Handbook of Survey Research provides an introduction to the theory and practice of sample survey research. It addresses both the student who desires to master these topics and the practicing survey researcher who needs a source that codifies, rationalizes, and presents existing theory and practice. The handbook can be organized into three major parts. Part 1 sets forth the basic theoretical issues involved in sampling, measurement, and management of survey organizations. Part 2 deals mainly with ""hands-on,"" how-to-do-it issues: how to draw theoretically acceptable samples, how to write questionnaires, how to combine responses into appropriate scales and indices, how to avoid response effects and measurement errors, how actually to go about gathering survey data, how to avoid missing data (and what to do when you cannot), and other topics of a similar nature. Part 3 considers the analysis of survey data, with separate chapters for each of the three major multivariate analysis modes and one chapter on the uses of surveys in monitoring overtime trends. This handbook will be valuable both to advanced students and to practicing survey researchers seeking a detailed guide to the major issues in the design and analysis of sample surveys and to current state of the art practices in sample surveys.

ContributorsPrefaceChapter 1 Sample Surveys: History, Current Practice, and Future Prospects 1.1. Introduction 1.2. A Short History of Sample Surveys 1.3. Survey Research in the 1980s 1.4. Current Developments and Issues in Survey Research 1.5. The Handbook of Survey Research ReferencesChapter 2 Sampling Theory 2.1. Introduction 2.2. Stratified Sampling 2.3. Cluster Sampling 2.4. Advanced Topics 2.5. Further Reading and Other Topics BibliographyChapter 3 Measurement 3.1. Measurement 3.2. Platonic and Classical True Scores 3.3. Reliability and Validity Defined 3.4. The Effect of Unreliability on Statistical Estimates 3.5. Reliability as a Function of the Number of Independent Measures 3.6. Types of Reliability 3.7. Factor Analysis and Internal Consistency 3.8. Validity 3.9. Conclusion ReferencesChapter 4 Management of Survey Organizations 4.1. Introduction 4.2. The Goals of a Survey Research Organization 4.3. The Management Issue 4.4. A Personal Postscript ReferencesChapter 5 Applied Sampling 5.1. Introduction 5.2. How Good Does the Sample Need to Be? 5.3. Inappropriate Sample Designs 5.4. The Use of Biased Samples for Screening 5.5. Defining the Population 5.6. Problems with Overdefining the Population 5.7. Operational Definitions of the Population 5.8. Small-Scale Sampling with Limited Resources 5.9. A Credibility Scale 5.10. Examples 5.11. Simple Random Sampling 5.12. Random Numbers 5.13. Systematic Sampling 5.14. Are Systematic Samples Simple Random Samples? 5.15. The Uses and Limitations of Lists 5.16. Blanks and Ineligibles on Lists 5.17. Duplications 5.18. Omissions from Lists 5.19. The Use of Telephone Directories and Random Digit Dialing 5.20. Screening for Special Populations 5.21. How Big Should the Sample Be? 5.22. Current Sample Sizes Used 5.23. The Reasons for Stratified Sampling 5.24. Appropriate and Inappropriate Uses of Stratification 5.25. The Strata are of Primary Interest 5.26. Variances Differ between Strata 5.27. Costs Differ by Strata 5.28. Additional Reading ReferencesChapter 6 Questionnaire Construction and Item Writing 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Standardized Questionnaires 6.3. Mode of Administration 6.4. Type of Sample to Be Interviewed 6.5. Qualities of a Good Questionnaire 6.6. Deciding on Content 6.7. Writing the Questions 6.8. Question Order and Format 6.9. Pretesting 6.10. Back to the Drawing Board 6.11. Data-Base Considerations 6.12. Other Types of Instruments and Materials 6.13. Summary ReferencesChapter 7 Measurement: Theory and Techniques 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Measurement Theory 7.3. Scaling Techniques 7.4. Concluding Remarks BibliographyChapter 8 Response Effects 8.1. Introduction 8.2. Model for Conceptualizing Factors That Affect Responses 8.3. Empirical Studies of Response Effects 8.4. Conclusions ReferencesChapter 9 Data Collection: Planning and Management 9.1. Objectives of the Survey Interview 9.2. Tasks to Accomplish the Objectives 9.3. Summary ReferencesChapter 10 Mail and Other Self-Administered Questionnaires 10.1. Introduction 10.2. The Total Design Method 10.3. Limitations of Mail Surveys 10.4. Costs 10.5. Other Self-Administered Questionnaires 10.6. Conclusion ReferencesChapter 11 Computers in Survey Research 11.1. Introduction 11.2. Instrument Design 11.3. Sampling 11.4. Field Monitoring 11.5. Coding and Editing 11.6. Data Capture 11.7. Data Cleaning 11.8. Scale-Index Construction 11.9. Data Base Organization 11.10. Data Retrieval 11.11. Statistical Analysis 11.12. Documentation 11.13. Report Writing 11.14. Concluding Remarks ReferencesChapter 12 Missing Data 12.1. Introduction 12.2. The Analysis of Experimental Design Models Using Incomplete Data 12.3. Missing Data in Survey Samples 12.4. Regression Analysis with Incomplete Observations 12.5. Other Multivariate Models 12.6. Summary ReferencesChapter 13 Applications of the General Linear Model to Survey Data 13.1. Introduction 13.2. The Two-Variable Regression Model 13.3. The Multivariate Model 13.4. Some Common Problems with the Multivariate Model 13.5. Some Concluding Observations ReferencesChapter 14 Analyzing Qualitative Data 14.1. Introduction 14.2. Modeling the Distribution of Cases in a Contingency Table 14.3. Latent Structure Analysis 14.4. Linear Models for Qualitative Data 14.5. Conclusion ReferencesChapter 15 Causal Modeling and Survey Research 15.1. Introduction 15.2. Some Basic Principles of Nonexperimental Causal Inference 15.3. Some Types of Recursive Causal Models and Their Representation 15.4. Some Uses of Nonrecursive Causal Models 15.5. Conclusion ReferencesChapter 16 Surveys as Social Indicators: Problems in Monitoring Trends 16.1. Introduction 16.2. Two Puzzles: Assessing Trends in Criminal Victimization and Confidence in American Institutions 16.3. Sources of Survey Noncomparability 16.4. Conclusions and Recommendations ReferencesIndex