Nature of Survey Research Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:26 PM ? Objectives o By the end of this meeting, you should be able to: o Describe the uses of survey studies ? Uses of Polls in Modern Life o Political polls o Market research polls o Government surveys o Court surveys o Academic research o Media polls ? What can surveys measure? o Attitudes- likes and dislikes o Preferences- comparisons of attitudes towards different objects o Beliefs- opinions about the state of the world ? Note: beliefs may be true or untrue 4. Predictions- expectations about the future 5. Facts- recollections of tangible characteristics (number of children, years of schooling, etc.) a. These could include previous behaviors ? Goals of Surveys o Prevalence of attitudes, beliefs or behavior o Changes over time o Differences between groups o Casual propositions ? What did you think of the handgun article? DATA DOESN'T PROVE ...