The prior knowledge to participate in this course is rather limited but it helps to know the basic concepts of descriptive statistics like mean, variance, standard deviation, covariance, correlation, regression, factor Analysis and especially Structural Equation Models.
 

Some people may think that formulating survey questions is very questions is simple because we all can make questions. Others may think that it is an Art which one can not learn. Our point of view is that there is now enough knowledge about the consequences of the choices which are made when questions are formulated that survey design can be a scientific task. Therefore an overview of these choices and the consequences of these choices will be given in this course. Because errors will always remain in the questionnaires, we will also discuss how one can cope with these errors in the analysis of survey data
 

The purpose of the course is that participants get an idea of what survey researchers are doing and the value of their procedures. As a consequence, participants will achieve the following competences:

- to become aware of the major problems which are connected with survey research
- to be able to develop proper questionnaires
- to be able to evaluate the quality of questionnaire of other people
- to evaluate the effect of measurement error on survey results
- to be aware of the problems of comparative cross cultural research
 

In the first part of the course we will suggest an approach that can help to formulate proper questions for the concepts one would like to measure.

In the second part an inventory will be given of the characteristics of survey items which might play a role in determining the quality of a survey question. In this part the different choices which a survey researcher will make while designing a survey item will be made explicit in order to reflect even on habitual choices.

The third part starts with a discussion of criteria for data quality and then gives a summary of the existing knowledge about the effect of the different choices on the quality of the questions as far as this knowledge is used in the SQP program. Subsequently the program SQP is introduced which predicts the data quality on the basis of the characteristics of the components of survey items which have been found to be of influence on the data quality of survey items.

In the fourth part of the course we will demonstrate how this knowledge can enhance the analysis of survey data by developing complex measurement instruments, improving comparative research and correcting for measurement error in multivariate analysis.
 

The course will be a mixture of seminars and lectures combined with groups work and individual tasks, especially exercises.
 

During the course we will evaluate in the class the measurement of individual and group emotional intelligence. We expect besides general discussions about it that you prepare in small groups (maximal 3) proposals for the development of these or other measurement instruments and the evaluation of them. About these activities a report should be written.
Besides this task the participants are expected to design a part of a questionnaire for your own research. Preferably you take a part of the research you will do for your dissertation. In the end a report should be written about the design of the questionnaire where the operationalization is discussed and the quality of the instrument evaluated with the program SQP.
The final mark will be a weighted average of the evaluations of the two papers.
 

The textbook used is : W.E.Saris and I.N.Gallhofer Design, evaluation and analysis of questionnaires for survey research. Wiley, 2007.
Beware that you need the book in the course. So or you copy the book or you buy the book. You can get it from Amazon in the US or Germany for € 65
 

Monday 08/03/10
From 15:00 h. to 18:00 h.
Tuesday 09/03/10
From 15:00 h. to 18:00 h.
Wednesday 10/03/10
From 15:00 h. to 18:00 h.
Thursday 11/03/10
From 15:00 h. to 18:00 h.
Monday 15/03/10
From 15:00 h. to 18:00 h.
Tuesday 16/03/10
From 15:00 h. to 18:00 h.
Wednesday 17/03/10
From 15:00 h. to 18:00 h.
Thursday 18/03/10
From 15:00 h. to 18:00 h.
Exam 16/04/10 . At 17:00 h.