Survey research is typically focused on the individual and seeks to understand certain societal trends and phenomena. The best surveys as questions that are relevant to the topic being researched, are worded in a way that is clear and understandable to the people taking the survey, and have large varied survey sizes to increase the chance of the survey population matching the general population. Good surveys also use mixed methods to eliminate as many possible weaknesses from the study as possible, additionally good surveys use both qualitative and quantitative data for more comprehensive results.
My research question is “how does the age of a child when first allowed screen time affect their behavior.”
The dependent variable for my research question is the effects of screentime on behavior in children aged 3-5. To accurately measure this dependent variable I will use the survey question “do you notice any negative changes in your child’s behavior after long periods of screentime?” This question is recorded on a scale of 0-10 with zero being not at all and ten being a great amount.
The independent variable for my research question is the age of the child when first allowed to have screentime. This variable will be measured with the question “At what age did you start letting your child have screentime? Screentime can include watching TV, using a tablet or cell phone, or playing on a computer.” The attributes for this question are, “younger than three”, “between three and five years old”, “six years or older”, and “I don’t allow my child screentime”.
These two questions are good examples of what a survey question should be as they are both, single barreled as they both ask only one simple thing, additionally both of these questions are short and to the point without any extra fluff that adds unnecessary complexity to the question. Furthermore both are worded in simple understandable language that conveys the purpose of the question in a succinct and comprehensible form that would be understandable to those taking the survey. The final strength of these two questions is the neutrality of their language, neither has negative words that would twist the meaning of the question and both are worded in a way that avoids leading survey participants towards a certain response.