Survey Practice February 2010

In the 18 months since Survey Practice launched, we have not included any articles on teaching survey methods and public opinion. In this issue, an article by Thomas Marshall provides evidence that these topics are taught widely. We welcome articles that provide teaching information for survey methods and public opinion instructors.

This issue has a diverse group of articles. George Bishop and his colleagues show that the measurement of public attitudes towards human evolution may well include some noteworthy error. Tim Triplett reports that proxy reporting may be better than we think it is. Norm Trussell found that in English – Spanish bilingual households where Spanish was spoken most often, a surprising proportion preferred their survey materials in English.

Jennie Lai and her colleagues describe how handheld devices can be used as form of digital ethnography to measure attitudes and behaviors. Hyunjoo Park and Virginia Wake Yelei used cognitive interviews to determine differences in understandings of survey materials across three Asian groups – Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese.

Finally, Paul Lavrakas, Mansour Fahimi, Michael Link, and Mike Brick provide a brief tribute to Dale Kulp. Dale was a regular contributor to Survey Practice.

In March 2009, Survey Practice included a list of books recently published in public opinion and survey methods. Mario Callegaro has agreed to update the list. If you have any books that you would like included, send them to the Survey Practice email address.

Survey Practice plans to publish a special issue on mixed and multi-method surveys this October. If you have a relevant article, please send it.

Articles

Undergraduate Education in Public Opinion: What’s Taught, What’s Not?
Thomas R. Marshall – The University of Texas at Arlington

Measurement Error, Anomalies, and Complexities in Americans’ Beliefs about Human Evolution
George F. Bishop – University of Cincinnati; Randal K. Thomas – ICF International; Jason A. Wood – University of Cincinnati

Can Your Spouse Accurately Report Your Activities ? An Examination of Proxy Reporting from the 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts
Tim Triplett – Urban Institute

Spanish Respondent’s Choice of Language of Survey Materials: Bilingual or English Only? Should you ask?
Norm Trussell – The Nielsen Company

Life360: Usability of Mobile Devices for Time Use Surveys
Jennie W. Lai, Lorelle Vanno, and Michael W. Link – The Nielsen Company; Jennie Pearson – University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Hala Makowska, Karen Benezra, and Mark Green – The Nielsen Company

Asians Are They The Same? Findings from Cognitive Interviews with Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese Americans
Hyunjoo Park – RTI International; Virginia Wake Yelei – U.S. Census Bureau

A Brief Tribute to Dale Kulp
Paul Lavrakas, Mansour Fahimi, Michael Link, and Mike Brick

The Editors