Social Research Methods Activity 3

Activity 3: Surveying the Social Landscape

Doing Sociology 8.1 Writing a Survey Research Question and Clarifying Constructs

Below are a number of example research questions that are well-suited for survey research: 

• What is the unemployment rate of the U.S. population? 
• How do Chicago residents feel about racial equity in their city?
• Do students at the University of North Texas feel welcome on campus? 

Each research question specifies a population and a construct. 

At the most generalizable level, the first question seeks to make inferences about the U.S. population as a whole. Research questions around unemployment motivate the Current Population Survey administered by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These entities have a large budget allowing for regular surveying of a representative sample of the U.S. population. The second research question pertains to racial attitudes among Chicago residents. The construct, racial attitudes, is much more abstract than rates of unemployment. 

Nonetheless, surveys are frequently used to measure these types of social phenomena. Even researchers with no research budget can develop questions that shed important insight on more local phenomena. 

In this activity, you will develop a measure of a social construct.

1. Write a research question appropriate for surveys that generates information on a topic, social issue, or phenomenon in which you’re interested. 
2. Evaluate your construct of interest. Write a short description defining your construct of interest and address the following questions: 

• Could you make it more specific? 
• Could you add clarification? 
• Might there be multiple dimensions to the construct?

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