Introduction to Survey Research : The Basics of Survey Research

Survey research is a powerful tool used in business, health care, government, and other fields that seek to understand how and why individuals behave the way they do. Properly conducted, surveys can provide accurate insights into areas such as attitudes, opinions, motivations, and values that serve as the drivers of individual behavior.

This two-volume set is intended to introduce fundamentals of good survey research to students and practitioners of the survey process as well as end users of survey information. It describes key survey components needed to design, understand, and use surveys effectively and avoid the pitfalls stemming from bad survey construction and inappropriate methods. In this first volume, the authors concentrate on the fundamentals of survey development and design as well as provide a review of key components in survey.

Ernest L. Cowles is professor emeritus of sociology at California State University, Sacramento. He served as the director of the Institute for Social Research for 8 years and continues as a senior research fellow. Before becoming director of the Institute for Social Research, he directed research centers at the University of Illinois for 10 years. Beyond his academic work, he has served as a public agency administrator and consultant both within the United States and internationally. In 2015, he was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award by the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University where he received his PhD in criminology.

Edward Nelson is professor emeritus of sociology at California State University, Fresno. He received his PhD in sociology from UCLA specializing in research methods. He was the director of the Social Research Laboratory at California State University, Fresno, from 1980 to 2013 and has directed more than 150 surveys. He taught research methods, quantitative methods, critical thinking, and computer applications. He has published books on observation in sociological research, and using SPSS, a statistical computing package widely used in the social sciences.