Survey research methods

This fourth edition brings the survey methods text up to date in four main ways. It gives far more attention to internet-based data collection and the fast growth of online surveys. It tracks the steep decline in telephone survey response rates, especially for surveys built on random-digit dialing. It expands coverage of presurvey question testing, which has kept improving. It also looks at the rising importance of cell phones, which increasingly replace or supplement household landlines.

Two new chapters, "The nature of error in surveys" and "Issues in analyzing survey data," stress that nonsampling errors can be reduced through careful question design, skilled interviewing, and high response rates. The book covers the spread of cell phone use and the laws that govern it, with guidance on what those laws mean for policy and practice. Web-based and online surveys receive expanded treatment, along with the newest resources for beginning and experienced researchers. Non-response and sample size are examined in depth, including their relationship to statistical power.

A large share of the book addresses data analysis, with emphasis on bivariate and multivariate methods. The author walks readers through the analyses to run once data are ready, and lists the strengths and weaknesses of each survey data collection method, including newer web-based approaches. References and survey examples have been updated, and they point readers toward further literature and model studies at several levels of expertise.