EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN FOR SURVEYS A two-day short course sponsored by the Joint Program in Survey Methodology

FEBRUARY 1-2, 2010
L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington DC

ROGER TOURANGEAU
Director of the Joint Program in Survey Research at the University of Maryland
Research Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

COURSE OBJECTIVES
A key tool of methodological research is the split-ballot experiment, in which randomly selected subgroups of a sample receive different questions, different response formats, or different modes of data collection.  In theory, such experiments can combine the clarity of experimental designs with the inferential power of representative samples. All too often, though, such experiments use flawed designs that leave serious doubts about the meaning or generalizability of the findings.  The purpose of this course is to consider the issues involved in the design and analysis of data from experiments embedded in surveys.  It covers the purposes of experiments in surveys, examines several classic survey experiments in detail, and takes a close look at some of the pitfalls and issues in the design of such studies.  These pitfalls include problems (such as the confounding of the experimental variables) that jeopardize the comparability of the experimental groups, problems (such as nonresponse) that cast doubts on the generality of the results, and problems in determining the reliability of the results. The course will also consider some of the design decisions that almost always arise in planning experiments — issues such as identifying the appropriate error term for significance tests and including necessary comparison groups.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Individuals in government, universities, business, and nonprofit organizations who must interpret and evaluate the results of survey experiments or who are involved in design and implementation of such experiments.  Although the course will not be especially mathematical, some familiarity with the basics of survey estimation will be helpful.

THE INSTRUCTOR
Roger Tourangeau is Research Professor at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland and at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.  Before coming to JPSM and the University of Michigan, Dr. Tourangeau was a Senior Methodologist at the Gallup Organization and a Research Vice President at the National Opinion Research Center, where he founded the Statistics and Methodology Center. He has been a sampling statistician since 1980 (when he joined NORC) and worked on sampling tasks on many national samples, including the NORC master sample, the Health Insurance Provider Component of the National Medical Expenditure Survey, the Adolescent Health Survey, and the National Survey of Post-Secondary Faculty.  He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Bureau of the Census and was named to the Census Joint Advisory Panel as Member of the ASA Subcommittee in 1995; he chaired the ASA Subcommittee in 1999. He was also elected a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1999.  He has published more than 50 articles, chapters, and monographs on a range of topics, including memory errors in surveys, the impact of question context on responses to attitude questions, the effects of the method of data collection on the answers obtained, and errors in survey reports about sensitive topics.  He holds a B. A. from Cornell University and a Ph.D. from Yale University.  

COURSE MATERIALS
Registrants will be provided with a course lecture notebook.

MEALS
JPSM group continental breakfasts, lunches and refreshments are included in the course fee.

DAILY CHECK-IN
Course registrants should check-in with JPSM Onsite each day of the course.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

JPSM CITATION PROGRAM
The citation programs are built around the JPSM short courses. The JPSM Citation in Introductory Survey Methodology is designed to provide the working professional and interested students with state-of-the-art knowledge about current principles and practices for conducting complex surveys combined with practical skills of day-to-day utility. The JPSM Citation in Introductory Economic Measurement is designed for professional staff requiring a grounding in the principles and practices of economic measurement. Completion of the citation programs involves taking a semester-length JPSM credit-bearing course and eight JPSM short courses, of which four are specified core courses. For information on the Certificate and Citation Programs visit the website at http://www.jpsm.org or call 301-314-7911.

L’ENFANT PLAZA HOTEL
480 L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, D.C. 20024
Front Desk: (202) 484-1000 Web: http://www.lenfantplazahotel.com/

The L'Enfant Plaza Hotel is located in downtown Washington DC. The location is minutes away from corporate offices and government agencies.

Classroom: Renoir Room
Luncheon: Degas Room

OVERNIGHT ROOMS
Individuals are responsible for making their own overnight room reservations and for payment.

METRO RAIL
L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station is on the yellow and green or blue and orange lines. There are multiple exits from this transfer station. The Blue and Orange lines are on the lower level. The Yellow and Green lines are on the upper level. L'Enfant Metro Station is directly below hotel

PARKING
Individuals are responsible for parking charges. There is a parking garage underneath the Hotel which offers both valet and self-parking. 

L’Enfant Plaza Hotel Parking (0 mi) Self Parking: $25.00 per day  Valet Parking: $30.00 per day
Park America Inc‎ (0.1 mi SE) 901 D St SW, Washington, DC‎ - (202) 863-2157‎
Early Bird Rate (Arrival before 9am): $12 per day  Standard Rate: $16 per day
Central Parking Systems‎ (0.2 mi W) 1201 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC‎ - (202) 479-6872‎
Early Bird Rate (Arrival before 9am): $13 per day  Standard Rate: $16 per day
Central Parking (0.2 mi SW) 1280 Maryland Ave SW # 100, Washington, DC‎ - (202) 479-2701‎
Early Bird Rate (Arrival before 9am): $13 per day  Standard Rate: $16 per day
Parking Management Inc (0.2 mi E) 300 7th St SW, Washington, DC‎

AIRPORT

Reagan National Airport (2 miles) Four Metro stops away or a 15-minute drive.
Dulles International Airport (27 miles)
Baltimore Washington International Airport (33 miles)

DIRECTIONS
 
From Reagan National Airport: Start out going south toward Abingdon Drive. Turn left toward Alexandria/Washington. Take the ramp toward I-395/Washington. Merge onto George Washington Memorial Parkway North. Merge onto I-395 North toward Washington. Take the exit towards Maine Ave. Take the L'Enfant Promenade ramp. Turn right onto L'Enfant Prom/L'Enfant Plz. SW. L'Enfant Prom/L'Enfant Plz. SW becomes Banneker Circle SW. Turn right onto L'Enfant Prom/L'Enfant Plz. SW. Turn right onto L'Enfant Plz. SW. End at L'Enfant Plaza Hotel.

From Washington Dulles International Airport: Start out going west on Dulles Airport Access Rd. toward Saarinen Circle. Dulles Airport Access Rd. becomes Saarinen Circle. Turn slight right onto Copilot Way. Turn right onto Cargo Drive. Cargo Drive becomes Aviation Drive. Turn left onto ramp. Merge onto Dulles Airport Access Rd. Merge onto VA-267 E toward I-495/Exit 18-19/Va-123/Baltimore/Richmond. Merge onto VA-123N/Dolley Madison Blvd via Exit 19B toward McClean. Take the George Washington Memorial Parkway East ramp. Merge onto George Washington Memorial Parkway S/GW PKWY S. Merge onto I-395 North toward Washington. Take the exit towards Maine Ave. Take the L'Enfant Promenade ramp. Turn right onto L'Enfant Prom/L'Enfant Plz. SW. L'Enfant Prom/L'Enfant Plz. SW becomes Banneker Circle SW. Turn right onto L'Enfant Prom/L'Enfant Plz. SW. Turn right onto L'Enfant Plz. SW. End at L'Enfant Plaza Hotel.

JPSM SHORT COURSE
Questions for this course should be directed to the JPSM Short Course, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Room 4050, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2321, Phone: (800) 937-9320, Fax: (734) 764-8263, Email: jpsmshort@isr.umich.edu.

Short Courses: www.jpsm.org/shortcourses
Sponsor Affiliate List: projects.isr.umich.edu/jpsm/info.cfm#sponsors
JPSM Home Page: www.jpsm.org
Tax Indentification (University of Michigan): 38-6006309
DUNS (University of Michigan): 073133571