Customer Reviews

Survey Research Methods (Applied Social Research Methods)

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I used to teach a graduate course on research methods. This was one of the texts that I would assign--and I always enjoyed working with it. In addition, students tended to respond well to this book.

Pluses: it is accessibly written; it is rather brief, so it does not overwhelm the reader. On the other hand, sometimes it would have been nice to have a wee bit more detail on certain issues (but that is a small point, after all).

The book covers the basics: sampling, nonresponse--and how to address this; methods of collecting data; designing questions (a key, but often underlooked part of the survey process); evaluating survey questions and the instrument as a whole; interviewing; preparing data for analysis; ethical issues in survey research; etc.

One key issue: total survey design. By looking at each stage in the process and trying to reduce error, one can enhance the confidence in one's findings and results.

Overall, a fine work. . . .

I purchased this book for my survey design class. It was clearly written with very useful examples. I especially liked the sample design section.

Most of us are familiar with survey results--public opinion measured by the media, political opinions gathered by campaigning office-seekers, and market research to help position consumer products. We are less familiar with the techniques of conducting a useful survey under constraints of time and cost. Floyd Fowler's book is a well-written remedy which aims "...to give a sound basis for evaluating data collection procedures to those who would collect, analyze, or read about survey data." He does this by teaching readers the three separate methodologies of sampling, designing questions, and data collection. He discusses the common sources of error in surveys and how to minimize it.

The book is suitable as either a research methods text or as training for researchers conducting their first, small surveys. The thirteen chapters are clearly written and require no background in statistics or research design. Each chapter is followed by a carefully winnowed list of additional readings and brief exercises that test readers' understanding. The focus is on the pragmatics of survey research. The discussion of nonresponse to survey invitations, for example, emphasizes the trade-off between achieving a high participation rate and the time and cost constraints of the research project. Readers are advised not to overdesign their data collection procedures when less precision is called for.

There are few weaknesses. One concern is the light treatment of quantitative topics. While it is true that beginners will likely need the assistance of a sampling expert, they could be better prepared to understand how a sample size is calculated and other basics. The brief chapter on data analysis is a more serious shortcoming. Some basic coverage of frequency distributions, percentages and averages seems a necessary minimum, but is absent. Discussion of statistical significance and practical significance of group differences would also be helpful.

The book is a painless introduction to survey research and, with some additional quantitative instruction, can prepare a novice to conduct a survey. The author is a highly respected researcher whose advice is worth reading. Readers looking for a more technical introduction may prefer Survey Methodology by the author and three of his colleagues.

A good book on survey methods. Easy to use for both upper division undergraduate and masters level graduate students. The publisher (Sage) is known for quality methods books, so this fits well in their catalog. A part of their Applied Social Research series. The author also has a decent book on how to write good survey questions.

While the content of this book is probably very good (I haven't had to read other books on this subject for a fair comparison), the delivery of said content is extremely boring and outdated. The book is basically composed of paragraphs with very little use figures, tables, exhibits, etc. It's just paragraph after paragraph. My biggest issue with this book, however, was the fact that I had to constantly skip the inline citations that were everywhere! One example: a 4 sentence paragraph with 3 citations. It was very distracting to read and it took away the focus from the material to, instead, reading last names and years. I do not recommend this book whatsoever.

Book very helpful explaining what is required to create surveys for research--arrived in a timely manner and book was in very good condition.

Book was barely read and arrived somewhat late from amazon.