Survey Question Writing Workshop:
Anyone can write a survey questionnaire, if they follow a few basic steps. This workshop focuses on the skills necessary to develop and modify survey questionnaires in order to obtain reliable and interpretable information. A first step is to consider existing sources with relevant materials. We will review national surveys, samples of questions they contain, and how to get them. We also will review criteria for identifying attitudinal and psychological scales. If these sources do not completely cover the topic(s) of your interest, the second step is to also develop your own materials. To develop new questions and response sets, a small pilot study using open-ended interviews is needed. We review some basic techniques (e.g., free-listing) to quickly obtain relevant content with a small number of interviews. Third, we review principles for writing clear and reliable questions. This step also includes incorporating content from the open-ended interviews into a questionnaire. The fourth step involves another small pilot study to ensure that interview questions are clear and understood as intended (cognitive interviewing). We will also discuss formatting and mode of interviewing (face-to-face, computer administered, etc.) By the end of the workshop participants should be able to design and create their own questionnaires.
Dr. Susan Weller – Professor, Dept of Population and Health Disparities, School of Public and Population Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas .
Dr. Weller is nationally and internationally recognized for her expertise in the area of research methods and is skilled in both qualitative and quantitative methods. Her research interests span both medical (diabetes, AIDS, asthma, hormone usage) and social science topics (decision-making, social support, and measurement of beliefs). Dr. Weller is the co-developer of the Cultural Consensus Model (with Romney and Batchelder), a mathematical method to estimate cultural beliefs. She has published monographs on data collection methods and on correspondence analysis. She has authored or co-authored more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and over 30 book chapters and editorials, and presented her work at national and international conferences. Her research has been funded primarily by NSF. She has served on expert scientific advisory committees and boards, including the consensus panel to summarize research concerning condoms and sexually transmitted diseases. She currently serves on the editorial board of Field Methods.
Date: Friday, March 21, 2025
Time: 9:30am - 4:00pm - Lunch will be provided
Location: Coor Building - Conference Room 5635
Workshop Fee: $50.00 (includes lunch)