Scott D. Crawford

Research Wonder: A Case for Respondent Pre-Survey Rituals?

Research Wonder: A Case for Respondent Pre-Survey Rituals?

A couple months ago, I listened to a podcast episode called “Sports Superstitions” on a wonderful podcast called Fearless Conversations with Abby Wambach (which, by the way, is a wonderful podcast on a variety of social issues from the perspective of a professional athlete). It brought back memories of long ago (high school) days when I used to pole vault. For a long time I blamed my youth for the rituals that I would perform before and during competition.  How I removed the pole from its cardboard tube, the number of times I rocked back and forth before I started down the runway (three), and even the side of the pit that I used to jump off after I completed a vault (always the left)… 

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Web-Based Survey Testing: Seven Tips for More Effective Questionnaires

Web-Based Survey Testing: Seven Tips for More Effective Questionnaires

Testing a web-based survey is one of the most detested activities to many in the survey research business.  It requires patience, persistence, and tremendous focus. Finding someone who enjoys testing and is good at it is a valuable asset to any survey research team. 

A wonderful resource for many details about testing questionnaires (including a chapter on web-based surveys) is Methods for Testing and Evaluating Survey Questionnaires.

Here are seven tips to better web-based survey testing practices for your next study…

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Individual Guiding Principle Series: Principle 1 – Unity

A few months ago I presented SoundRocket’s Guiding Principles on this blog.  I promised these were a guide to practice here at SoundRocket, and that they would be continually evaluated and updated where appropriate.  I also promised that I would dive into each principle in more depth in future posts.  It is time that I do both.  

With this post, I will tackle our first principle – Unity…

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My Favorite Social Science Podcasts

Has anyone else driven the long way to work just to catch a few minutes more of a really good podcast?  I know, I could just sit in my car in the parking lot and finish it there, but that just feels weird.  

Just a few years ago, I had not heard of podcasts…

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Guiding Principles at SoundRocket:  A Self-Assessment

Guiding Principles at SoundRocket: A Self-Assessment

Everyone has self-assessed at some point or another.  Be it something formal with a Myers & Briggs inventory or a chat with a trusted friend or family member – we are driven to search for who we are.  To some it comes easier than others.  While I have always loved to self-assess, I have generally been shy…

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