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The University of Southampton
Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute

Designing effective web surveys 24/02/14

Summary of Course:
The course will focus on the design of Web survey instruments and procedures. The course will cover all aspects of instrument design for Web surveys, including the appropriate use of widgets (e.g., radio buttons, check boxes) for Web surveys, general formatting and layout issues, movement through the instrument (action buttons, navigation, error messages), and so on. The course will draw on empirical results from experiments on alternative design approaches as well as practical experience in the design and implementation of a wide variety of Web surveys. The technical aspects of Web survey implementation, such as hardware, software or programming are not the main focus of the course but will be discussed briefly. The course will also address only briefly question wording and sampling issues. (The course will allow time for course participants interested in certain aspects of Web survey designs to discuss such issues with the presenter in more detail). The course is designed for researchers new to this topic as well as for those who already have some knowledge in this area.

Course Objectives:

  • To provide participants with an understanding of the importance of design in reducing measurement error in Web surveys.

  • To provide participants with the practical knowledge and tools to make appropriate design choices and decisions.

Course Content:
This course will include the following topics:

  • Why design is important, and how Web surveys differ from other modes.
  • Types of Web surveys and implications for design.
  • Basic HTML tools for creating survey questions; radio buttons, check boxes, drop boxes, text fields, text areas, etc.
  • Going beyond HTML: multimedia, graphics, client-side and server-side scripts, etc.
  • General layout and design: typography, font size and style; background design; layout and screen design; use of grids or matrices; designing for mobile Web.
  • Putting the questions together to create a questionnaire: instructions; skips, edit checks and routing; progress and movement through the instrument; error messages.
  • Implementing the Web survey: prenotification and invitation modes and design; access control and login; the welcome screen; follow-up reminders and repeat access.
  • The course will have a strong practical emphasis, examining many different examples of good and bad design. Participants are encouraged to bring their own Web survey designs and instruments for discussion.

Target Audience:
The course is aimed at both producers and users of Web surveys. The focus is on design rather than programming issues. It is aimed at those who want to design and implement Web surveys to maximize data quality. Many different types of surveys and survey topics will be covered, with examples from government, academic, and commercial surveys. The course is aimed equally at researchers from academia, government and the voluntary and private sector. The course is designed for researchers new to this topic as well as for those who already have some knowledge in this area.

Course Fee:
Thanks to continued ESRC funding we are able to offer this course at reduced rates as follows:

  • £30 per day for UK registered students
  • £60 per day for staff at UK academic institutions, RCUK funded researchers, public sector staff and staff at registered charity organisations
  • £220 per day for all other participants.


The course fee includes course materials, lunches and morning and afternoon refreshments. Travel and accommodation are to be arranged and paid for by the participant.

Course places are limited and early registration is strongly recommended.

Deadline and Refunds:
Course places are limited and early registration is strongly recommended. Please be aware that we will only hold a place without payment for a limited time.

Please refer to the terms and conditions of the University of Southampton online store when booking. An administration charge of £30 may apply for cancellations. No refunds can be provided for cancellations less than 28 days prior to the start of the course.

Duration:
This is a 3 day course. The course will begin at 10.00am on the first day (with registration and coffee from 9.30am) and will end at about 17.00pm. On the 2nd day the course will begin at 09.30am and will end at about 17.00pm. On the last day the course will start at 9.30am and formal teaching will finish between 14.00pm and 15.00pm. Afterwards there will be an opportunity for questions until about 3.30pm / 4.00pm. In this question session course participants can discuss their own Web survey design and instruments with the Instructor.

Location:
The course will be held at the

London Knowledge Lab
23-29 Emerald Street
London WC1N 3QS

The room is on the ground floor and participants will need to ring the bell to get in to the building. The address, maps and public transport info for the London Knowledge Lab can be found here .

Pre-requisites:
A working knowledge of survey research methods will be assumed. No knowledge of Web programming or scripting (HTML, JavaScript) or any particular software package is necessary.

Course Materials:
Participants will receive written course notes.

The Instructor:
Professor Mick P Couper is Research Professor at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology and Research Professor at the Survey Research Center, University of Michigan. He is co-author of Nonresponse in Household Interview Surveys, chief editor of Computer Assisted Survey Information Collection, and co-author of Survey Methodology (all published by Wiley). He has published extensively on Web survey design and implementation issues, including Designing Effective Web Surveys (Cambridge University Press, 2008) and The Science of Web Surveys, with Roger Tourangeau and Frederick Conrad (Oxford University Press, 2013). His current research interests focus on aspects of technology use in surveys, whether by interviewers or respondents.

Preparatory Reading:
For those who would like to do preparatory reading the following references may be useful as background material. Please note that this reading is optional and it will not be assumed that participants have done any preparatory reading.

  • Special issue of Public Opinion Quarterly (Vol. 72, No. 5), published December 2008. Available free at http://poq.oxfordjournals.org/content/vol72/issue5.
  • Couper, M.P. (2000), "Web Surveys: A Review of Issues and Approaches." Public Opinion Quarterly, 64 (4), 464-494.
  • Couper, M.P. (2008), Designing Effective Web Surveys. Cambridge University Press.
  • Tourangeau, R., Conrad, F.G., and Couper, M.P. (2013), The Science of Web Surveys. Oxford University Press.
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