Research Guides: SOC 4020: Survey Research Design: Home

Getting Started

This research guide is designed to help you get started finding scholarly articles and data for your SOC 4020 projects. It is organized by the types of resources you may want to use in your projects, including the following:

Search Strategies: Learn how to effectively search our databases. Read this page before delving into the other resources in this guide.
Find Articles: Discover new resources, including recommended databases and journals
- Scholarly Articles: Save yourself time—learn strategies for reading scholarly articles!
How to Find Data: Read advice and recommended sources for finding data sets
Citations: Get help with citing your sources in APA or ASA style.

If you need any assistance with your research, ask a librarian using the contact information included in this guide. We're happy to help!

Helpful Resources

CITI Training and IRB Approval
This page has instructions on CITI certification and UVU's Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval process.
Qualtrics
UVU students can use Qualtrics to design sophisticated online surveys and analyze response data. Note: Fulton Library does not offer training or support for Qualtrics.
Qualtrics: Getting Started with Surveys
This page contains basic instructions for creating a survey, with links to Qualtrics's FAQ pages.
SPSS Statistics
UVU students can access SPSS through the myUVU link in this knowledge base entry.
SPSS Tutorials
Video and text-based tutorials for performing different kinds of statistical analyses in SPSS.
UVU's Institutional Review Board (IRB)
The IRB is a committee mandated by federal law to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects participating in research activities. Their website includes information about CITI certification and the research project approval process.

Recommended Reading about Survey Design

Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys (Ebook) by Don A. Dillman, Leah Melani Christian, and Jolene D. Smyth
Publication Date: 2014
This is a classic survey design reference, updated for the digital age. For over two decades, Dillman's classic text on survey design has aided both students and professionals in effectively planning and conducting mail, telephone, and, more recently, Internet surveys. The new edition is thoroughly updated and revised, and covers all aspects of survey research.
Oxford Handbook of Polling and Survey Methods (Print Book) by Lonna Rae Atkeson and Michael Alvarez (Eds)
Publication Date: 2018
Divided into four main sections, The Oxford Handbook of Polling and Survey Methods draws on the existing research and explores data collection methods. It then addresses data analysis and the methods available for combining polling data with other types of data. The next section covers analytic issues, including the new approaches to studying public opinion (i.e., social media, the analysis of open-ended questions using text analytic tools, and data imputation). The final section focuses on the presentation of polling results, an area where there is a great deal of innovation.
Survey Basics (Ebook) by Patricia Pulliam Phillips, Jack J. Phillips, and Bruce Aaron
Publication Date: 2013
This book offers a useful tool to help learning and development professionals design and administer surveys and questionnaires. It covers: the purpose of surveys and questionnaires, types of error that can creep into survey results, considerations when developing survey questions, tricks to ensure positive response rates, content on validity and reliability, approaches to data analysis, and advice for reporting results.
Survey Research Methods (Print Book) by Floyd J. Fowler
Publication Date: 2014
The fifth edition of the bestselling Survey Research Methods presents the very latest methodological knowledge on surveys. Offering a sound basis for evaluating how each aspect of a survey can affect its precision, accuracy, and credibility, the book guides readers through each step of the survey research process.