Electronic Resources for Research Methods

Quantitative research methods

• After the user survey, what then? (1997)   Transforming Libraries, Issue 4.  

  The entire issue of this on-line journal is devoted to the user survey. "Welcome to the corresponding website for this issue of Transforming Libraries that discusses how some institutions have addressed the results of their user surveys. Library staff in eight ARL member libraries were were interviewed for this issue and we are indebted to the individuals mentioned in the Reports from the Field for their candid comments about gathering and responding to the needs and interests of their user communities. Our thanks especially to GraceAnne A. DeCandido, Blue Roses Editoral and Web Consulting, for drawing out the responses and turning the topic into a lively read."

• Albrecht, Karl (n.d.) The use and misuse of surveys  San Diego, CA: Karl Albrecht International.

  "This article is provided for clients and associates of Karl Albrecht International, for limited, non-commercial reproduction. For reprinting or republication permission, contact Karl Albrecht International at albrechtintl.com.
  The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes remarked, in one of his adventures, 'It is a capital mistake to theorise in advance of the facts.' This is why surveys, of many kinds, can be so important in making critical business decisions.
  However, the customer survey is one of the most misunderstood and misused of all tools for gathering business information. The main reason for failing to get useful information from surveys, or - worse yet - getting misleading information, is naively believing that one understands how to do surveys. To quote another philosopher, who actually lived, the German intellectual Goethe said 'There is nothing more frightening than ignorance in action.'"

• American Association for Public Opinion Research. (n.d.)  Best practices for survey and public opinion research. Ann Arbor, MI: American Association for Public Opinion Research.

  "As noted in the most recent publication in the "What is a Survey?" series by the Section on Survey Research Methods of the American Statistical Association (1996), "the quality of a survey is best judged not by its size, scope, or prominence, but by how much attention is given to [preventing, measuring, and] dealing with the many important problems that can arise" (p.11) at any point in the survey process conceptualization, organization, sampling, questionnaire design, data collection, data processing, and analysis. "

• American Statistical Association. Committee on Privacy and Confidentiality. (1998)  Surveys and privacy.  Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association.

  "The American Statistical Association (ASA) recommends strongly that everyone cooperate with surveys if those who sponsor them can

  • assure you that the information you give will be kept confidential,
  • ensure that your responses will be used only for statistical purposes,
  • provide you with information so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to participate.

  Each of these points is discussed in this brochure."

• American Statistical Association. Subcommittee of the Section on Survey Research Methods (1994)  What is a survey?  Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association.

  "In an effort to fill this gap [i.e., a person not knowing how to assess the results of surveys], the Section on Survey Research Methods of the American Statistical Association appointed a committee to prepare a brochure that would describe survey operations without using technical terminology, and be understandable to interested persons not trained in statistics. The result is the present brochure which, it is hoped, will promote a better understanding of what is involved in carrying out a sample survey, and aspects that have to be taken into account in evaluating the results of surveys."

• American Statistical Association. Survey Research Methods Section.What is a survey?  Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association.

  "Earlier in this series, we briefly discussed the main types of surveys -- mail, telephone interview, and in-person interview. Each form has distinct advantages and disadvantages. Each is also greatly being changed by the use of computers and telecommunications. This pamphlet discusses current practice and the innovations now in process for all three. "

• Centre for Applied Social Surveys  London: Economic and Social Research Council.

  "CASS is an ESRC Resource Centre run jointly by The National Centre for Social Research and the University of Southampton, with the University of Surrey.
  It provides short courses in survey methods and is developing a survey Question Bank for use by social scientists and social researchers in the academic world, government, market research and the independent and voluntary sectors. "  This site has many resources for the survey researcher.

• Chung, Ed.  (1997) So you want to do cross-cultural surveys.  Toronto: York University, Institute for Social Research.

  "'I'm not sure I know what you mean.' This is a common refrain in cross-cultural communication – and a fatal problem in cross-cultural research. Very often, the nuances of language and culture play such an important role that direct translations, even by 'expert translators', simply don't make sense. "

• Colorado State University. Writing Center.Annotated bibliography of survey research. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University, Writers' Center.

• Colorado State University. Writing Center  (1997) Overview: survey research.  Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University, Writing Center.

