Introduction to survey quality (2003)

[...]... basic principles and concepts of survey measurement quality, with particular emphasis on sampling and nonsampling error 2 To develop the background for continued study of survey measurement quality through readings in the literature on survey methodology 3 To identify issues related to the improvement of survey measurement quality that are encountered in survey work and to provide a basic foundation for... automatically into numerical codes However, to this day, many of the basic problems associated with survey work remain despite vigorous research efforts These basic problems include the presence of survey errors, the lack of adequate measurement tools and resources to handle the errors, and the lack of understanding by some survey producers, survey users, and survey sponsors as to how errors affect survey. .. defined in terms of total survey error; however, some error sources are impossible to measure Instead, one has to assure quality by using dependable processes, processes that lead to good product characteristics The basic thought is that product quality is achieved through process quality 2 The value of postsurvey measures of total survey error is relatively limited Except for repeated surveys, accuracy... some surveys or survey systems in the United States have produced quality profiles (see Chapter 8) A quality profile is a collection of all that is known about the quality of a survey or a system of surveys Such profiles have been developed for the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the Annual Housing Survey, and the Schools and Staffing Surveys, to mention a few examples The problem with a quality. .. dealing with the quality of data collected through the survey process Total survey error, as measured by the mean squared error and its component parts, is the primary criterion for assessing the quality of the survey data Chapter 1 traces the origins of survey research and introduces the concept of survey quality and data quality Chapter 2 provides a nontechnical discussion of how data quality is measured... significance, to mention just a few of the more common statistical methods In this book we treat the branch of statistics called survey methodology and, more specifically, survey quality To provide a framework for the book, we define both a survey and survey quality in this chapter We begin with the definition of a survey and in Section 1.2 describe some types of surveys typically encountered in practice today... Since a critical role of the survey industry is to provide input to world leaders for decision making, it is imperative that the data generated be of such 8 the evolution of survey process quality quality that they can serve as a basis for informed decisions The methods available to assure good quality should be known and accessible to all serious survey organizations Today, this is unfortunately not... dimensions of survey quality Another definition distinguishes between quality of design and quality of conformance (Juran and Gryna, 1980) An example of design quality is how 14 the evolution of survey process quality data are presented A publication with multicolored charts presenting statistical data may be aesthetically superior to monochromatic charts or simple tables Thus, design quality is said to be... throughout the book into lessons for practical survey design The book covers many concepts and ideas for understanding the nature of survey error, techniques for improving survey quality and, where possible, their cost implications, and methods for evaluating data quality in ongoing survey programs A major theme of the book is to introduce readers to the language or terminology of survey errors so that... practice today Our treatment of surveys concludes with a short history of the evolution of survey methodology in social–economic research (Section 1.3) The next three sections of this chapter deal with the very difficult to define concept of quality; in particular, survey quality We describe briefly what quality means in the context of survey work and how it has coevolved with surveys, especially in recent . example of a measurable property of a population of events. The proportion of an area of land that is densely populated is an example of a measurable property of a population concerning plane processes that. the population. Examples of parameters are the proportion of unemployed persons in a population at a given time, the total revenue of busi- nesses in a specific industry sector during a given period,. measurable properties. A person’s occupation at a specific time is an example of a measurable property of a population of individuals. The extent of specified types of crime during a certain period