Web Surveys

Description:

Internet surveys are becoming one of the most popular methods of data collection. But there are both advantages and hidden pitfalls to this methodology. This course is about all the features that make up having a successful web survey (excluding the wording of the actual questions as this is covered in the SRA course on “Questionnaire Design and Testing”). This course also combines practical knowledge with advice from current research on internet surveys, featuring lectures and hands-on exercises.

Topics covered

• What kind of internet survey are you planning?
• What is unique about internet surveys?
• The critical role of visual layout
• Workshop: Critiquing the visual layout of short internet survey
• Specific web decisions, such as: HTML formats, scrolling vs. paging designs, progress bars, multimedia, effects of humanising the web interface, intelligible and useful error messages, respondents backing up, where to put the buttons at the bottom, backgrounds fields, etc.
• Internet survey implementation issues, such as: Types of invitations to potential respondents, how these should be worded, how and when they should be sent, reminder systems, incentives
• Workshop in Internet survey implementation
• Some basics on software
• Overview of internet surveys for mobile devices (phone, tablets, etc.)

Objectives

By the end of the course participants will:

• Have a deeper understanding of what makes a web survey different to questionnaires implemented with other modes of data collection
• Have awareness of important web survey design decisions
• Have knowledge of web survey implementation issues from pretesting to initial invitation, through reminders to the culmination of fieldwork

Who will benefit?

This course is essential for anyone planning to conduct or critique a web survey. The course is useful for both people new to web surveys and those who have experience and would like to extend their knowledge.

Learning outcomes

Participants will achieve an awareness of the critical issues and techniques in designing and conducting a web survey.

Course tutor

The day will be led by Dr Pamela Campanelli. Pamela is a Survey Methods Consultant and U.K. Chartered Statistician and Chartered Scientist. She received her Ph.D. in statistics from the London School of Economics, and an M.A. in survey research methods and B.A. in psychology from the University of Michigan. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, she was a Research Associate at the at the University of Michigan, a Survey Statistician at the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Chief Research Officer at the UK Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, and a Research Director at the Survey Methods Centre at the NatCen Social Research, London.

Her main interests and publications are in the study of survey error and data quality issues, with special emphasis on questionnaire design, question testing strategies, survey sampling and survey analysis. In addition to her consultancy work, she has led a UK ESRC grant on survey nonresponse and been a team member of a UK ESRC grant to explore measurement error in mixed mode surveys. She regularly teaches short courses in the UK for the SRA, the Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research and the Royal Statistical Society. She also provides courses both in the UK and internationally for government departments (e.g., Australian Bureau of Statistics), UK Survey Research companies (e.g., TNS-BMRB), universities (e.g., University of Wollongong Australia, University of Hong Kong, University of Michigan Summer Institute), as well as for various other institutions and businesses (e.g., Brazilian Network Information Center; UNESCO Asia Pacific, Civil Service College Singapore) (see www.thesurveycoach.com).

Cost:

£260 (SRA members pay £195)

Website and registration:

www.the-sra.org.uk/training

Region:

Greater London

Keywords:

Survey and Questionnaire Design, Quantitative Data Handling and Data Analysis, Web Surveys

Related publications and presentations:

Survey and Questionnaire Design
Quantitative Data Handling and Data Analysis

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