  "In survey research, the researcher selects a sample of respondents from a population and administers a standardized questionnaire to them. The questionnaire, or survey, can be a written document that is completed by the person being surveyed, an online questionnaire, a face-to-face interview, or a telephone interview. Using surveys, it is possible to collect data from large or small populations (sometimes referred to as the universe of a study). "

• Coomber, R. (1997)  Using the Internet for survey research.   Sociological Research Online, vol. 2, no. 2,

  "The Internet and electronic mail increasingly offer the research community opportunities that it did not previously have. Access to information has increased as has access to and discussion with those working in similar areas. One other aspect of 'cyberspace' which presents enormous possibilities to the research community, currently in its infancy, is the use of the Internet to reach individuals as research subjects. In particular, there may be significant research benefits to be gleaned where the group being researched is normally difficult to reach and/or the issues being researched are of a particularly sensitive nature. This paper outlines some recent survey research using the Internet as the interface between researcher and researched. The target group, illicit 'drug dealers', are difficult to access under normal conditions and contacting a spread of such individuals across international borders was previously prohibitive. A discussion of sampling issues is undertaken which concludes that the Internet can be a valuable source of indicative as opposed to easily generalizable data. A practical guide to undertaking research via the Internet is also included."

• Creative Research Systems  (2000) Survey design. Petaluma, CA: Creative Research Systems.

  "This is the Survey Design chapter from The Survey System's Tutorial, revised July, 2000. It is reproduced here as a service to the research community... This chapter is intended primarily for those who are new to survey research. It discusses options and provides suggestions on how to design and conduct a successful survey project. It does not provide instruction on using specific parts of The Survey System, although it mentions parts of the program that can help you with certain tasks."

• Cui, Wei Wei (2003).  Reducing error in mail surveys.  Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 8(18). Retrieved December 19, 2003 from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=8&n=18

  "Surveys allow information to be collected from a sample group and generalized to the population at large. Because they are low cost and easy to implement, mail surveys are used more frequently for social research than either telephone or face-to-face interviews. Those conducting surveys should recognize four potential sources of error—sampling error, non-coverage error, non-response error, and measurement error—and take steps to minimize their impact. Any one of these sources of error may make the survey results unacceptable. This article describes the four types of errors and summarizes ways they can be reduced."

• de Leeuw, Edith and William Nicholls, William (1996)  Technological innovations in data collection: acceptance, data quality and costs.  Sociological Research Online, vol. 1, no. 4

  "Whether computer assisted data collection methods should be used for survey data collection is no longer an issue. Most professional research organizations, commercial, government and academic, are adopting these new methods with enthusiasm. Computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) is most prevalent, and computer assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) is rapidly gaining in popularity. Also, new forms of electronic reporting of data using computers, telephones and voice recognition technology are emerging. This paper begins with a taxonomy of current computer assisted data collection methods. It then reviews conceptual and theoretical arguments and empirical evidence on such topics as: (1) respondents and interviewer acceptance of new techniques, (2) effect of computer assisted interviewing on data quality, (3) consequences for survey costs and (4) centralized vs. decentralized deployment of CATI."

• Dominowski, Peter & Bartholet, Al (1997) The Listener Survey Toolkit Kent, OH: WKSU-FM [Radio station].

  A fairly basic guide to conducting surveys (specifically for local radio stations in the US), with some discussion of pros and cons of telephone vs. mail, and other matters. Useful for a quick overview, but nothing dealt with in very much detail.

• DSS Research  (2000) Mail survey response rates: what to expect?  Arlington, VA: DSS Research.

  "Those conducting a mail survey for the first time are sometimes surprised by lower than expected response rates. Mail response rates of 1% to 2% can mean a highly successful mailing for some credit card offers. Market research surveys are usually much higher, but 10% to 15% response rates are common. Surveys covering high involvement products or socially relevant issues typically have response rates of 30% to 35%, with little extra effort."

• DSS Research. (2000)  Mail vs. telephone: which methodology is right? Arlington, VA: DSS Research.

  "Mail and telephone survey approaches each have their niches where there are compelling reasons to use one methodology over the other:
  Mail surveys are used most frequently when surveying existing customers or some other group where the surveyor already has the names and addresses of the target respondents.
  Telephone surveys are most likely used to reach general consumers, or used in situations where fast turnaround times are required."

• Gallant, Chanelle  (1998) The influence of colour and incentives on mail survey response rates.  Toronto: Institute for Social Research.

  "A study examining social democratic values and class, which was conducted during the summer of 1997, has produced unexpected findings concerning response rates. For this study, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 150 randomly-chosen residents of a Toronto student housing cooperative – 56 of whom responded."

