Survey Error

8 important questions on Survey Error

To what refers the term error?

Deviations of obtained survey results from those that are true reflections of the population.

By what is the level of sampling error controlled?

By the sample size: as samples get larger, the distribution of possible sample outcomes gets tighter around the true population figure. Larger samples have less chance of producing results that are uncharacteristic of the population as a whole.

By what is the level of sample bias controlled?

Not by sample size. Rather by defining the population of interest prior to drawing the sample; attempting to maximize population coverage, selecting a sample that fairly represents the entire population, and obtaining data from as much of the selected sample as possible.
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What are three sources of nonsampling error?

1. Interviewer error: related to the administration of the survey.
2. Response error: related to the accuracy of response as given.
3. Coding error: related tot the accuracy of response as recorded.
All of these may result in either random or systematic errors in the data.

What is are three examples of interviewer error? How can these be controlled?

1. Cheating; the interviewer fails to administer the questionnaire, or portions of the questionnaire, and simply fabricates the data. Controlled trough some form of validation.
2. Question administration error: the interviewer does something other than read the question as intended.
3. Probing error. Examples 2 and 3 are controlled through interviewer training. Also, data collection may be spread across multiple interviewers.

How can nonsampling error be controlled overall?

Open-ended questions may be assigned to at least two coders to identify and resolve inconsistencies. Questionnaires are edited to verify that the answers appear to be correctly recorded an to check for interitem consistency where applicable. Respondents may be recontacted to resolve apparent errors or inconsistencies. Doing a good job of training and supervising interviewers, using good questionnaire design, exercising good control over coding and data entry.

What is the mean square error (MSE)?

The two types of error taken together: variance and bias. Calculated as variance plus bias squared (the average squared error due to random variation plus the average squared error due to systematic error).

What is total survey error?

When MSE accounts for variance and bias accross al the survey stages.

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