EPE 773: Seminar in Survey Research Methods

Contact Information

Kelly Bradley, Ph.D.

Office:144-A Taylor

Phone:257 – 4923

Email:Web page:

Office Hours:Tuesday 10:00 – 11:30AM; 3:30 – 4PM and by appointment

Meeting Information

Tuesday, 4 – 6:30PM in 140 Taylor Education Building (computer lab); 3 credit hours

Text

Nardi, Peter M. (2003). Doing Survey Research: A Guide to Quantitative Methods.

* In addition, a complete bibliography is provided below, with a brief description of how the paper or book relates to class concepts. Please refer to these as needed throughout the course.

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to familiarize participants with basic features of the design and implementation of surveys and acquaint them with principles and underlying theory from disciplines that traditionally use surveys the most. Major stages of the survey process, including hypothesis and problem formulation, study design, sampling, questionnaire design, interviewing techniques, pretesting, modes of data collection, data cleaning, management, and analysis will be covered. Students are encouraged to bring materials related to their own research interests. Prerequisite: EPE/EDP 557 or an equivalent course; an introductory statistics course.

Course Objectives

The student will develop an understanding of basic survey research methods, particularly those that apply to educational settings with research applications in education and the social sciences. Specifically, the student will be able to apply basic survey research methods to the design and implementation of survey instruments. Generally, the student will be able to:

  • Evaluate the appropriateness of survey research methods given the research context,
  • Construct a questionnaire or interview schedule,
  • Plan a pilot test of survey instruments for instrument refinement,
  • Understand sampling techniques,
  • Identify sources of sampling and non-sampling errors,
  • Develop basic sampling designs,
  • Frame a research question and/or write and test hypotheses,
  • Write a proposal for a survey research project,
  • Describe the tools used to analyze the results of survey research, and
  • Be aware of ethical issues associated with survey research designs.
Attendance and Participation

Prior to each course meeting, you are responsible for downloading materials for that day from the website. If you should have difficulty with this, please see me prior to class. The course will be interactive in nature, with class discussions being a primary means of distributing information. You are expected to come to class, on-time, complete reading assignments, and participate in all activities. Unexcused absences (see S.R. 5.2.4.2) will be reflected in the class participation grade.

Academic Honesty

University of Kentucky Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities defines academic offenses and details procedures for dealing with them. The Code can be viewed electronically on the University's web site: All students are expected to be familiar with the content of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Tentative Course Schedule

Note:The reading assignments are to be completed prior to the class meeting listed.

Week /

Topic

/ Assigned Reading / Special Notes
1 – Jan 18 / Introduction
2 – Jan 25 / Why Survey Research / Chapter 1 /
Submit Student Info Sheet
3 – Feb 1 / Finding Ideas to Research / Chapter 2
4 – Feb 8 / Survey Research Design / Chapter 3 /
Topic Approval
5 – Feb 15 / Introduction to e-Listen software / e-Listen Manual /
e-Listen #1 and #2
6 – Feb 22 / Survey Research Design /
e-Listen #3 and #4
7 – Mar 1 / Survey Construction / Chapter 4 /
e-Listen #5
8 – Mar 8 / Survey Construction & Sampling / Chapter 5
9 – Mar 15 /
SPRING BREAK
10 – Mar 22 / Sampling / Chapter 6 /
Critique Due
11 – Mar 29 / Descriptive Statistics / Chapter 7 /
Survey Peer Review Due
12 – April 5 / Bivariate Relationships & Comparing Means / Chapter 8 /
Survey Due
13 – April 12 / Multiple Variables / Chapter 9 /
Methodology Peer Review Due
14 – April 19 / Presenting Results / Chapter 10 /
Methodology Due
15 – April 26 / Course Review & Research Day /
Reading Journal Due
Finals /
May 6, Friday, 10:30AM; In Class Final Exam

* e-listen #1,2,3,4 and 5 denote small groups meeting in 144 TEB suite area for 30 minutes of class. This area contains survey and scanner equipment purchased via a UK Equipment Grant, awarded fall of 2002. Students will be given a user’s manual and will be encouraged to create their course survey using these tools.

Course Assignments

Notes: 1Detailed instructions will be provided prior to assignment. 2Rubrics are available via the web page. 3All work is due as indicated at the beginning of class, and no late work will be accepted, besides in extreme circumstances (pre-approved).

  1. Class Participation: Complete weekly readings and participate in class discussions/activities.
  2. Reading Journal: Complete weekly class questions.
  3. Survey Critique: Using a selected survey, comment on the instrumentation via provided questions.
  4. Methodology:Write a design plan for the implementation of your survey (topic pre-approved).
  5. Peer Review: Complete the rubric, along with comments, for a peer’s methodology and survey.
  6. Survey: Complete a survey instrument on the topic of your choice (topic pre-approved).
  7. Final Exam: In class exam (multiple choice and short answer response) assessing course components and covering key topics on each assignment.
Grading

Class Participation 5%

Reading Journal10%

Survey Critique15%

Methodology20%

Peer Review10%

Survey, with cover letter and instructions25%

Final Exam15%

Course grades will be earned as follows:

A: 90% and above; B: 80 – 89 %; C: 70 – 79%; E: 69% and below

Important Dates
January 19th, last day to add; February 2nd, last day to drop without a ‘W’; March 7th, midterm; March 11th, last day to drop with a ‘W’; March 14th – 18th, Spring Break; April 25th – 29th, dead week

See website for additional information, including useful links.

1