Lab: Survey Methods and Techniques

The aim of the laboratory is to provide students with the theoretical and empirical bases knowledge of the survey. The Laboratory of "Survey Methods" is composed by two parts. In the first (theoretical) part the principal choices which have to be taken in developing a survey in the field of social and political sciences will be presented and discussed. In the second (practical) part the students will conduct a survey by their own. The first part deals with the survey research, which is one of the most important areas of measurement in applied social research. The broad area of survey research encompasses any measurement procedures that involve asking questions of respondents. A "survey" can be anything form a short paper-and-pencil feedback form to an intensive one-on-one in-depth interview. The different types of surveys that are possible will be shown, roughly divided into two broad areas: Questionnaires and Interviews. The selection of the best survey method for each situation will be analyzed and discussed. Once that selection have been done, the problem to solve is connected to the construction of the survey itself. The main issues related to the drafting of a questionnaire will be deeply argued, including: the different types of questions; decisions about question content; decisions about question wording; decisions about response format; question placement and correct sequence of the questions. Finally, some of the advantages and disadvantages of survey methods will be considered.

At the end of the course, each student will have learned the main methods to conduct a survey and will be able to understand which method is the best for the type of "questioning" he must perform. If attending, he will also be in possession of the empirical bases in order to be able to independently carry out a survey, from the drafting of the questionnaire to the organization of the fieldwork, from the analysis of the results to the final research report.