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Centre for Applied Social Surveys Short Course DESIGN AND ADMINISTRATION OF POSTAL AND SELF-COMPLETION SURVEYS Supported by the ESRC Elaine McColl (University of Newcastle) and Roger Thomas (National Centre for Social Research) 10-11 February 2005 University of York CASS is an ESRC Resource Centre hosted by the National Centre for Social Research, the University of Southampton and the University of Surrey Course Objectives To enable participants to develop a thorough and practical understanding of the principles of good questionnaire design as applied to quantitative surveys using the self-completion method. Coverage includes special issues related to the design of factual, attitude and sensitive questions. To develop participants' understanding of and competence in planning and administering postal and other self-completion surveys, in maximising rates of response and in optimising the quality of outputs. Course Content Basic principles of questionnaire design Designing questions to measure behaviour, attitudes and values Special features of postal and self-completion surveys Pre-testing and piloting postal surveys Project management and administration: planning, costing, timetabling Minimising non-response in postal surveys Target Audience The course is aimed at researchers who need to design and administer self-completion surveys, especially those in the social, economic, educational and medical sciences. Didactic presentations will be kept to a minimum and the course will largely comprise workshop sessions so that participants can work through prepared practical exercises. A detailed set of written notes will be supplied in advance of the course and the presenters will assume that participants have at least skimmed these. Teaching staff are willing to discuss questionnaire issues arising in individual participants' research between sessions and at the end of day one. If you have a questionnaire on which you would like comments, please bring 5 copies. Course numbers are limited to facilitate such participant support but the amount of time that can be devoted to any one student individually is necessarily limited. Course Materials Participants will receive written course notes, work sheets and a reading list (attached). The Instructors Elaine McColl is a Senior Lecturer and Director of the Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit at the Centre for Health Services Research, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Her research interests include the assessment of health-related quality of life in relation to chronic disease management and in survey methodology. She was principal investigator for a literature review (to which Roger Thomas also contributed) on Designing and using Patient and Staff Questionnaires which was funded by the NHS Health Technology Assessment Programme. Roger Thomas is the Deputy Director of CASS. He has had long experience of designing, running and managing surveys, first at Social Survey Division of the Office for National Statistics, where he was also assistant director in charge of methodology and founder and editor of the Survey Methods Bulletin, and then at National Centre for Social Research's Survey Methods Centre, where he participates in the programme of methodological research and consultancy and teaches survey methods. Fee The standard fee is £300. Because of ESRC support, a number of bursaries are available which reduce the fee to £65. Applicants for bursaries must be UK registered students, UK academic staff or ESRC-funded researchers. Location The course will be held at The King's Manor, University of York. Duration The course will begin with registration and coffee at 09.30, lectures begin at 10.00 on Thursday, 10 February and end at 16.30 on Friday, 11 February 2005. For more information please contact: Jane Schofield [log in to unmask] -- Jane Schofield Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute University of Southampton [log in to unmask] Tel: +44 (0) 2380 595376