What does primary data preparation turn raw questionnaire responses into?
Useful information.
Which steps prepare raw questionnaire responses before analysis?
Validation, editing, coding, capturing, importing, verifying and cleaning, labeling, and storing.
What is data validation in survey research?
The process of checking data validity and accuracy and deciding whether questionnaires should be included or discarded.
What must be true of an interview for its questionnaire to enter the analysis?
It must have been conducted correctly and consistently.
What percentage of listed respondents should be telephoned during validation?
Between 10 and 20%.
What should be checked against sample requirements during survey validation?
The questionnaire and interviewing instructions.
What should each interviewer’s call sheet be reviewed for?
Correct sampling procedures.
What does editing questionnaires and observation forms involve?
Critical checking for correctness and completeness, making necessary adjustments, and discarding worthless forms.
Who typically performs preliminary field editing?
A field organiser or supervisor.
Where is central office editing usually conducted?
At the research body’s head office.
Which criteria assess whether questionnaire responses are adequate?
Relevance, completeness, comprehensiveness, unambiguity, and comprehensibility.
Which practical problems are checked during questionnaire editing?
Interviewer cheating, sampling compliance, handwriting legibility and clarity, and inconsistencies.
What does coding do to survey responses for computer processing?
It categorises responses, assigns code numbers, and represents raw data in computer-readable form for tabulation.
What must coding specify for every possible response?
A separate category.
What does coding assign to response categories?
Code numbers.
What does coding compile to describe variables and their coding?
A codebook.
When are response categories predetermined in pre-coding?
When the questionnaire is designed.
When does post-coding occur?
After data collection is complete.
What is data capture?
Entering questionnaire codes into a computer-readable electronic data file for analysis.
Which sources can provide data?
Paper and web questionnaires, experimental designs, databases, and optical scanning.
Why can web questionnaires be administered inexpensively?
They require no intermediary interviewer.
Where are web questionnaire responses stored?
In a database.
In what format can web questionnaire data be downloaded?
An electronic format such as MS Excel.
What should web questionnaire studies ensure about respondents?
That respondents are unique.
What bias should web questionnaire studies account for?
Bias related to internet access.
What must happen to electronic data before analysis?
It must be imported into an analysis package.
What does data cleaning check and correct?
Data-entry errors, tested for internal consistency, including possible and impossible codes.
What impossible value could occur on a scale coded from 1 to 7?
A value of 9.
What transformed age error could occur during data entry?
Entering age 52 as 25.
Which statistics help check nominal and ordinal variables for errors?
Frequencies.
What summaries help check continuous variables for errors?
Means, maximum values, and minimum values.
What distinguishes a missing value from zero?
A missing value is an incomplete field, not zero.
What is a variable label in questionnaire data?
A readable name assigned to a questionnaire question represented as a variable.
What is a value label in coded data?
A readable description assigned to a variable’s coded category.
When is raw data preparation complete?
Once data has been entered, verified, cleaned, and labeled.
How can prepared data be stored until analysis?
In the statistical package format in computer memory or on storage media.
When can preparation and processing begin on a large project?
As fieldwork data becomes available.
What can a researcher do first when responses or questionnaires are unsatisfactory?
Review questionnaire and interviewer quality.
How can a researcher improve unsatisfactory responses?
Return to the interviewer or respondent for better responses.
What can a researcher discard when a questionnaire is unsatisfactory?
Unsatisfactory parts or the entire questionnaire.
What information does a codebook provide about each variable?
Its code name, location in the computer record, and how to read it.
Which software can capture data?
Word processors, spreadsheets, and statistical packages.
What happens after respondents submit a completed web questionnaire?
The responses are stored in a database and can be downloaded electronically.
How is a web questionnaire link delivered to respondents?
It is emailed to them.
What should researchers do when using database data?
Choose data carefully, clean and validate it, remove duplicates, and explain the database design.
Which statistical analysis packages are named in the course?
SAS, SAS/JMP, SPSS, S-Plus, STATA, Statistica, and Minitab.
Which data issues are checked during cleaning?
Incorrect codes, inconsistent or contradictory responses, extreme answers, and missing data.
What should researchers consult when a value seems incorrect and they are uncertain?
The original questionnaire.
What do statistical calculations use instead of value labels?
Numeric codes.
What does analysis output display for variables and categories?
Variable and value labels.
Answer 24 questions on Preparing and Processing Primary Data.
1. What is the primary purpose of preparing raw questionnaire responses before analysis?
2. In a large research project, when can data preparation and processing begin?
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