Survey Design

About

This course covers key aspects of survey design and guides you through the main stages of the survey lifecycle, from research design and choices about survey mode and sampling to measurement techniques, questionnaire design, survey experiments, and data quality assessment.

Adopting a Total Survey Error perspective, the course draws on best-practice (and worst-practice) examples from real-world surveys to show how design decisions shape data quality and the validity and reliability of measurement.

The course equips you with the essential knowledge and skills to plan, design, and conduct surveys that meet scientific standards and provide a sound empirical basis for research suitable for publication in academic journals, as well as to critically assess published survey findings.

The course combines lectures, interactive discussions, and practical exercises. You are encouraged to bring your own research ideas and survey projects for discussion and feedback.

Course leader

Julia Partheymüller is a Senior Scientist at the Department of Government at the University of Vienna. Julia possesses extensive experience in survey design, being an integral member of the team of the Austrian National Election Study (AUTNES). She has contributed to various other projects involving large-scale survey data collection, including the Austrian Corona Panel Project (ACPP), Reconciling Europe with its Citizens through Democracy and Rule of Law (RECONNECT), and the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES). Her research focuses on the nature and origins of public perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours, with a strong emphasis on quantitative methods. She is particularly interested in refining measurement techniques and leveraging the potential of longitudinal and experimental survey designs to enhance causal inference.

Target group

Social science researchers

Course aim

This course has been designed to equip participants with the essential knowledge and skills to effectively plan, design, and conduct their own surveys

Fee info