Computer-assisted survey information collection
Computer-assisted survey information collection (CASIC) refers to a variety of survey modes that were enabled by the introduction of computer technology. The first CASIC modes were interviewer-adminis
System usability scale
In systems engineering, the system usability scale (SUS) is a simple, ten-item attitude Likert scale giving a global view of subjective assessments of usability. It was developed by John Brooke at Dig
Daytime population
Daytime population, also known as commuter-adjusted population, is a demographic concept used in sociology referring to the number of people who are present in an area, typically a city or urban area,
Computer-assisted web interviewing
Computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) is an Internet surveying technique in which the interviewee follows a script provided in a website. The questionnaires are made in a program for creating web
Administrative error
Administrative error is an error resulting from improper administration or execution of a survey. Such errors can be caused by carelessness, confusion, neglect, omission or another blunder.
Instructional manipulation check
An instructional manipulation check, often abbreviated IMC, is a special kind of question inserted in a questionnaire among the regular questions, designed to check whether respondents are paying atte
Social-desirability bias
In social science research, social-desirability bias is a type of response bias that is the tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others. It c
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population an
Questionnaire construction
Questionnaire construction refers to the design of a questionnaire to gather statistically useful information about a given topic. When properly constructed and responsibly administered, questionnaire
Random digit dialing
Random digit dialing (RDD) is a method for selecting people for involvement in telephone statistical surveys by generating telephone numbers at random. Random digit dialing has the advantage that it i
Scale analysis (statistics)
In statistics, scale analysis is a set of methods to analyze survey data, in which responses to questions are combined to measure a latent variable. These items can be dichotomous (e.g. yes/no, agree/
Spillover (experiment)
In experiments, a spillover is an indirect effect on a subject not directly treated by the experiment. These effects are useful for policy analysis but complicate the statistical analysis of experimen
Paid survey
A paid or incentivized survey is a type of statistical survey where the participants/members are rewarded through an incentive program, generally entry into a sweepstakes program or a small cash rewar
Survey response effects
Survey response effects are variations in survey responses that result from seemingly inconsequential aspects of survey design and administration. Susceptibility to these effects varies depending on t
Thurstone scale
In psychology and sociology, the Thurstone scale was the first formal technique to measure an attitude. It was developed by Louis Leon Thurstone in 1928, as a means of measuring attitudes towards reli
Wiki survey
Wiki surveys or wikisurveys are a software-based survey method with similarity to how wikis evolve through crowdsourcing. In essence, they are surveys that allow participants to create the questions t
Interview (research)
An interview in qualitative research is a conversation where questions are asked to elicit information. The interviewer is usually a professional or paid researcher, sometimes trained, who poses quest
Barnardisation
Barnardisation is a method of statistical disclosure control for tables of counts. It involves adding +1, 0 or -1 to some or all of the internal non-zero cells in a table in a pseudo-random fashion. T
Contingent valuation
Contingent valuation is a survey-based economic technique for the valuation of non-market resources, such as environmental preservation or the impact of externalities like pollution. While these resou
Computer-assisted telephone interviewing
Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) is a telephone surveying technique in which the interviewer follows a script provided by a software application. It is a structured system of microdata
Feeling thermometer
A feeling thermometer, also known as a thermometer scale, is a type of visual analog scale that allows respondents to rank their views of a given subject on a scale from "cold" (indicating disapproval
Inverse probability weighting
Inverse probability weighting is a statistical technique for calculating statistics standardized to a pseudo-population different from that in which the data was collected. Study designs with a dispar
Unmatched count
In psychology and social research, unmatched count, or item count, is a technique to improve, through anonymity, the number of true answers to possibly embarrassing or self-incriminating questions. It
Coverage error
Coverage error is a type of non-sampling error that occurs when there is not a one-to-one correspondence between the target population and the sampling frame from which a sample is drawn. This can bia
Wilson–Patterson Conservatism Scale
The Wilson–Patterson Conservatism Scale (abbreviated W–P conservatism scale) is a widely used survey instrument intended to measure respondents' political ideology in terms of liberalism and conservat
Mode effect
Mode effect is a broad term referring to a phenomenon where a particular survey administration mode causes different data to be collected. For example, when asking a question using two different modes
Group concept mapping
Group concept mapping is a structured methodology for organizing the ideas of a group on any topic of interest and representing those ideas visually in a series of interrelated maps. It is a type of i
Response bias
Response bias is a general term for a wide range of tendencies for participants to respond inaccurately or falsely to questions. These biases are prevalent in research involving participant self-repor
Time-use survey
A time-use survey is a statistical survey which aims to report data on how, on average, people spend their time.
