Chapter 7 Exercise Taylor C.

Wade Queens University of Charlotte

Chapter 7 Exercise In research today, an efficient way of obtaining information from a vast population is through surveying. Surveys can be presented in many ways, and the results obtained often correlate directly to the surveying method used. There are many advantages to surveys. Surveys can be conducted in almost any setting, public or private, on the internet, via telephone, or even through the mail. The cost of surveying people is usually within a reasonable limit depending on the sample size and amount information being gathered. Another advantage is the fact that surveys are not limited by geographical location. Thanks to advances in technology and mail carriers, surveys can be administered to nearly anywhere in the world. Regardless of the type of survey, whether it is through the mail, in person, or on the internet, all surveys follow a procedure of selecting a sample, creating a questionnaire, administering the survey, and analyzing the results. This paper reviews the specific steps taken to select a sample population and administer a survey in a face-to-face survey situation. A study by Aquilino (1994) examined the impact of interview mode on respondents willingness to reveal prohibited behavior and socially unacceptable information. The specific socially prohibited behavior this survey examines is drug and alcohol use. Three interview modes were used to measure self-reported drug and alcohol use. The three types of interviews were (1) self-administered questionnaires, (2) interviewer-administered questionnaires in person interviews, and (3) telephone interviews. It is

reported that face-to-face interviews result in higher estimates of selfreported alcohol and drug use when compared to telephone interviews. It has also been found that self-administered questionnaires have resulted in higher estimates of self-reported alcohol and drug use when compared to interviewer administered questionnaires in both the personal and telephone mode (Aquilino, 1994). The focus of this article is on the face-to-face survey condition. In this mode, the respondents were personally handed a survey to complete while in the presence of the interviewer. Face to face surveys not only allow the interviewer to know who exactly they are testing, but they also have a higher response rate. With a good interviewer, respondents in face-to-face surveys are more likely to honestly complete an entire survey as compared to surveys that are sent through the mail or conducted over the phone (Wimmer and Dominick, 2011). For the survey by Aquilino (1994) a total of 2,416 adults between the ages of 18 and 45 years old were selected from a probability sample of housing units in the 37 largest Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States. Age range was restricted to 18-45 years old in order to maximize the chance that respondents were currently or had previously used drugs and alcohol. For each housing unit that was chosen, one respondent from the house was randomly chosen to be a participant. In order to make sure participants were eligible, a screening interview was conducted which asked for the ages of everyone in the household. Each household was placed into one of four criteria; (1) youngest male, (2) oldest male, (3) youngest

female, (4) oldest female. Once the participants were chosen, they were then placed randomly into one of three groups. The first group was a face-to-face interview using self-administered questionnaires. The second group was a non-selfadministered questionnaire, a face-to-face interview where all questions were asked by the interviewer. The third group was a telephone survey in which the survey was conducted via telephone from the interviewers home. All respondents in the study were selected using the same sampling techniques and selection procedures. Before the interviews were conducted, all participants received a verbal and written guarantee of confidentiality and anonymity. Instead of developing their own questionnaires, Aquilino (1994) used the 1990 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse questionnaire. In the face-to-face survey, the interviewers simply read the instructions to the respondents and then allowed the participant time to complete the questionnaire. If the respondent asked the interviewer to read a question out loud, they did so, but no other interaction was made between the interviewer and the respondent. Once the participant completed the questionnaire, the answer sheet was placed in a sealed envelope while the responded was still present. This was to ensure confidentiality that the respondents answers would not be viewed by anyone else. Interviewers were recruited according to their past history in survey research. It was important to make sure the interviewers were reliable and educated in the field of research as Wimmer

and Dominick (2011) stress the significance of establishing rapport with the respondents. Establishing rapport with the subjects will not only increase the response rate, but it may also lead to more honest and validated results. Although this study used a variety of survey techniques, this paper focused on the face-to-face survey method in which the participants completed a survey in the presence of the interviewer. Following the procedures defined by Wimmer and Dominick (2011), Aquilino (1994) first selected the sample population, next developed or chose an appropriate survey, then administered the survey and analyzed the results.

References

Aquilino, W.S. (1994). Interview mode effect in surveys of drug and alcohol use. Public Opinion Quarterly, 58, 210-240. Wimmer, R.D., & Dominick, J.R. (2011). Mass media research: An introduction 9th edition. Boston MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.