wrongdepartment

2 posts
I've been around lots of different blocks, and I'll tell you all about it.

Adventures in Survey Research Part 1.5: The Background

So, you’re probably thinking, “That first post made no sense. Of course I’ll keep reading!” It’s okay. I never seem to be able to start at the beginning. SO.  In the interest of explaining what survey research actually is, how it works in practice, and what it aims to accomplish, I’ll backtrack and give you just a little about the tools and methods that are commonly used. Get out your notebooks everyone, I’m going to get all teachery for a bit. If you’d rather be on Facebook, or sleeping, or texting, there’s the door.

Adjusts glasses. Continue reading →

Adventures in Survey Research Part 1: The Respondent

Working in Social Science/Public Opinion research has made me very sympathetic to anyone who makes their living talking on the telephone. Something about the anonymity of the phone seems to make people feel very safe in expressing their deepest (racist/sexist/classist) thoughts to the interviewer. Conversely, many people are certain that you are trying to steal their money, their opinions, nay, their very souls through your insidious questioning about their attitudes toward any number of innocuous things. I want to discuss some basics of survey research and explain some of the qualities of any kind of opinion or attitudinal research. These are often the surveys that form the basis of the “97% of Americans HATE BREATHING AIR” kinds of stories that we see on a daily basis. Continue reading →