Data editing
Data editing is defined as the process involving the review and adjustment of collected survey data. Data editing helps define guidelines that will reduce potential bias and ensure consistent estimate
Interviewer effect
The interviewer effect (also called interviewer variance or interviewer error) is the distortion of response to a personal or telephone interview which results from differential reactions to the socia
Randomized response
Randomised response is a research method used in structured survey interview. It was first proposed by S. L. Warner in 1965 and later modified by B. G. Greenberg and coauthors in 1969. It allows respo
List of comparative social surveys
Below is a list of comparative social surveys. Survey methodology aims to measure general patterns among a population through statistical methods. Comparative research "seeks to compare and contrast n
Official statistics
Official statistics are statistics published by government agencies or other public bodies such as international organizations as a public good. They provide quantitative or qualitative information on
Omnibus (survey)
An omnibus survey is a method of quantitative marketing research where data on a wide variety of subjects is collected during the same interview. Usually, multiple research clients will provide propri
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls ar
Interview
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers. In common parlance, the word "interview" refers to a one-on-one conversation between an
Semantic differential
The semantic differential (SD) is a measurement scale designed to measure a person's subjective perception of, and affective reactions to, the properties of concepts, objects, and events by making use
Self-report study
A self-report study is a type of survey, questionnaire, or poll in which respondents read the question and select a response by themselves without any outside interference. A self-report is any method
Values Modes
Values Modes is a segmentation tool in the United Kingdom, based on the British Values Survey.
List of environmental sampling techniques
Environmental sampling techniques are used in biology, ecology and conservation as part of scientific studies to learn about the flora and fauna of a particular area and establish a habitat's biodiver
Mall intercept
A mall intercept is a quantitative research survey whereby respondents are intercepted in shopping malls or other public spaces. The process involves stopping shoppers, screening them for appropriaten
Survey Research Methods
Survey Research Methods is a peer-reviewed academic journal on survey methodology published by the European Survey Research Association. The journal publishes articles in English discussing methodolog
Card sorting
Card sorting is a technique in user experience design in which a person tests a group of subject experts or users to generate a dendrogram (category tree) or folksonomy. It is a useful approach for de
Survey data collection
With the application of probability sampling in the 1930s, surveys became a standard tool for empirical research in social sciences, marketing, and official statistics. The methods involved in survey
Vote brigading
Vote brigading is massively coordinated online voting. It refers to the practice of affecting reviews or scores on websites that feature crowdvoting, such as online stores or review websites, by calli
Participation bias
Participation bias or non-response bias is a phenomenon in which the results of elections, studies, polls, etc. become non-representative because the participants disproportionately possess certain tr
Paradata
The paradata of a data set or survey are data about the process by which the data were collected. Paradata of a survey are usually "administrative data about the survey." Example paradata topics about
Political forecasting
Political forecasting aims at forecasting the outcomes of political events. Political events can be a number of events such as diplomatic decisions, actions by political leaders and other areas relati
FADFED
FADFED is a methodology for public opinion research that combines elements of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Developed in Amman, Jordan, FADFED has been used in the Middle East, Europe, and
Respondent error
In survey sampling, respondent error refers to any error introduced into the survey results due to respondents providing untrue or incorrect information. It is a type of systemic bias. Several factors
Cognitive pretesting
Cognitive pretesting, or cognitive interviewing, is a field research method where data is collected on how the subject answers interview questions. It is the evaluation of a test or questionnaire befo
Enterprise feedback management
Enterprise feedback management (EFM) is a system of processes and software that enables organizations to centrally manage deployment of surveys while dispersing authoring and analysis throughout an or
Horvitz–Thompson estimator
In statistics, the Horvitz–Thompson estimator, named after Daniel G. Horvitz and Donovan J. Thompson, is a method for estimating the total and mean of a in a stratified sample. Inverse probability wei
Prediction market
Prediction markets (also known as betting markets, information markets, decision markets, idea futures or event derivatives) are open markets where specific outcomes can be predicted using financial i
Online panel
An Online panel is a group of selected research participants who have agreed to provide information at specified intervals over an extended period of time. A panel can be distinguished from a database
Public opinion
Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them.
