The Survey Handbook

"A complete overview that conveys a sense of the detail needed to do a high quality survey." --Kathy Sexton-Radek, Elmhurst College "Provides a good overview of doing surveys with a clear and easy to follow writing style and a variety of examples covering the social and behavioral sciences." --Carol J. Lancaster, Medical University of South Carolina "Fink explains the different types of survey instruments and the activities that constitute a typical survey and demonstrates how to organize surveys and estimate their costs. In addition, she discusses such techniques as what types of questions to ask in pilot tests, how to relate survey costs to needs for personnel and time, and how to execute a management plan and a budget for a survey." --Gerald Albaum, University of Oregon, review in Journal of Marketing Research New to this Edition: * The characteristics and uses of qualitative surveys * The steps in a content analysis of qualitative data * Survey ethics, including the ethical principles to use in survey development and the characteristics of survey research misconduct * The main components of an informed consent form "′Reasonable Resources′ is an excellent way to end this first volume. It provides foreshadowing for the rest of the Kit, yet does not go into too much detail. This material is a valuable reference as an overview (or, planning aid) for the research process." --David McCaffrey, University of Mississippi

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgment The Survey Handbook: Learning Objectives Ch 1. What Is a Survey? When Do You Use One? Survey Objectives: Measuring Hoped-For Outcomes Straightforward Questions and Responses Four Types of Survey Instruments Ch 2. Sound Survey Design and Sampling Survey Design Survey Sampling Sampling Methods Sample Size Response Rate Guidelines for Promoting Responses, Minimizing Response Bias, and Reducing Error Ch 3. Reliable and Valid Survey Instruments Reliability Validity Content Face Criterion Construct Ch 4. Appropriate Survey Analysis Statistical Methods Independent and Dependent Variables Analysis of Qualitative Surveys Content Analysis of Qualitative Data Ch 5. Accurate Survey Reports Lists Charts Tables Ch 6. Ethical Surveys Ethic Prinicples for the Protection of Human Subjects Institutional Review Boards Informed Consent Ch 7. Reasonable Resources What Needs to Be Done? Checklist of Typical Survey Tasks Getting Each Survey Task Done Questions to Ask When Pilot-Testing Survey Instruments Who Will Do It, and What Resources Are Needed? Personnel, Time, and Money Costs of a Survey: A Checklist Guidelines for Reducing Survey Costs Exercises Answers Suggested Readings Glossary About the Author

About the Author :
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.

Review :
"A complete overview that conveys a sense of the detail needed to do a high quality survey." "Provides a good overview of doing surveys with a clear and easy to follow writing style and a variety of examples covering the social and behavioral sciences."