Designing Surveys: A Guide to Decisions and Procedures

Written with the needs and goals of a novice researcher in mind, this fully updated Third Edition of Designing Surveys by Johnny Blair, Ronald F. Czaja, and Edward A. Blair provides an accurate account of how modern surveys are actually designed and conducted. Much more than a “how-to” guide, this up-to-date and accessible book presents the material in a social science context and teaches readers to think through decisions about sample design, questionnaire development, and data collection, rather than simply following prescriptive advice that may not be appropriate to particular practical situations. In addition to providing examples of alternative procedures, Designing Surveys shows how classic principles and recent research guide decision-making—from setting the basic features of the survey design to implementing instrument development, testing, and data collection. The new edition covers new developments in data collection technologies, provides a more comprehensive treatment of questionnaire development and pretesting, and includes completely new chapters on sample design and selection.