Consulting
The Survey Lab specializes in helping clients to operationalize their research questions with an appropriate methodology. Scholars and community organizations rely upon our ability to design, conduct and analyze their research questions for them. We can assist with one or all of these stages of research.
Developing a research question and research design
Your question drives the rest of your research design. Narrowing your topic of interest down to a focused question can prove quite challenging. The Survey Lab offers consultation on the development of a research question. We provide consultation that helps scholars and clients to narrow their research from a topic of interest into a focused research question. We can help you to make choices about what data to collect, how to collect it and what to do with it once you have it - all steps that require constant checking against your question.
All research designs involve trade-offs. Nobody has infinite amounts of time or money and even with large resources the practical limitations of everyday life require that some trade-offs be made. The Survey Lab provides consultation to help set priorities and to provide the rationale for choosing a research design. We can offer advice on where to expend resources to the greatest advantage.
Survey design
The length of the questionnaire and the order and wording of survey questions can greatly affect the quality of data that you get from a survey. The Survey Lab provides consulting on the construction of a survey instrument.
Coaching you through your own survey
The nuts and bolts of conducting a survey involve attention to a number of details that, if missed, can turn a thirty minute job into a three-week job. Clients who administer their own surveys can get advice on any aspect of survey administration such as formatting, printing and distribution, receipt control, data entry, and achieving a high response rate.
Coding qualitative notes and transcripts
Qualitative analysis deals with words rather than numbers and fewer universal rules or standardized procedures exist for their analysis. Qualitative analysis involves discerning and interpreting meaningful patterns or themes. We offer consulting on how to conduct qualitative analysis and practical advice on software coding, analysis and writing- up your results.