Structured expert judgment: the classical model
Expert Judgment (EJ) denotes a wide variety of techniques ranging from a single undocumented opinion, through preference surveys, to formal elicitation with external validation of expert probability a
Data collection system
Data collection system (DCS) is a computer application that facilitates the process of data collection, allowing specific, structured information to be gathered in a systematic fashion, subsequently e
Scale (social sciences)
In the social sciences, scaling is the process of measuring or ordering entities with respect to quantitative attributes or traits. For example, a scaling technique might involve estimating individual
Automated telephone survey
Automated telephone surveys is a systematic collection a data from demography by making calls automatically to the preset list of respondents at the aim of collecting information and gain feedback via
Data collection
Data collection or data gathering is the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted variables in an established system, which then enables one to answer relevant questions and evaluate
Survey sampling
In statistics, survey sampling describes the process of selecting a sample of elements from a target population to conduct a survey. The term "survey" may refer to many different types or techniques o
World Association for Public Opinion Research
The World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) is an international professional association of researchers in the field of survey research. It is a member organization of the International
Attitude-behavior consistency
Attitude-behavior consistency is when a person's attitude is consistent with their behavior. This is not true in many cases. The fact that people often express attitudes that are inconsistent with how
Total survey error
In survey sampling, total survey error includes all forms of survey error including sampling variability, interviewer effects, frame errors, response bias, and non-response bias. Total survey error is
Respondent
A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another. The term is used in legal contexts, in survey methodology, and in psychological conditioning.
Response rate (survey)
In survey research, response rate, also known as completion rate or return rate, is the number of people who answered the survey divided by the number of people in the sample. It is usually expressed
Sampling (statistics)
In statistics, quality assurance, and survey methodology, sampling is the selection of a subset (a statistical sample) of individuals from within a statistical population to estimate characteristics o
Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences
The Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences (FORS) is a national research infrastructure, created in 2008. FORS is financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education and Research, the Swis
Non-sampling error
In statistics, non-sampling error is a catch-all term for the deviations of estimates from their true values that are not a function of the sample chosen, including various systematic errors and rando
Survey methodology
Survey methodology is "the study of survey methods".As a field of applied statistics concentrating on human-research surveys, survey methodology studies the sampling of individual units from a populat
Survey Methodology
Survey Methodology (or Techniques d'enquête in the French version) is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal that publishes papers related to the development and application of survey techniqu
Gender survey question
A gender survey question is the question in a survey asking for the respondent to report their gender. In questionnaire construction the survey designer may make this an open-ended question or multipl
Likert scale
A Likert scale (/ˈlɪkərt/ LIK-ərt, commonly mispronounced as /ˈlaɪkərt/ LY-kərt) is a psychometric scale commonly involved in research that employs questionnaires. It is the most widely used approach
Joint Program in Survey Methodology
The Joint Program in Survey Methodology was established at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1993, a collaboration between that University, the University of Michigan, and Westat. Today JPSM