Data collection: Online, telephone and face to face

This course presents research conducted to improve our understanding of how data collection decisions influence survey error. It is not a 'how to' course on data collection, but rather a review of the literature on survey decisions and data quality to alert learners to how alternative survey designs may influence the data obtained from surveys. The course covers a range of survey data collection methods, both interview-based (face-to-face and telephone) and self-administered (paper questionnaires, mailed questionnaires and questionnaires administered online, i.e. web surveys). Mixed methods are also covered, as well as several hybrid methods for collecting sensitive information, such as self-completion of sensitive questions during an interview that would otherwise be conducted face-to-face. The course also covers new methods such as mobile web interviewing and SMS interviewing, and considers alternative data sources such as social media. The course focuses on the impact of these methods on survey data quality, including measurement, nonresponse, and coverage errors, and evaluates the trade-offs between these sources of error when researchers choose a survey method or design.