• Goodman, Albert (1999) Survey techniques. Melbourne: Deakin University, School of Computing and Mathematics.

  Part of an on-line course Introduction to data collection and analysis   "In this section you'll see how to design and conduct surveys. You will also be introduced to the principles of questionnaire design and layout. On completion of this section you should be able to:

  • describe the principles of survey development
  • list the major types of survey that can be used to collect social and economic data
  • explain the purpose and structure of pilot surveys
  • outline the principles governing the design of questionnaires
  • describe the major components of questionnaires, and how they can be laid out to create effective questionnaires"

• Gover, Varun (n.d.) Tutorial on survey research: from constructs to theory.  Columbia, SC: Varun Gover.

  "The use of field based empirical methodologies in the IS [Information Systems] area has been steadily increasing over the past several years. One of the most prominent among these is the survey research methodology which has often been used to capture data from the business organizations. However, to effectively contribute to theory development in the IS field, this methodology must be carefully implemented. Poorly designed and executed survey research is of little or no value. This paper attempts to provide a normative perspective on "good survey research practices". In doing so it attempts to bridge the gap between survey research and theory development. The paper liberally draws from work in other social science disciplines like psychology, marketing, organizational behavior, and other related fields that might be considered more mature in the use of surveys. A set of ideal survey research attributes are identified. Interested observers can use these to effectively evaluate and practice IS survey research."

• Indiana University. Center for Survey Research. (2001) Telephone surveys.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, Center for Survey Research.

  "The Center operates a computer-assisted telephone interviewing system (CATI) developed by the Computer-Assisted Survey Methods Program of the University of California at Berkeley. This CATI system is the most sophisticated system now in use at academic research centers. It was developed to meet the most exacting standards of academic and federal government researchers." An account of the Center's procedures.

• Israel, Glenn D. & Moore, Jon (1992)  Coding techniques. Gainesville, FL: Florida State University, Cooperative Extension Service.

  "Now that you have a pile of completed questionnaires or xeroxed copies of data from several books (or both) stacked on your desk, you ask yourself, "What do I do with this stuff?" The analysis of the data that you collect for planning, implementing, or evaluating programs can be facilitated by a clear structuring of the data through the use of a coding scheme. The development of a coding scheme is simply a "blueprint" for transferring data from questionnaires or other sources of data to tally sheets or computer files. The following illustrates a coding scheme that can be used for both a survey instrument and secondary data."

• Israel, Glenn D.  (1992) Sampling issues: nonresponse.  Gainesville, FL: Florida State University, Cooperative Extension Service.

  "...no matter how well the sampling design is planned, a poor response rate to a mail or telephone survey or to interviews can render a study virtually useless. In an effort to obtain enough data for the analysis, many researchers commonly add 10% to the sample size to compensate for persons that the researcher is unable to contact. The sample size also is often increased by 30% to compensate for nonresponse. Thus, the number of mailed surveys or planned interviews can be substantially larger than the number required for a desired level of confidence and precision. However, inflating the sample size does not necessarily address potential bias from nonresponse. The following section discusses strategies for addressing nonresponse."

• Jabine, Thomas B., Straf, Miron L., Tanur, Judith M. &: Tourangeau, Roger eds. (1984) Cognitive aspects of survey methodology: building a bridge between disciplines. Report of the Advanced Research Seminar on Cognitive Aspects of Survey Methodology. Pittsburgh, PA: The Universal Library (hosted by Carnegie Mellon University).

  "The Advanced Research Seminar on Cognitive Aspects of Survey Methodology (CASM) was convened by the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) with funding from the National Science Foundation. The seminar, held in St. Michaels, Maryland, on June 15-21, 1983, and a follow-up meeting held in Baltimore on January 12-14, 1984, were the main elements of the CASM project, whose goal was to foster a dialogue between cognitive scientists and survey researchers and to develop ideas and plans for collaborative research.
  This is the report of the CASM project. The primary audience for this report consists of cognitive scientists, survey researchers, and others with substantive interests in these fields. A second audience consists of persons interested in the broad question of how to foster interdisciplinary communication and collaboration. For the benefit of the latter group, Appendix B gives procedural details: it explains how the seminar and follow-up meeting were organized and conducted. "

• Kennedy, John M. (1993)  A comparison of telephone survey respondent selection procedures.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, [Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research May 1993]

  "In this paper, I present comparisons of various respondent selection procedures. I determined that the various procedures have differential impacts on survey estimates. Some procedures are more effective than others. By comparing the data from the Indiana Poll with decennial census data collected at the same time, I am able to measure the differences."

