SGIA40P15: Surveys, Survey Experiments and Analysis

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• To provide students with an understanding of the design of surveys and their application to the study of politics and public policy.
• To familiarise students with the principles of experimental design and to explore the practical application of survey experiments to the study of politics and public policy.
• To be able to critically assess different modes of survey administration and consider their competing benefits and disadvantages.

• Indicative content will vary from year to year, but topics that may be covered include:
• Principles of experimental design
• Theories of survey response
• Total survey error approach
• Dealing with missing data and nonresponse
• Modes of survey data collection
• The effects of sampling approaches
• Types of survey experimental designs
• The distinction between descriptive and causal research.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Advanced knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of survey and survey experimental design
• Advanced knowledge of the different types of questions that can be asked in surveys and what types of data they can generate
• Advanced knowledge of the theoretical perspectives used to understand how people respond to different survey questions
• Advanced knowledge of sampling techniques and data collection strategies
• Advanced knowledge of survey experimental designs and their applicability to the field of politics and public policy.

Subject-specific Skills:

• The ability to produce high-quality surveys to answer key questions in politics and public policy
• The ability to apply knowledge of survey experimental designs to answer key causal questions in politics and public policy
• The ability to communicate the results from a survey or survey experiment to an audience in politics or public policy.

Key Skills:

• Communication skills: the ability to communicate and justify research design decisions
• Research skills: The ability to critically reflect on the value of survey and survey experimental designs to the question to be answered
• Ability to use computational aids to construct surveys.

• Teaching and learning are through a series of 1-hour lectures and labs.
• Lectures will familiarize students with latest literature in survey and survey experimental and show how these can be applied to political questions and aid political research.
• Labs will allow students to practice applying survey design skills using computational aids and practically examine the data they produce.
• Summative assessment is a 2,500-word survey design project where students will be expected to create a project that includes consideration of sampling, question wording and survey design.
• Formative assessment is a 750-word survey design project outline.

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