Research Methods at SCS

Survey Methodology is becoming a more structuredfield of research, deserving of more and more academic attention. TheSAGE Handbook of Survey Methodology explores boththe increasingly scientific endeavour of surveys and their growing complexity,as different data collection modes and information sources are combined. The handbooktakes a global approach, with a team of international experts looking at localand national specificities, as well as problems of cross-national, comparativesurvey research. The chapters are organized into seven major sections, each ofwhich represents a stage in the survey life-cycle: Surveys and Societies Planning a Survey Measurement Sampling Data Collection Preparing Data for Use Assessing and Improving Data Quality The SAGE Handbook of SurveyMethodology is a landmark andessential tool for any scholar within the social sciences. 

Survey research is a powerful tool used in business, health care, government, and other fields that seek to understand how and why individuals behave the way they do. Properly conducted, surveys can provide accurate insights into areas such as attitudes, opinions, motivations, and values that serve as the drivers of individual behavior. This two-volume set is intended to introduce fundamentals of good survey research to students and practitioners of the survey process as well as end users of survey information. It describes key survey components needed to design, understand, and use surveys effectively and avoid the pitfalls stemming from bad survey construction and inappropriate methods. In this first volume, the authors concentrate on the fundamentals of survey development and design as well as provide a review of key components in survey.

Geared to the non-statistician, the Handbook of Survey Methodology in Social Sciences addresses issues throughout all phases of survey design and implementation. Chapters examine the major survey methods of data collection, providing expert guidelines for asking targeted questions, improving accuracy and quality of responses, while reducing sampling and non-sampling bias. Relying on the Total Survey Error theory, various issues of both sampling and non-sampling sources of error are explored and discussed. By covering all aspects of the topic, the Handbook is suited to readers taking their first steps in survey methodology, as well as to those already involved in survey design and execution, and to those currently in training. Featured in the Handbook:* The Total Survey Error: sampling and non-sampling errors.* Survey sampling techniques. * The art of question phrasing.* Techniques for increasing response rates * A question of ethics: what is allowed in survey research?* Survey design: face-to-face, phone, mail, e-mail, online, computer-assisted.?* Dealing with sensitive issues in surveys.* Demographics of respondents: implications for future survey research.* Dealing with nonresponse, and nonresponse biasThe Handbook of Survey Methodology in Social Sciences offers how-to clarity for researchers in the social and behavioral sciences and related disciplines, including sociology, criminology, criminal justice, social psychology, education, public health, political science, management, and many other disciplines relying on survey methodology as one of their main data collection tools.

If you need to conduct market research for your company, a good questionnaire is a vital tool. Questionnaire Design covers anything and everything you need to know about constructing the perfect questionnaire for your business. Taking you through every step of the process, and encouraging you to really think about what you are asking, and what data you want to find out, Questionnaire Design is an essential guide for marketers everywhere. Whether you are a student of marketing, have market research skills that need updating, or simply want a handbook to refer to as the need arises, Questionnaire Design is the book for you. Now fully updated to include vital information about online questionnaires and interviews, their problems and potential, this book will be a useful addition to the bookshelf of every market research practitioner.

This book is for all of our customers who have read our books and need to know more. Robert A. Peterson has written a comprehensive text on questionnaire design and construction. This volume goes a step beyond the Survey Kit to give the reader more information.

Designing and Doing Survey Research is an introduction to the processes and methods of planning and conducting survey research. The book provides step-by-step guidance on: Designing your research Ethical issues Developing your survey questions Sampling Budgeting, scheduling and managing your time Administering your survey Preparing for data analysis With a focus on the impact of new technologies, this book provides a cutting-edge look at how survey research is conducted today as well as the challenges survey researchers face. Packed full of international examples from various social science disciplines, the book is ideal for students and researchers new to survey research.

Written for students and researchers who wish to understand the conceptual and practical aspects of sampling, this book is designed to be accessible without requiring advanced statistical training. It covers a wide range of topics, from the basics of sampling to special topics such as sampling rare populations, sampling organizational populations, and sampling visitors to a place. Using cases and examples to illustrate sampling principles and procedures, the book thoroughly covers the fundamentals of modern survey sampling, and addresses recent changes in the survey environment such as declining response rates, the rise of Internet surveys, the need to accommodate cell phones in telephone surveys, and emerging uses of social media and big data.