Sooner Survey Center Services

An initial consultation is the first step for investigators interested in using Sooner Survey Center services. Because each project is different and has different resources, the timeline of the consultation can vary quite a bit. Consultations are provided on all aspects of survey research projects and are available at no charge.

Survey project design:

• Appropriate survey methods, such as written or web-based questionnaires or telephone interviews
• Study populations
• Appropriate sampling techniques, including whether respondents should be identified or anonymous
• Appropriate contact protocols
• Participant compensation and use of incentives
• Data management planning
• Institutional Review Board documentation
• Data entry

Questionnaire design and evaluation:

• Implementation of questionnaire design principles
• Formatted as as web-based or paper survey
• Effective cover letters or telephone scripts
• Question evaluation employing qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviews; and/or quantitative methods, such as statistical item and scale analysis
• Knowledge of instruments in the public domain that have been proven to be valid and reliable

Multiple data collection methods are available in the Sooner Survey Center to meet your project’s need, whether used alone or in combination (mixed methods).

• Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews: The Sooner Survey Center has its own state-of-the-art telephone call center with eighteen call stations for conducting quantitative and qualitative computer-assisted telephone interviews. The call center operates with Wincati Advanced Telephone Interviewing software, which allows for question-by-question monitoring and quality control. The call center operates six days (Monday – Saturday) a week and is open mornings, afternoons, and evenings to maximize survey completions. Standards of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and are used for all data collection.
• Internet/Web: The Sooner Survey Center has state-of-the-art online data collection and management software applications, Qualtrics and REDCap. Survey participants can be automatically contacted by email as appropriate, with the system optionally tracking failed email contact attempts. Upon completion, data are available in fully labeled and formatted files for analysis in your choice of statistical software (e.g., R, SAS, STATA).

Well-managed data are accurate, organized, and reflect the aims of your survey research project. Funding agencies are increasingly calling for publicly accessible data to allow verification of results by third parties. The Sooner Survey Center will assist you to create, organize, and secure your project’s data.

• Data Entry
• Coding, including keying of closed-ended questions and coding of open-ended questions
• Participant tracking and tracing
• Incentive tracking and audit procedures

Sooner Survey Center staff can provide the statistical analysis services you need for your project, from simple data summaries to complex multivariate analysis.

Descriptive statistics of the data set

1. Frequency distribution
2. Central tendency (mean, median, mode)
3. Dispersion (range, standard distribution)

Inferential quantitative analyses to test hypotheses

1. Parametric tests (e.g., t-test, ANOVA)
2. Non-parametric tests (e.g., Wilcoxon rank sum, Mann-Whitney)
3. Regression analysis (linear or nonlinear, weighted or unweighted)

Formal qualitative analyses

1. Organization/categorization into concepts
2. Analysis of influence of one concept on another
3. Corroboration by evaluating alternative explanations

The Sooner Survey Center can assist you with summarizing and presenting the research results based on the needs and requirements of your research partners and funders. This can range from a basic statistical report to a more elaborate narrative report with discussion of the findings.

• Detailed, narrative reports of results
• Discussion of the findings
• Executive summary and professional briefings
• Tabulations of raw data
• Charts and graphs
• PowerPoint presentation