Customer Reviews

Thinking About Answers: The Application of Cognitive Processes to Survey Methodology (Research Methods for the Social Sciences)

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The cognitive psychology behind questionnaire and interview development. One of the best reviews of the theory of asking questions. Represents years of expertise. Very recommended.

The notion of looking inside the question answering process is very important for folks writing and administering questionnaire surveys. This text doesn't so much tell you how to do surveys and interviews, as it gets you thinking about how you are interacting with your respondents.

For example, Sudman, et al. will get you thinking about surveys and interviews as a conversation - the norms and expectations that respondents will have of you and how they will interpret your questioning. Similarly, you will read about the four stage process that respondents go through in interpreting your questions, bringing up from memory the information they need to answer your questions, how they 'calculate' their answers, and then how they translate their ideas into an answer format.

I would also recommend Tourangeau, et al. "The Pyschology of Survey Response".

After checking this book out of my university's library multiple times, I realize it's time to buy it. It is a great resource. Everyone should read at least a couple chapters before designing a survey, and especially before using the results of survey to draw any conclusions. I wish I could send a copy of this book to everyone who writes those poll questions for Time and Newsweek. Along those lines, reading this book will make you a much more informed survey respondent and magazine reader, as well.

Don't! This book is poorly written, difficult to interpret, full of typos, and just generally a waste of the cognitive resources Sudman talks about the precious scarcity of. It is repetitive, long-winded, and poorly organized, leaving the reader wondering what the authors were even trying to say. The information within this book, though, is critical to understanding good survey construction. If you can find an outline or abbreviated version of this information hold onto it!