The LPDC Survey Research Lab offers a full range of survey research services, including:
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LPDC Survey Lab staff work with clients to decide on a sample size and design that will meet the goals of the study. We can construct a random- digit-dialing sample for a specified geographic area, or we can construct a sample from an existing list.
The Survey Lab can implement a questionnaire that a client provides or draft the questions for the client. Our staff has extensive experience with issues such as question wording, response options, and question sequencing. We work with our clients to develop questions that result in valid and reliable measures.
All questionnaires are pretested in the field before actual data collection begins. Pretesting is essential for identifying and working out unforeseen problems with questions.
The LPDC Survey Lab offers data collection via mail surveys, in-person interviewing, and telephone interviewing.
For telephone surveys, we operate a computer-aided telephone interviewing (CATI) facility. Because they offer the economy of telephone interviewing with greatly improved quality control, CATI systems are a major advance in survey research methodologies.
The Survey Lab employs the Ci3 CATI system software. Ci3 CATI is a PC-based system. A local area network connects twelve interviewing stations with a supervisor workstation. Interviewers wearing hands-free telephone headsets sit at computer terminals. The computer is programmed to automatically dial telephone numbers. When a respondent is reached, the interviewer asks the questions that appear on the computer monitor and enters the responses.
Questionnaires of almost any type can be programmed using Ci3 CATI. The system can handle both closed- ended and open-ended questions and questions calling for multiple responses as well as single responses. Complex skip patterns are easily programmed so that the interviewer always asks the correct sequence of questions. With Ci3 CATI, one can also program the computer to accept only a limited range of responses to a question. These and other features of Ci3 CATI minimize interviewer error.
Another powerful feature of Ci3 CATI is its ability to manage the sample. Ci3 CATI supplies the interviewing stations with sample and monitors the amount of sample remaining. The system also records the outcome of each call attempt and schedules callbacks.
With a CATI system, data are entered directly into the computer. This eliminates the time-consuming task of data entry and the potential for keypunching error.
Clients of the Survey Lab receive a fully-documented, cleaned data set. Data can be delivered in a variety of ASCII formats, or in the form of an SPSS Include file or SAS file.
If desired, the Survey Research Lab will conduct statistical analyses and prepare reports of survey results. Analyses can range from simple descriptive statistical analyses to more complex multivariate analyses.