• Kennedy, John M., Kuh, George D., & Carini, Robert  (2000)  Web and mail surveys: preliminary results of comparisons based on a large-scale project.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, Center for Survey Research. [Presented at The Annual Meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Portland OR, May 19, 2000]

  "This paper describes some lessons learned with regard to administering a large scale national survey of college students using multiple survey modes. The data reported here were collected under the auspices of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The NSSE is a three-part survey of a random sample of more than 250,000 undergraduate students in approximately 325 colleges and universities conducted using both paper and Web survey modes. The survey was piloted in 70 schools in spring and fall 1999 and fully implemented with about 275 additional schools in spring 2000"

• Knäuper, Bärbel, Belli, Robert F., Herzog, A. Regula, and Hill, Daniel H.  (1995) The quality of survey data as affected by question difficulty and respondents' cognitive capacity.   Paper presented at the 50th Conference of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Fort Lauterdale, FL, May 18-21, 1995.

  "There is increasing evidence that reductions in cognitive functioning can be negatively related the quality of survey data. Other research indicates that the accuracy and completeness of reports decrease with increasing question difficulty. In the present paper the interaction of question difficulty with respondents' cognitive ability is investigated. It was expected that aged respondents with relatively low information processing ability are less able than those with higher ability to provide complete and accurate answers when responding to particularly difficulty questions. The number of "don't know"-responses in the AHEAD (Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old) survey were used as an indicator of reduced data quality. These data were analyzed as a function of question difficulty and respondents' cognitive ability. The findings demonstrate the expected interaction: Respondents lower in cognitive ability were particularly likely to answer "don't know" to difficult questions. Respondents higher in cognitive ability were less affected by variations in question difficulty. The selective loss of data due to failures to respond may bias surveys findings. Implications for redesigning and simplifying survey questions in general, and in particular in surveys conducted with older persons, are discussed."

• Myles, Richard & Tibert, John Internet surveys: do they work?  Toronto: York University, Institute for Social Research.

  "In conclusion, the samples from the two surveys are simply from different populations – something we knew intuitively and expected from the outset. An Internet survey is a survey of a self-selected sample; any representativeness of the general population is accidental and not the result of the application of sampling methodology. Weighting or post-stratifying the results of the Internet survey fails to yield comparable results. As a result, we doubt that web surveys can be used as a substitute for more traditional methods of surveying the general population. A reliance on an Internet survey could lead to a misunderstanding of public opinion."

• National Technical Center for Substance Abuse Needs Assessment. (1998)  Literature searches..  Cambridge, MA: National Technical Center for Substance Abuse Needs Assessment.

  Several of these literature searches relate to survey research, but note that they appear not to have been updated since 1998:

  • The use of advance contact to improve response rates.
  • The use of incentives to improve response rates.
  • An updated Telephone Survey and Substance Abuse bibliography.
  • An updated Telephone Survey and Response Rates bibliography.
  • An updated Telephone Survey - Methodological bibliography.
  • An updated Telephone Survey - Sampling, Population Coverage, and Respondent Selection bibliography.
  • An updated Telephone Survey and Mode Effects bibliography.

• NCS Pearson  (1997)  Increasing response rates. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, Inc.  [See also the NCS Pearson index to reports.]

  "A survey program is only as effective as its weakest link. In general, this tends to be the low percentage of returns frequently found in mail surveys. The response number has a direct effect on the conclusions you can draw from the data. This Research Note summarizes the literature on increasing response rates."

• NCS Pearson (1994)Mail vs. telephone surveys.  Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, Inc.   [See also the NCS Pearson index to reports.]

  "This Research Note focuses on the differences of costs, confidentiality, time, sampling, response rates, length, data quality of the two survey types.
  When deciding whether to use a mail or telephone survey, it is important to evaluate the attributes of each method in relation to your survey objectives. Here we examine the pros and cons of each method so you can choose the appropriate process for your survey project."

• Pannell, David J. & Pannell, Pauline B.W.  (1998) Introduction to social surveying: pitfalls, potential problems and preferred practices.  Nedlands, Western Australia: Unversity of Western Australia.

