Designing and Conducting Health Surveys is written for students, teachers, researchers, and anyone who conducts health surveys. This third edition of the standard reference in the field draws heavily on the most recent methodological research on survey design and the rich storehouse of insights and implications provided by cognitive research on question and questionnaire design in particular. This important resource presents a total survey error framework that is a useful compass for charting the dangerous waters between systematic and random errors that inevitably accompany the survey design enterprise. In addition, three new studies based on national, international, and state and local surveys—the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, California Health Interview Survey, and National Dental Malpractice Survey—are detailed that illustrate the range of design alternatives available at each stage of developing a survey and provide a sound basis for choosing among them.

Table of Contents

Figures, Tables, and Exhibits

Foreword by Steven B. Cohen

Preface

The Authors

1. Thinking About Topics for Health Surveys
2. Matching the Survey Design to Survey Objectives
3. Defining and Clarifying the Survey Variables
4. Thinking Through the Relationships Among Variables
5. Choosing the Methods of Data Collection
6. Deciding Who Will Be in the Sample
7. Deciding How Many Will Be in the Sample
8. General Principles for Formulating Questions
9. Formulating Questions About Health
10. Formulating Questions About Demographics and Behavior
11. Formulating Questions About Knowledge and Attitudes
12. Guidelines for Formatting the Questionnaire
13. Monitoring and Carrying Out the Survey
14. Preparing the Data for Analysis
15. Planning and Implementing the Analysis of the Data
16. Writing the Research Report

Resource A: Personal Interview Survey: UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS-2)-End-Decade Study

Resource B: Telephone Interview Survey: California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)-2001

Resource C: Mail Questionnaire Survey: National Dental Malpractice Survey

Resource D: Selected Sources on Health Surveys

Resource E: Selected Examples of Health Surveys

References

Index