HD 230 CSUSM Parenting Styles Study Survey Questionnaire

My topic for this questionnaire is: How does parenting styles affect their teenagers?

Survey Research

• Guidelines for Asking Questions
• Questionnaire Construction
• Self-administered surveys
• Interview Surveys
• Telephone Surveys
• Comparison of Survey Methods
• Secondary Analysis
• Ethics of Survey Research

Proposal workshop: Constructing survey questions for your research proposal. Take a look at the sample Facebook survey and the questionnaire checklist to check off all things you need for your own research survey. You must create your own survey based on your research topic and as though you would be having participants take the survey. Surveys are used as a means for quantitative research methods aka statistics. Surveys/questionnaires should be formulated to ask your overarching research question and targeted for your given population. As always, read the chapter, slides, and handouts for this week’s assignment.

Surveys must include:

1. A title (based on your topic)
2. Study description (refer to example for FB survey)
3. Close ended questions with options to choose from (aka scale of measurement/ i.e. options a-d, “strongly agree to strongly disagree”, yes/no/unsure, etc. as there are many different scales used in surveys. The book as well as the sample is a great reference. Even googling sample surveys are a reliable source).
4. 1-3 open-ended questions are okay to have at the end of the survey asking for particular, lengthy aka “open” responses. These usually ask “what, why or how”.
5. A conclusion sentence to inform participants they have concluded the questionnaire
6. Questionnaire Check- List
   As of now, we know that questionnaires are designed to elicit information that will be useful for analysis. Use the following list to pretest the questionnaire:
7. • Are items clear?

   Questions should be clear, unambiguous and precise so that the respondent knows exactly what the researcher is thinking.

   • Are Double-Barreled Questions Avoided?

   Make sure questions do not have multiple parts. Whenever the word and is used in a questionnaire statement, check for whether you are asking a double-barreled question. For example, if this question is presented: Does it seem possible or does it seem impossible to you that the Nazi extermination of the Jews never happened? What is the question? Even if the respondent understood the question, would they understand how to answer? What does a reply of ‘yes’ mean? Needless to say, this question did not yield reliable data. The survey firm recognized this and went back into the field with a less confusing question, which yielded different results.

   • Questions Should Be Relevant

   Questions asked in your survey should be relevant to the research topic and to most of the respondents.

   • Short Items Are Best

   Questions should stem away from being long and complicated. Respondents should be able to read each item quickly, comprehend its intent, and select or provide an answer without difficulty.

   • Are Negative Items Avoided?

   Negation in a questionnaire can lead to misinterpretation. For example, the questionnaire statement of: The United States should not recognize Cuba includes the word not which may cause the respondent to answer on that basis.

   • Are Biased Items Avoided?

   Bias refers to any property of questions that encourages respondents to respond in a particular way. Questions or statements that begin with a statement such as “don’t you agree that tuition costs are…” should not be used as a research item.

   • Questionnaire Instructions

   Questionnaires should contain clear instructions and introductory comments where appropriate. Basic instructions for completing it are necessary. Surveys should begin by stating exactly what you want and how to indicate their answers. For open-ended questions, respondents should have instructions about whether responses should be short or lengthy.