The Environmental Justice and Sustainability Research Toolbox

Key Topics to Engage in Module:

1. Introduction to survey research
2. Questionnaire design
3. Implementing a survey
   • Effective and ethical survey recruitment
   • Use of technology and survey research
4. Post-survey data management and analysis
5. Using local or national survey data

Module Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Find resources to improve survey research design.
• Design effective surveys that include clear and direct questions.
• Improve survey implementation and sampling.
• Improve reliability and validity of survey research.
• Compare the use of different technologies in survey research.
• Develop a plan for post-survey data management and analysis.
• Think critically ethics and context of survey research.
• Acquire and analyze survey from local or national sources, including the U.S. Census.

I. Description:

*Key Resource 1: (Access SCU only):

Sage Survey Research Depot

• Ruel, E., Wagner III, W. & Gillespie, B. (2016). Introduction to survey research. In The practice of survey research (pp. 2-10). SAGE Publications, Inc, https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483391700
  • Chapter 1: Introduction to Survey Research
  • Chapter 3: The Cover Letter and Survey Instrument
  • Chapter 4: Survey Question Construction

*Key Resource 2:

Basic slide deck that can be modified to explain several steps in the survey research process.

• Slide deck with basic intro to survey research

*Key Resource 3:

Work your way through Pew's Survey Methods 101 training online, as you watch the relevant videos (open access).

Readings:

Videos:

Case studies embedding surveys with mixed methods and a participatory process to assess food security and climate impacts:

• Towards Better Surveys with Farmers Adapting Global Change: 5 Strategies for a More Integrated Approach
• Scientific reproducibility and steps to clean up your raw survey data
• Towards smallholder food and water security: Climate variability in the context of multiple livelihood hazards in Nicaragua

Analysis of survey data using R:

• Survey Data Analysis With R
• Using tidyverse tools with Pew Research Center survey data in R

Finding and using local and national survey data:

Using secondary data

• Watch: "How to Use Secondary Data" (Sage video, requires SCU login)

The U.S. Decennial Census and American Community Survey

• Decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS)
  • Think about: What is the historical significance of the decennial Census? Why was the ACS created?
• Intro to Census Geography, Summary Levels, and GeoIDs
  • Think about: What are the smallest Census geographies? The largest? What is a GEOID?
• The Importance of the American Community Survey and the 2020 Census
  • Think about: How are the decennial Census and the ACS similar? Different? Why are they both important?
• Accessing Social Explorer through the SCU Library
• Introduction to mapping in Social Explorer
• Introduction to generation report in Social Explorer

SCU Campus Climate Survey

• Campus Climate 2019

Assignments/Activities:

• A handout that Dr. Jesica Fernandez gives to students on open/close-ended questions that I can share has an activity to help students understand the differences between open/close-ended questions, and why this matters in terms of the kinds of responses/engagement they may experience while conducting a survey. Here's the link to the Hand out on Open & Close-Ended Questions Activity.
• Find a sample survey they may have found online, and were asked to answer/complete the survey and then reflect on any challenges they encountered, and the strengths of any questions in terms of how these were asked.
• Find a sample survey they may have found online, and to were asked to answer/complete the survey and then reflect on any challenges they encountered, and the strengths of any questions in terms of how these were asked.
• Find an example of a survey that you designed for a past class, review it, and then use the best practices that you have learned here to improve it. Write two paragraphs that explain how and why you made changes to your survey.
• Write survey questions in class and then use pair/share to give them a classmate and discuss pros and cons and ways to revise for better clarity.