Cologne, Germany

Advanced Survey Design

when 14 August 2023 - 18 August 2023
language English
duration 1 week
credits 4 EC
fee EUR 500

This course in 'advanced survey design' takes students beyond the introductory courses offered in BA and MA programs and will discuss current issues in one of the most important data collection methods: surveys. We focus on doing surveys in the Internet-era, the state of the art in both the design and the analysis of survey data. We discuss new ways to analyze modern surveys, including non-probability survey designs, surveys conducted via apps, and mixing surveys with Big Data such as augmenting survey data with auxiliary data (e.g., register data, digital trace data). The course combines 1-hour lectures with exercises on most of the topics discussed. The course is taught through lectures, group exercises as well as personal tutorial meetings that give participants the opportunity to discuss their own survey designs. Each day we will discuss a specific topic that each focuses on one or more aspects of survey design within the Total Survey Error framework. Course participants must be proficient working with a statistical software package (e.g., R, Stata, SPSS) at the level of at least knowing multiple linear regression. Most course materials are prepared for working with R.

Course leader

Bella Struminskaya is an assistant professor in methods and statistics at Utrecht University.
Angelo Moretti is an assistant professor in Statistics at Utrecht University in the Department of Methodology and Statistics.

Target group

The course will be interesting for PhD students or PhD candidates, postdocs, or advanced researchers with a background in a social science discipline or in Statistics, working on academic research projects. This course is focused on survey research within the academic (university/scientific institute) setting, as well as focused on current issues related to mobile surveys and Big Data.

Prerequisites
- We expect students to have quite extensive knowledge of survey research (for example, by using survey data or conducting survey research in their daily work).
- We expect students to have knowledge of statistics at the MSc level for social scientists (the general linear model).
- We ask students to send us a brief motivation letter (up to 200 words), in which they write a short list of your experience with surveys and statistical analyses. Please include in the motivation letter what software you are proficient in, and what courses related to survey design you have taken.
- Participants should be prepared to share information about the survey they are planning on conducting, they are currently involved with or would like to conduct in the future.

Course aim

The aim of this course is to provide an overview of theory and practice of modern survey design and analysis, in particular focusing on modern methods of web surveys and the analysis of new types of data (e.g., sensor data). This course is useful for more experienced students.

By the end of the course participants will be ready to apply the learned methods and techniques towards their own surveys, are able to critically assess existing surveys and survey documentation and analyze survey data themselves successfully.

Credits info

4 EC
- Certificate of attendance issued upon completion.

Optional bookings:
The University of Mannheim acknowledges the workload for regular attendance, satisfactory work on daily assignments and for submitting a paper of 5000 words to the lecturer(s) by 15 October at the latest with 4 ECTS (70 EUR administration fee).

Fee info

EUR 500: Student/PhD student rate.
EUR 750: Academic/non-profit rate.
The rates include the tuition fee, course materials, the academic program, access to library and IT facilities, and coffee/tea breaks.