How to Conduct Surveys: A Step-by-Step Guide

by Arlene G. Fink

Overview

The seventh edition of How to Conduct Surveys: A Step-by-Step Guide by Arlene Fink provides a concise and reliable resource for developing and running surveys. This practical guide walks the reader through the development of rigorous surveys and how to evaluate the credibility and usefulness of surveys created by others. The seventh edition highlights new and updated information on the use of generative artificial intelligence and increasing use of online sources, use of other new technology such as social media, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams, and new sections on cultural validity and survey recruitment. Learning objectives and a new format help students better see and retain information in each chapter. Every chapter includes practice exercises designed to promote skills in analyzing, evaluating and producing information. Offering practical, step-by-step advice and written in the same clear and accessible style as prolific author Arlene Fink’s other works, How to Conduct Surveys focuses on guiding students through the numerous choices in survey design and analysis to develop rigorous surveys.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071861325
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	11/05/2024
Edition description:	Seventh Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Arlene Fink (Ph D) is Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, and president of the Langley Research Institute. Her main interests include evaluation and survey research and the conduct of research literature reviews as well as the evaluation of their quality. Dr. Fink has conducted scores of evaluation studies in public health, medicine, and education. She is on the faculty of UCLA’s Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and is a scientific and evaluation advisor to UCLA’s Gambling Studies and IMPACT (Improving Access, Counseling & Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer) programs. She consults nationally and internationally for agencies such as L’institut de Promotion del la Prévention Secondaire en Addictologie (IPPSA) in Paris, France, and Peninsula Health in Victoria, Australia. Professor Fink has taught and lectured extensively all over the world and is the author of more than 130 peer-reviewed articles and 15 textbooks.

Table of Contents

Preface
About the Author
Chapter 1. Conducting Surveys: Everyone Is Doing It
Chapter 2. The Survey Form: Questions, Scales, and Appearance
Chapter 3. Getting It Together: Some Practical Concerns
Chapter 4. Sampling
Chapter 5. Survey Design: Environmental Control
Chapter 6. Analyzing and Organizing Data From Surveys
Chapter 7. Presenting the Survey Results
Index

Editorial Reviews

Guides readers in developing their own rigorous surveys and evaluating the credibility of other surveys, with practical advice and instructions. This second edition is completely revised to reflect changes such as computer-assisted and interactive surveys, and gives guidelines on preparing informed consent statements for survey respondents and for asking sensitive questions about ethnicity, income, and gender. Other new topics include translating surveys to other languages, reading computer output containing survey results, and using new survey data analysis techniques such as odds rations, relative risks, and confidence intervals. Includes guidelines on preparing reports and giving oral presentations, as well as examples, exercises and answers, and appendices on performing technical computations. Useful for self-paced instruction, workshops, and formal classrooms. Requires no background in statistics. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

The book is very readable with an easy-to-follow structure and lots of practical advice. For example, Fink provides a useful table on the pros and cons of using different survey types. Examples taken from real-life surveys are also used to good effect throughout, helping to make the text more engaging. The summing up section at the end of each chapter is also a helpful reference for readers to know where to find what they might need and to check their own understanding.

Jo Lea

"I recommend the book as a desk resource if you are considering conducting a survey in the near future or if you have to prepare a presentation on survey results. "

Journal of the Society for Technical Communication - Rhonda Lunemann

"This book presents a thoughtful, succinct overview of survey research methods. The author's extensive experience in conducting survey research and in training others to do the same is reflected in the practical advice given throughout the work. It does an admirable job of presenting the basics in a generally clear, easy to read style. "

Science Direct - Ronald R. Powell