ADVANCED RESEARCH METHODS

INTRODUCTION TO SURVEY RESEARCH

Spring 1999

780-4008
Fax 780-4417

Overview:

This course introduces students to the practice of survey research. Students will work individually and in teams to design survey samples, develop survey instruments, and analyze survey data. The emphasis will be on learning the theoretical and practical applications of survey research in planning and policy settings.

PREREQUISITE: Familiarity with spreadsheet use. The course will use Microsoft Excel for the analytic exercises. Students may use another spreadsheet or statistics package, but instruction will focus on Excel.

Assignments

Four written assignments are required as outlined in the syllabus. These must be available at the beginning of the class when they are due for review by other members of the class. Each paper will be graded and will count 20% of the final grade. Some projects will be done in teams, some individually. 20% of the grade will be for class participation.

Learning Strategies

This course emphasizes learning by doing rather than presentations. While there will be some presentation each week in preparation for the next class, the principal focus will be on the students' projects. To get the most out of the course, you need to adopt the following learning strategies:

Practice, practice, practice. Learning quantitative analysis is rarely immediately intuitive. The only way to acquire familiarity and some degree of facility with the approaches to analysis discussed in the course is to keep practicing. Making mistakes is less important than continuing to practice the techniques.

Peer learning Through team projects and review of other class members products, much of the learning in the course will be through your peers. The benefits you get from this experience will be directly proportional to your contributions to team projects and to careful and serious reviews and critiques of other's work.

Text to text. While there will be some classroom instruction in the quantitative techniques, students will need to rely on the text for the course for a good deal of the theory behind the techniques and for the details of many of the calculations. In actual practice, analysts will often have to rely on their own reading and learning skills to brush up on old skills or learn new ones.

Text

Rea and Parker: Designing and Conducting Survey Research: A Comprehensive Guide (2^nd Ed.) (Jossey-Bass)

January 13 Designing a Survey Instrument: 1

Readings for this week: Rea and Parker, Part 1
Assignment for next week: Beach user questionnaire

January 20 Designing a Survey Instrument: 2

Assignment for next week: Transportation needs assessment.

January 27 Survey Research 2: Sampling

Reading for this week: Rea and Parker, Part 2
Assignment for next week: Beach user sampling design

February 3 Analysis of Survey Results

Reading for this week: Rea and Parker, Part 3
Assignment due next week: Survey analysis

February 10: Survey Analysis

Assignment 1: The Beach Survey (Team Projects)

As part of a larger study concerning what to do about accelerating rates of erosion on the state's major beaches, the State of Maine and several coastal towns want to know the economic value of their beaches. The evaluation of beaches will be done using a survey of beach goers in the towns of York, Ogunquit, Wells, Kennebunk, Old Orchard Beach, and Scarborough. The survey will be designed to elicit information about how often someone uses the beach, how far they travel, whether they combine beach recreation with other recreational activity, and what values they place on their beach going experience.

Assignment 1 is to prepare a draft survey instrument for this study in order to determine who uses the beaches, how often, and how beach recreation fits in with other recreational activity. (In a later assignment, you will prepare additional questions concerning the economic value of the beaches.)

Assignment 2: Regional Transportation Needs (Individual Projects)

The Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Study (PACTS) wants to know how people in the region feel about investing in regional transportation projects such as upgrades to major arteries, new or expanded public transportation, and whether the toll system on the Turnpike should be changed to allow for free travel in the Portland area. They wish to conduct a phone survey of 10-15 minutes that will explore public views towards investing in regional projects as opposed to strictly local projects. The survey will be conducted over the phone and a valid sample will be surveyed in each of seven municipalities, since PACTS wants to be able to report the results to the elected officials of each municipality.

Design a survey instrument for a phone survey that will take about 10 minutes to administer and will address the issues specified above.

Assignment 3: Sample Design (Team Projects)

Assignment 3 is to prepare a sampling strategy and administration procedure for the study. The sampling approach should yield a sample that would yield results valid ą3% at the .05 level. Calculate the sample size as closely as possible.

Assignment 4: Survey Analysis (Individual Projects)

Using the survey data provided, prepare a brief analysis of three questions. One question should be analyzed on a one-way distribution and one should cross tabulated; the third can be done either way. At least one nominal variable and one interval variable should be used. Appropriate tests of significance (² and difference of means) should be calculated. Prepare a brief memo showing the tables used in your analysis, the statistics, and what conclusions you draw.