{"id":467,"date":"2020-01-16T16:09:08","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T16:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/sites\/ma\/?p=467"},"modified":"2020-01-16T16:09:08","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T16:09:08","slug":"why-you-should-take-surveys-and-what-it-takes-to-make-one-behind-the-survey-scenes-with-a-social-scientist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/sites\/ma\/why-you-should-take-surveys-and-what-it-takes-to-make-one-behind-the-survey-scenes-with-a-social-scientist\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Take Surveys (and What It Takes to Make One): Behind the Survey Scenes with a Social Scientist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why You Should Take Surveys (and What It Takes to Make One): Behind the Survey Scenes with a Social Scientist<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Brook McWherter<\/p>\n

If you are like me, you are probably tired of being bothered by surveys – they are everywhere! There are surveys at the bottom of receipts, from people on the sidewalk, in the mail, and everywhere online. We are surrounded by surveys! <\/p>\n

As a natural resource social scientist, I get a look behind the scenes of survey development and testing. You may be surprised to know that it is actually a lot of work. I am going to take you on a journey to Bolivia, to the first stage of my PhD research where I learned what it takes to get survey questions on your screen (or in your hand).  <\/p>\n

You may be asking yourself, why did she go all the way to Bolivia?<\/p>\n

\"Left:
(left to right) Meagan, Brooke, and Basilio, a Technician with Natura.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My answer is in two parts. First, we were trying to understand individuals’ and communities’ choices in and perceptions of a water conservation project in Bolivia.  Second, because whom we decide to survey will impact the types of questions we can ask and how we ask them, testing in the community is vital to developing an effective survey.<\/p>\n

With this objective in mind, we began our work in the town of Vallegrande (translated as large valley). Located in the southern part of Bolivia and nestled in the mountains, Vallegrande is a small and beautiful town filled with a diverse group of people who live both in the valley and further up into the mountains. It is surrounded by farmland, forest, ranch land. And, while it may have been summer in Indiana, when we traveled, in Bolivia it was winter, which meant many chilly 30\u2080F nights and with no heat! <\/p>\n

\"Top
Top: Photos of mountains near Vallegrande, Bottom left: Vallegrande, Bottom Middle: Mountains from the plane, Bottom right: Our ride! Photo Credit: Brooke McWherter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Which leads us to our objective for the \u201csummer\u201d: to test 42 pages of questions with people who are similar to our study population to see how it is received in the local context, and if possible, make it a more reasonable length. For those of us in the social sciences this process is called piloting. <\/p>\n

So, what does it take to pilot test a survey in the field? <\/p>\n

To begin with, we had to assemble our team, as this was a large collaborative process. Our team included: <\/p>\n