Module 6 Overview

In chapter 5 we learned that the best way to work informational interviews was to allow
flexibility and adaptability into your interview guide. Allowing yourself to go off course can be
very beneficial during informational interviews because you can follow-up on answers or
questions that will provide more information. Also, being able to reproduce the interview is
not essential. The exact opposite is true of survey interviews. Survey interviews are preplanned, highly-scheduled, and must be replicable.
You know those phone surveys you get every now and then? How about a customer
satisfaction questionnaire sent in the mail following a Drs visit or a new purchase? Those are all
examples of survey interviews. While survey interviews can be administered face-to-face, the
majority are now conducted via telephone, traditional mail, e-mail, and through websites. Each
method has its own set of advantages and disadvantages to consider and may not be
appropriate for every situation.
It is imperative that you specifically nail down the purpose of your survey before you start
creating the questions or thinking of the people who might respond. This is because you need
to determine whether you need to conduct a qualitative or
quantitative survey. If you need a refresher of the difference
between qualitative and quantitative research, check out this
YouTube video (reminder, I love stupid humor so while the
content is solid, the delivery is amusing. To me, anyway. )
As stated above, replicability is central in survey interviews. The goal of standardization is that
each respondent be exposed to the same question experience and that the recording of
answers be the same, too, so that any differences in the answers can be correctly interpreted
as reflecting differences between respondents rather than differences in the process that
produce the answer (Dewey, 2000. para. 1). That means that your questions and survey
instrument must be carefully crafted and systematically administered in order to ensure that all
respondents are provided with the same survey experience.
Chapter 6 is going to focus on building the survey interview. It will cover how the interview
guide and schedule need to be structured, the types of questions to include, and how to handle
the opening and closing of a survey interview.
In module 6, you will be introduced to the Survey Says! Learning Opportunity. This is a small
group project with a relatively quick turnaround period (3 weeks). The purpose of this task is to
present you with the opportunity to plan, design, administer, and interpret a survey interview.
I know you are all cringing at the idea of online group work, but I promise you it is only as
difficult as you make it. It is very likely that over the course of your career you will have to

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Module 6 Overview
virtually collaborate with colleagues; so this learning opportunity is giving you experience that
will benefit you down the road.

References
Dewey, Jennifer. (2000). Guidelines for survey interviewing. North Central Regional Educational
Laboratory.
Smcilquham (Producer). (2012, March 6). Quantitative vs qualitative research [Youtube video].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlU22hTyIs4

Additional Sources

Web Center for Social Research Methods http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/survtype.php

Write Content Solutions Writing Survey Questions and Interview questions of Good
Quality - http://www.write.com/writing-guides/research-writing/researchprocess/writing-survey-questions-and-interview-questions-of-good-quality/
A Quick Guide with Examples http://www.slideshare.net/rowanfreeman/a-quickguide-to-survey-questions-with-examples?related=1
Purdue OWL: Conducting Primary Research https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/559/05/

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