Paper
SOCI 3111 Social Research Methods Paper 2 Instructions: Due November 3rd 2019
The Purpose of this Methods Project Paper
You have learned in your Schutt textbook, PPTs, videos, and other materials about the
techniques for designing effective survey questions and ensuring validity and reliability. The
purpose of this assignment is to practice these techniques as well as writing high quality survey
questions. You will do this by designing an attractive, clear, and effective 10 question
questionnaire.
There are TWO parts to this assignment:
A. You will be presented with 10 poorly designed questions and you will describe why these
are poor question and then re-write them as better questions.
B. You will then design 10 good survey questions for an attractive, neat, and user-friendly
questionnaire about a ONE of the following topics:
a. Recent college graduates’ attitudes about their student loan debt
b. College student attitudes about study skills and study habits
c. Voter attitudes toward impeachment of President Donald Trump
Skills Practiced
• Applying survey design concepts learned thus far in research methods.
• Understanding how and why question quality differs and appreciate the nuanced manner
in which a good question is created.
• Developing survey design that is clear, makes sense, and is user-friendly.
SOCI 3111 Social Research Methods Paper 2 Instructions: Due November 3rd 2019
Part 1: Assessing Sample Survey Questions
For Part A consider the following 10 examples of survey questions:
Sample Question 1
Do you ever use the YMCA facilities to go swimming and diving?
___Never
___Rarely
___Frequently
- ___Sometimes
Sample Question 2
What do you think can be done about global warming?
1. Ignore it
2. Address it
Sample Question 3
Most medical professionals agree that smoking causes lung disease. Do you:
Strongly agree
Agree ○
Neither agree nor disagree ○
Disagree ○
Strongly disagree ○
Sample Question 4
Do you disagree that students should not have to take an exam at the end of their course?
Yes ____
No ____
Sample Question 5
How much food do you think the average family throws away in a week? Estimate a guess.
o Not much
o A small amount
o A medium amount
o A large amount
o More than other families
o I don’t know
SOCI 3111 Social Research Methods Paper 2 Instructions: Due November 3rd 2019
Sample Question 6
What is wrong with the young people of today and what can we do about it?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Sample Question 7
What is your ethnicity?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Question 8
Have you ever stolen anything? If so, what and when?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Question 9
What do you think about the left-wing media’s attempt to blackmail the government?
A. I disagree with this statement a little amount
B. I disagree with this statement a medium amount
C. I neither agree nor disagree with this statement
D. I agree with this statement a little amount
E. I agree with this statement strongly
Question 10
How much do you earn?
___$0 – $20,000
___$21,000 - $29,000
___$30,000 - $50,000
___$51,000 - $65,000
___$66,000 - $75,000
SOCI 3111 Social Research Methods Paper 2 Instructions: Due November 3rd 2019
In Part A, in one paragraph per question, describe how you would improve the question and
why. Make sure you use methodology principles for writing questions (as described by Schutt,
and handouts in the module folder) to describe why the question is poor and re-write the
question so that it is improved according to your reasoning.
Format for Part A:
Student Name
SOCI 3111 Paper 2 Part A
Date
Prof Dao
Question 1:
To
Question 10:
References
Part B: Designing Your Survey
For Part B (a separate document), you will design a 10-question survey about one of the
following topics: select only one topic that most interests you:
a. Recent college graduates’ attitudes about their student loan debt
b. College student attitudes about study skills and study habits
c. Voter attitudes toward impeachment of President Donald Trump
You may design the survey in any way you wish but you must include the following:
➢ A clear introduction or instructions at the beginning of the survey describing the survey
and its purpose. Language must be user-friendly and clear.
➢ Contact information and instructions on where to submit or what to do with the survey
upon completion (examples: send to an email, return to an office etc.).
Your survey will be evaluated on quality of the questions for validity, accurate conceptualization,
neatness and clarity. See rubric in module folder as well as the handout: Best Practices for
Survey Design for tips on designing a high-quality survey.
Submit both Part A and Part B as separate documents or PDFs on CougarView by 8pm on
11/3/19. Late items will be reduced 10 points for each day late and not accepted after 3 days.
Both items must be submitted at the same time for credit on either one.