Survey methods resources

General

Dillman et al. (2008). Internet, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method. Probably the single best introduction on how to design and administer a survey.

Groves et al. (2009). Survey Methodology. A more advanced text, and the main text in my survey methods course. They frame their discussion around total survey error, which I find a useful way to think about survey design. An excellent book if you already have some survey research experience.

Writing questions

Fowler (1995). Improving Survey Questions: Design and Evaluation. Although older, this is a good introduction to writing questions, with many examples. He has a good discussion about how to write subjective questions.

Tourangeau et al. (2000). The Psychology of Survey Response. This is the classic text on writing questions, synthesizing a wide range of studies on how respondents understand and respond to a survey question. This is a must-have text for anyone who is serious about writing good survey questions – it really opened my eyes as to the huge problems we face in crafting good questions.

Other resources

Public Opinion Quarterly is probably the the top academic journal for research on surveys, and publishes some of the most important research in this area (requires a subscription).

Survey Research Methods is a new online journal published by the European Survey Research Association, their content is free.

The Survey Research Methods Section of the American Statistical Association has a useful listserv that is open to anyone.

The American Association for Public Opinion Research has two resources that I use for my class:

• Standard definitions for response rates
• How to deal with IRBs