  "Collecting valid information in a survey of peoples’ attitudes, beliefs, intentions and preferences is much more difficult than appreciated by most researchers outside the social sciences. The main problems are people-related, not statistical, and they include issues such as the ambiguity of communication by language, the attitudes of respondents to their participation in the survey, and the limits to human memory. This paper provides an overview of methodological issues in the process of conducting social surveys, other than those relating to sample selection and statistical analysis. There is a focus on the use of surveys in agriculture, horticulture and natural resource management. We outline common problems encountered in the conduct of surveys leading to poor validity of results. A detailed procedure for developing and conducting surveys is recommended. Issues in the design of valid and reliable survey questions are also outlined."

• Parks, Roger B., Kennedy, John M. & Hecht, Laura Frye (1994)  A demographic analysis of the impact of presurvey letters on cooperation rates in urban neighborhoods.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, Center for Survey Research.

  "Recently survey researchers have been examining a variety of list- assisted techniques to improve the cooperation rates in telephone surveys. Declining response rates along with the need to reduce costs have prompted researchers to search for alternatives or supplements to random-digit- dialing (RDD) surveys. In this paper, we present the results from two surveys that used list-assisted randomly-selected telephone numbers. The surveys were conducted in fifty neighborhoods in Indianapolis during 1993.
  Our analysis focuses on two issues. First, we analyze the differences in cooperation rates between samples when presurvey letters were sent and when they were not sent. Second, we examine the demographic characteristics of the neighborhoods based on the 1990 decennial census to determine the impact of differential cooperation on the demographic representativeness of the samples.
  The cooperation rates in neighborhoods that received presurvey letters were higher than both an RDD sample and in neighborhoods that were not sent letters. There are mixed results from a comparison of the demographic characteristics of the neighborhoods and the demographic characteristics of the various samples. Overall, the presurvey letters did not yield samples that were closer to census proportions than those that did not receive letters."

"QUESTION: We want to contact 100 loyal customers to find out how their needs and priorities are changing. Should we do a mail or a phone survey?
ANSWER: Surprisingly, a phone survey is likely to be less expensive, more valuable, more valid, and faster than a mail survey. Here's why."  Note that this is company publicity material.

• Punj, Girish  (1997) Primary data: survey research.  Storrs, CT: University of Connecticut, School of Business Administration.

  A useful presentation - .pdf file, rather than PowerPoint. Relates to marketing research, but useful in general terms.

• Reisig, Michael D. (n.d. c.1996)  Conducting community mail surveys  East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, School of Criminal Justice.

  "Survey research entails presenting subjects with a series of standardized items. Since the information collected is only as good as the items in the survey, naturally, reliable and valid survey items are needed. The attached survey, includes "closed-ended" items used by numerous criminal justice researchers and police departments from around the country. Although allowing subjects to respond in their "own words" is sometimes useful, close-ended items are frequently used because of the uniformity they offer. The open-ended strategy requires that a researcher read and code each response so that comparisons can be made and trends identified across subjects. While we assume that respondents will offer relevant information in an open-ended format, often they do not. Since these problems are fairly common, it is best to collect open-ended information sparingly. "

• Renckly, Thomas R. ed. (1996)  Air University Sampling and Surveying Handbook. Maxwell AFB, AL: Air University.

  Designed to satisfy the needs of the US Air Force Personnel Survey Program but of general interest. Has some useful appendices.

• Sanders, Rich.  (2000) Survey research.  La Mirada, CA: Biola University, Computing Center.

  Outline notes - but a useful aide mémoire.

• Thomas, Roger and Purdon, Susan (1994) Telephone methods for social surveys.  Social Research Update, Issue 8.

  "The main attraction of telephone interviewing is that it enables data to be collected from geographically scattered samples more cheaply and quickly than by field interviewing, but avoids the well-known limitations of postal surveys. Other advantages are: that interviewing from a central telephone unit lends itself to careful supervision and control; and that it is possible to avoid cluster sampling, which incurs unfavourable statistical design effects but has to be used in field survey designs to control interviewer travel costs.
  The problems, on the other hand, are to do with obtaining adequately representative samples of the general population and adequate response rates when persons or households are approached "cold" by telephone. Doubts have also been raised about the quality of the data, compared with face-to-face interviewing.
  In this Update we consider to what extent - and in what circumstances - the potential advantages have been realised and to what extent technical problems and doubts about quality remain."

• Thompson, Sonia  (1996) Paying respondents and informants.  Social Research Update, Issue 14.

