Design Survey

This is the Survey Design chapter from The Survey System's Tutorial, revised May, 2008. It is reproduced here as a service to the research community. Copyright 2008, Creative Research Systems.Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business. News media, government agencies and political candidates need to know what the public thinks. Associations need to know what their members want. Large companies need to measure the attitudes of their employees. The best way to find this information is to conduct a survey.This chapter is intended primarily for those who are new to survey research. It discusses options and provides suggestions on how to design and conduct a successful survey project. It does not provide instruction on using specific parts of The Survey System, although it mentions parts of the program that can help you with certain tasks

About the ACS:What is the Survey?

The American Community Survey is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing. It will replace the decennial long form in future censuses and is a critical element in the Census Bureau's reengineered 2010 census.The decennial census has two parts: 1) the short form, which counts the population; and 2) the long form, which obtains demographic, housing, social, and economic information from a 1-in-6 sample of households. Information from the long form is used for the administration of federal programs and the distribution of billions of federal dollars.Since this is done only once every 10 years, long-form information becomes out of date. Planners and other data users are reluctant to rely on it for decisions that are expensive and affect the quality of life of thousands of people. The American Community Survey is a way to provide the data communities need every year instead of once in ten years.The American Community Survey is conducted under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193, and response is mandatory. According to Section 221, persons who do not respond shall be fined not more than $100. Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559, in effect amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221 by changing the fine for anyone over 18 years old who refuses or willfully neglects to complete the questionnaire or answer questions posed by census takers from a fine of not more than $100 to not more than $5,000. The U.S. Census Bureau may use this information only for statistical purposes. We can assure you that your confidentiality is protected. Title 13 requires the Census Bureau to keep all information about you and all other respondents strictly confidential. Any Census Bureau employee who violates these provisions is subject to a fine of up to $250,000 or a prison sentence of up to five years, or both.You may view Title 13 at the U. S. House of Representatives website at the following address: http://uscode.house.gov/download/title_13.shtmlFull implementation of the American Community Survey is planned in every county of the United States. The survey would include approximately three million households. Data are collected by mail and Census Bureau staff follow up with those who do not respond.The American Community Survey will provide estimates of demographic, housing, social, and economic characteristics every year for all states, as well as for all cities, counties, metropolitan areas, and population groups of 65,000 people or more.For smaller areas, it will take three to five years to accumulate sufficient sample to produce data for areas as small as census tracts. For example, areas of 20,000 to 65,000 can use data averaged over three years. For rural areas and city neighborhoods or population groups of less than 20,000 people, it will take five years to accumulate a sample that is similar to that of the decennial census. These averages can be updated every year. Eventually, we will be able to measure changes over time for small areas and population groups.

British Crime Survey

The British Crime Survey (BCS) is an important source of information about levels of crime and public attitudes to crime as well as other criminal justice issues. The results play an important role in informing Government policy.The BCS measures the amount of crime in England and Wales (the first survey covered Scotland as well, but now Scotland and Northern Ireland carry out their own crime surveys) by asking people about crimes they have experienced in the last year. The BCS includes crimes which are not reported to the police, so it is an important alternative to police records. The survey collects information about:the victims of crimethe circumstances in which incidents occurthe behaviour of offenders in committing crimesIn this way, the survey provides information to inform crime reduction measures and to gauge their effectiveness.The BCS is also an important source of information about other topics, such as people’s perceptions of anti-social behaviour and attitudes towards the criminal justice system, including the police and the courts. The survey also looks at people’s attitudes to crime, such as how much they fear crime and what measures they take to avoid it.