced-choice question.
C) contingency question.
D) sign-post question.
E) double-barrelled question.

Question 38

Which one of the following types of surveys will yield the quickest results?

A) The telephone interview
B) The mail questionnaire
C) The face-to-face interview
D) The web survey
E) The computer-assisted interview

Question 39

The interview process is fraught with tensions a skillful interviewer must navigate.Which of the following is NOT one of the tensions that inheres within the interview process?

A) Interviewers must obtain cooperation and build rapport, yet they must remain neutral and objective.
B) Interviewers encroach on the respondents' time and privacy for information that may not directly benefit the respondents.
C) Interviewers try to reduce embarrassment, fear, and suspicion so that respondents feel comfortable revealing information, often while asking about sensitive and private topics.
D) Interviewers must be forthright about their judgments and opinions without discouraging respondents from being open about their own opinions.
E) Good interviewers must allow respondents the freedom to give unpressured responses while managing the pace and direction of the interview.

Question 40

What is a "floater" in survey research?

A) A type of question that can be placed anywhere in the survey
B) An interviewer who is capable of interviewing any type of respondent
C) A respondent who really does not have an opinion or belief about something asked about in a question, but answers anyway
D) An additional response item for a closed-ended question
E) A type of question designed to keep respondents interested in the questionnaire

Question 41

floaters

Question 42

closed-ended question

Question 43

context effect

Question 44

computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI)

Question 45

partially open question

Question 46

matrix question

Question 47

contingency question

Question 48

full-filter question

Question 49

quasi-filter question

Question 50

funnel sequence

Question 51

probe

Question 52

open-ended question

Question 53

order effects

Question 54

pseudosurvey

Question 55

double-barrelled question

Question 56

prestige bias

Question 57

cover sheet

Question 58

interview schedule

Question 59

leading question

Question 60

During an interview exploring political attitudes,Gary Goodman asks his interviewee how she plans to vote in the upcoming municipal elections.Instead of answering,Gary's interviewee asks him how he plans to vote.How should Gary respond to his interviewee's question?

A) Withhold his own opinion and construct and answer that reflects his interviewee's sentiments
B) Indicate the question is inappropriate
C) Skip the question and move on to the next item on the interview schedule
D) Share his opinions about the upcoming municipal elections while being careful to maintain a neutral, objective tone
E) Decline to answer the question without explaining why

Question 61

computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI)

Question 62

threatening questions

Question 63

response set

Question 64

mode of delivery

Question 65

wording effects

Question 66

standard format question

Question 67

social desirability bias