  "Key points:
  There is evidence to show that paying respondents in structured surveys increases response rates.
  Paying informants in ethnographic research is rarely considered but has advantages.
  The usual argument against paying respondents is that it introduces bias, but a case study suggests that payments can reduce some kinds of bias."

• Uitenbroek, Daan G. SISA: response rate calculator.  Daan G. Uitenbroek, http://home.clara.net/sisa/

  An interactive calculator.  "Often response rates in survey research are calculated simply by dividing the number of completed interviews by the number of individuals who were selected to participate in the research. However, this method is too simplistic and does not do justice to the complexity of research design, sampling process and the practical difficulties of contacting and assessing potential survey participants. Particularly in the case of telephone interviewing and postal surveys these difficulties might be considerable and using a simple way of response rate calculation might lead to an unrealistic estimate of response rates."

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (1997)  Handbook of Methods. Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  "...presents detailed explanations of how the Bureau of Labor Statistics obtains and prepares the economic data it publishes. BLS statistics are used for many purposes, and sometimes data well suited to one purpose may have limitations for another. This edition of the Handbook, like its many predecessors, aims to provide users of BLS data with the most current information necessary to evaluate the suitability of the statistics for their needs." Hence, not really a how-to-do-it guide, but a how-we-did-it guide.

• U.S. General Accounting Office. Program Evalution and Methodology Division  (1991) Designing Evaluations  Washington, DC: General Accounting Office.

  "This methodology transfer paper addresses the logic of program evaluation designs. It provides a systematic approach to designing evaluations that takes into account the questions guiding a study, the constraints evaluators face in conducting it, and the information needs of its intended user. Taking the time to design evaluations carefully is a critical step toward ensuring overall job quality. Indeed, the most important outcome of a careful, sound design should be an evaluation whose quality is high in quite specific ways."

• Vasu, Michael. L. & Vasu, Ellen Storey (n.d.)  Computers, survey research, and focus groups in research and practice.   Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University, Department of Political Science and Public Administration.

  "The integration of computing into survey research and focus groups in research and practice in public administration and related fields is the focus of this chapter. Coverage applies to other social science disciplines as well. This chapter reviews uses of computers in computer-assisted survey research (CASR), computer-assisted interviewing, computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI), computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI), and transferring survey research methods onto the Internet. A second portion of the chapter gives special attention to continuous audience response technology (CART). An example of a citizen survey focused on growth issues combined with a focus group dealing with the same topic in Cary, North Carolina, is also provided."

• Vehovar, Vasja and Lozar, Katja  (1998) How many mailings are enough?  Slovenia: RIS.org.

  "This paper addresses the balance between costs and errors in mail surveys. Two alternatives are compared: a larger sample with less follow-up mailings and a smaller sample with more follow-up mailings. The comparison involves a detailed elaboration of mean squared errors and cost functions. Based on the model, the key variables are discussed. The empirical example refers to the percentage of companies with access to the Internet. It is shown that the above elaboration can be helpful for practical decisions."





• Risky Business: Why People Feel Safe in Sexually Expicit On-Line Communication 

Related software

• American Statistical Association. Survey Research Methods Section. (n.d.) Summary of survey analysis software.  Alexandria, VA:

  A useful guide, which makes it unnecessary to repeat everything here.

• Statistics Netherlands. Statistical Informatics Department. (2000)blaise: a survey processing system. Voorburg, Heerlen: Statistics Netherlands.

  "Blaise is an efficient software system for survey processing on microcomputers. The system supports various techniques for computer-assisted interviewing (CAPI, CATI, CASI), but it can also be used for data entry and data editing of paper questionnaire forms.
  Blaise is not only a tool for data collection. It also helps you in an easy and straightforward way through the subsequent data processing steps (like, tabulation, adjustment weighting, and statistical analysis)."

• University of California at Berkeley. (2000)  The Computer-Assisted Survey Execution System (CASES).  

  "The Computer-Assisted Survey Execution System (CASES) is a set of general-purpose programs for the collection and processing of data based on structured questionnaires. These programs were designed to handle several types of questionnaires that are frequently used in survey research, but the same programs and procedures may be used for other types of data collection. The most frequently used current applications are usually called Computer-Assisted Telephone or Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CATI or CAPI), Computer-Assisted Self Interviewing (CASI, for projects without any interviewer), and Computer-Assisted Data Input (CADI, for those applications where the data have already been captured or recorded on paper)."

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