Survey Research Methods

Citation

Metwally, E. (2012), "Survey Research Methods", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 186-188. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534811211199655

Earl R. Babbie, Campbell Professor Emeritus in Behavioral Sciences Department of Sociology, and the author of this book, is best known for the several textbooks he has written which have been broadly adopted in colleges throughout the United States and the world. Babbie was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1938, and in 1956, he moved to Harvard Yard, where he spent four years learning in Harvard College. After three years of service with the US Marine Corps, he started his graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where he completed his PhD from Berkeley in 1969. He started his teaching career at the University of Hawaii from 1968 through 1979. But, he then decided to work as an author and resigned to pursue a full time research and writing career for eight years. Back to teaching, he then joined Chapman University in Southern California in 1987, until his retirement in 2006. Throughout his career, Babbie has been vigorous in the American Sociological Association, and acted as the president of the Pacific Sociological Association and California Sociological Association.

Babbie's Survey Research Methods book has been used as a principal textbook in teaching survey techniques at both the undergraduate as well the graduate level studies. In five parts and 20 chapters, Babbie, Earl, R., provides students and other prospect researchers with a practical guide to survey research, and also focuses on the logic and the skills of survey research.

This book is different from other books on research methods in that it helps readers arrive at the best possible compromises. After all, perfect surveys may not be possible, but good surveys can and should be done. The book is aimed at three distinct audiences: methodology students (undergraduates taking their first course in research methods), beginning researchers who have not previous experience in survey research, and research consumers to aid them in enlightened and critical evaluation.

The first part, “The Scientific Context of Survey Research,” describes the logic of science and survey research being a method of social science. It begins by an introductory chapter in which the author describes the logic of science and various characteristics. The second chapter discusses how the characteristics of science in general can be brought to bear on the study of society. The assumption of this book is that human social behavior can be subjected to “scientific” study as justifiably as can atoms and cells. From this viewpoint, no significance disparity would appear to be present between the physical and social sciences. Like scientists, social scientists seek to discover reliability and order through careful observation & measurement of social phenomena, discovering social regularities and relationships, and creation of social theories and models. The chapter examines several research methods, like controlled experiments, content analysis, case studies, participant observations, and others, with regards to related advantages and disadvantages. The third chapter examines the survey research as a method of social science. A discussion of characteristics of science highlights how important the assumption of the book that human social behavior can also be subject to scientific study.

Part two tackles the issue of survey research design in four chapters. Chapter four examines the descriptive, explanatory, and exploratory purposes of survey research, units of analysis, cross‐sectional as well as longitudinal survey designs. Chapter five examines the logic of survey sampling and presents time, cost, and accuracy reasons of survey sampling. A discussion of the types of sampling methods highlights probability and non‐probability categories, and related underlying logic. It is interesting to note that a sample selected in some fashion other than those suggested by probability theory, are sometimes used for situations in which probability sampling would be very expensive and/or where precise representativeness is not necessary. The chapter concludes with some non‐survey uses of some sampling methods such as content analysis and participant observations. This chapter is critical examining for scholars interested in a wide selection of sampling methods. Chapter six provides four case studies of real life examples for sample designs from university students, school faculty, churchwoman, and households. The author proceeds with conceptualization and instrument design in chapter seven, and introduces nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio levels of measurement. He examines also some “Do's” and “Don'ts” about constructing open‐ended as well as closed‐ended questions, questionnaires formats, desired ordering of questions, and other related issues like measurement quality criteria, technical considerations when constructing and evaluating measurements; namely, reliability and validity. Chapter eight, the final chapter of part two, discusses index and scale construction. Also included are useful detailed techniques for index and scale construction.

The third part of the book includes four chapters on the topic of data collection. In chapter nine, the author examines self‐administered questionnaires, and provides and example of the distribution method followed in conducting mail surveys. A useful formula computes what an acceptable questionnaire response rate and provides a detailed scale of response rate in terms of adequacy. The tenth chapter examines interview surveys with regards to rules and operation and provides a useful comparison with mail surveys. Chapter eleven examines data processing issues and steps involved in converting data into forms amenable to computer analysis. Chapter twelve presents pretests and pilot studies, and respective guidelines for evaluation.

The fourth part of the book examines survey research analysis. Chapter thirteen examines the logic of measurement and association and provides the solution to the dilemma of which indicators to use in testing of the hypothesis. In chapter fourteen the author provides tools to constructing and understanding tables. Frequency distributions, averages, and measures of dispersion, are examples of univariate analysis of a single variable for the purpose of description. Chapter fifteen discusses the “Elaboration Model,” a logical method for understanding causal relationships among variables through simultaneous introduction of additional variables. The model is also useful in providing a clearer picture of the logic of survey analysis. Chapter sixteen examines some statistical computations describing either the characteristics of a sample or the relationship among variable. A discussion of descriptive and inferential statistics highlights related data reduction and measures of association in making inferences about a larger population. Chapter seventeen looks at advanced multivariate techniques, including regression analysis, path analysis, factor analysis, analysis of variance, discrimination analysis, and log‐linear models. Chapter eighteen discusses the reporting of survey research. The author proposes some basic considerations for reporting, a general format for organization of the report, and guidelines for reporting analysis.

In the final part of the book, the author examines ethics of survey research in chapter nineteen, and some consumer tips to use in reviewing reports of survey research.

The book is a useful classical comprehensive elaborated addition to the literature of surveys. It is well organized and topics are presented clearly. It is ideal for someone who needs to understand survey research methods in details a it provides the reader with both a theoretical and applied focus on almost all issues. It is easy to read and understand as the author used several diagrams, tables, figures, examples, and case studies in illustrating many concepts. The glossary of terms at the end of the book was also of great usefulness in obtaining precise definitions of most of the concepts mentioned in the book. Also, though the book describes data processing methods which might no longer be of usefulness due to the emergence of several computer software programs that are making the process much easier, the absence of helpful training courses for such computer programs and a small sample size could compel researchers to resort to the manual‐based method of data processing. However, the book focuses on the logic and the skills of survey research with little attention given to statistics. The author has only brushed the surface of each analytical technique. There are many other techniques that he hasn't touched on at all. Little attention is given to scaling techniques; whereas, much attention is devoted to constructing simple indexes.

I very highly recommend this book as a comprehensive, well‐written book and practical guide on survey research methods.