Short Course: DESIGN AND ADMINISTRATION OF
QUANTITATIVE STANDARDISED INTERVIEW SURVEYS
17-18 February 1997, in London

run by the Centre for Applied Social Surveys
Tutors: Roger Thomas and Pamela Campanelli

This is the first of two courses on design & administration of
surveys.  The second course covers on Postal & Self-Completion Surveys
and runs from 19-20 Feb 97.  Information about the second course will
be sent out as a separate message.


Course Objectives
o to enable participants to develop a thorough and practical
understanding of the principles of good questionnaire design
considered as a measurement process (including the special issues
related to the design of factual, non-factual and sensitive
questions).
 o to enable participants to understand the role, tasks and
required skills of the interviewer in quantitative standardised
interviewer surveys. 
o to establish understanding and competence in
how to plan and administer interview surveys so as to maximise data
quality and rates of response.

Course Content
o Basic principles of questionnaire design
o Designing questions to measure behaviour, attitudes and values
o Understanding the role and skills of the interviewer
o Measuring interviewer effects and interviewer error
o Pretesting and piloting survey instruments
o Project management and administration of interview surveys:
planning, costing, timetabling 
o minimising nonresponse in quantitative interview surveys

The course will include workshop sessions so that participants can
work through practical exercises.  Teaching staff are present in
between sessions and on the evening of day 1, in order to discuss
questionnaire issues arising in individual participants' research. 
Numbers are limited to facilitate such participant support.

Target Audience
The course is aimed at researchers who need to design and administer
quantitative interview surveys, especially those in the social,
economic, educational and medical sciences.  

Course Materials
Participants will receive written course notes, copies of overhead
transparencies and a reading list.

The Instructors
Roger Thomas directs the Survey Methods Centre at Social & Community
Planning Research, as well as the Centre for Applied Social Surveys. 
Before joining SCPR in 1993 he was an Assistant Director of the Social
Survey Division at the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys,
where he was responsible for the Methodology and Sampling Group, and
for overseeing the design and conduct of major government surveys. 

Pamela Campanelli is a Research Director at the Survey Methods Centre
of SCPR.  She specialises in research on survey instruments, data
collection and interviewing techniques and regularly teaches in this
area.  She runs a major ESRC-funded research programme on non-response
and interviewing techniques.  Prior to joining SCPR she worked on
large-scale surveys at the University of Michigan, the US Bureau of
the Census and the British Household Panel Study.

Credit Accumulation and Transfer
Some participants may wish to transfer the academic credit gained from
this course to a university degree programme.  This course has been
approved by the University of Southampton for the award of 4 CATS
points at postgraduate level.  To qualify for CATS points participants
will need to undertake assessed work.  Please indicate on the
registration form if you wish to do this.

Fee	
The standard fee is stlg250.  Because of ESRC support, a number of
bursaries are available which reduce the fee to stlg60 - applicants
must be full-time students, UK academic staff or ESRC-funded
researchers.  

Location	
National Children's Bureau, 8 Wakely Street, London  EC1V 7QE.

Duration	
The course will begin with registration and coffee at 10.00 am Monday
17 February and end at 5.00 pm Tuesday 18 February 1997.

Background Reading
For those participants who wish to do background reading before the
course the following book list may be useful.  Please note, however,
that any such reading is optional and it will not be assumed that
participants will have done any preparatory reading.

- Converse, J. and Presser, S. (1986)  Survey Questions: Handcrafting
the Standardized Questionnaire, Sage Series No. 63, Newbury Park, CA:
Sage Publications, Inc.

- Belson, W.R. (1981)  The Design and Understanding of Survey
Questions, Aldershot England: Gower.

- Sudman, S. and Bradburn, N.M. (1983)  Asking Questions - A Practical
Guide to Questionnaire Design, San Francisco: Josey-Bass.

- Bohrnstedt, G.W. (1983) Measurement, in P. Rossi et al (eds)
Handbook of Survey Research, New York: Academic Press, 70-122.

- Morton-Williams, J. (1993)  Interviewer Approaches, Aldershot:
Dartmouth Publishing Company Limited.

- Fowler, F.J. Jr (1995) Improving Survey Questions: Design and
Evaluation, Applied Social Research Methods Series Volume 38, SAGE
Publications, 1995.

- Fowler, F.J. Jr (1988) Survey Research Methods, Newbury Park, CA:
SAGE Publications, Inc.

- Groves, R. (1989)  Survey Errors and Survey Costs, New York: Wiley.

Accommodation	
Applicants wishing to reserve accommodation are asked to contact the
hotel directly.  A list of hotels can be supplied if required.

Deadlines and Refunds	
Course places are limited and early completion of this form is
recommended.  Payment must be made by 7 days before the course.  No
refunds can be made for cancellations made later than 7 days before
the start of the course.

CASS is an ESRC Resource Centre hosted by SCPR and the University of
Southampton,with the University of Surrey


Registration Form
Design and Administration of Quantitative Standardised Interview
Surveys,  17-18 February 1997

Please return the completed form to:
 Rebecca Bundock
 Department of Social Statistics
 University of Southampton
 Southampton  SO17 1BJ
 (Fax: 01703 593846  Tel: 01703 593048  E-mail:
 [log in to unmask])

Name: ____________     Title  _____________

Affiliation: __________________________

Address for Correspondence: ___________________________

E-mail: ___________    Telephone: __________

Registration fee:
 Either
 (1)  Standard fee    stlg 250 ____________
 OR
 (2)  If eligible for ESRC bursary 
 (you must be a full time student, 
 UK academic staff or ESRC funded 
 researcher)           stlg 60 ____________


Please indicate either:
 Cheque enclosed payable to University of Southampton
or
 Send invoice to: __________________


Any special dietary or other requirements:  ______________

Please indicate if you wish to undertake
assessed work in order to gain CATS points    yes/no



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