Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research

by Willem E. Saris, Irmtraud N. Gallhofer

Features the essential methodologies and statistical tools for developing reliable and valid survey questionnaires Modern survey design requires the consideration of many variables that will ultimately impact the quality of the collected data. Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research outlines the important decisions that researchers need to make throughout the survey design process and provides the statistical knowledge and innovative tools that are essential when approaching these choices. Over fifteen years of survey design research has been referenced in order to conduct a meta-analysis that not only unveils the relationship between individual question characteristics and overall questionnaire quality, but also assists the reader in constructing a questionnaire of the highest relevance and accuracy. Among the book's most outstanding features is its introduction of Survey Quality Prediction (SQP), a computer program that predicts the validity and accuracy of questionnaires based on findings from the meta-analysis. Co-developed by the authors, this one-of-a-kind software is available via the book's related Web site and provides a valuable resource that allows researchers to estimate a questionnaire's level of quality before its distribution. In addition to carefully outlining the criteria for high quality survey questions, this book Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research succeeds in illustrating how questionnaire design influences the overall quality of empirical research. With an emphasis on a deliberate and scientific approach to developing questionnaires, this book is an excellent text for upper-level undergraduate or beginning graduate-level survey research courses in business and the social sciences, and it also serves as a self-contained reference for survey researchers in any field.

392 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2007