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Survey Research Methodology

Delphi Method

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Engaging Different Types of Practitioners in the Complex Social Policy Area of Adverse Childhood Experiences
Understanding how stakeholders make sense of and prioritise available evidence can help improve the policies and practices that affect people's lives. A modified Delphi approach could engage with stakeholders with different, overlapping expertise and help open a way to this understanding.
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Oct 21, 2021
The RAND Blog
Tom Ling, Michaela Bruckmayer

Survey Research Methodology

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Collect Data on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Health Surveys
The Biden administration wants to promote programs and policies informed by science and to help lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans. For researchers to confidently answer that call, the first step is for the government to consistently collect sexual orientation and gender identity data.
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Jun 25, 2021
Health Affairs
Sarah MacCarthy, Marc N. Elliott
Patient Experience

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A New Way to Capture the Patient Experience
Researchers have developed a more effective and reliable way for patients to provide narrative feedback about the care they receive. When the right questions are asked, patients' answers can help health care providers better understand the patient experience and learn how they could improve.
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May 2, 2019
Global Security

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Millennials Worry Less About National Security Than Baby Boomers Do—for Now
Millennials are not as concerned as baby boomers are about national security. But these attitudes may be more about being young than being millennials.
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Jun 14, 2018
Survey Research Methodology

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Why the Polls Were Wrong
RAND's Presidential Election Panel Survey, like other polls, overpredicted the popular vote. But since it focused on the decisionmaking process and how that translated into behaviors, the data could provide deep insights into what happened and how it took pollsters by surprise.
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Nov 14, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard
Survey Research Methodology

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Points to Consider When Using Surveys of Cancer Patients
Patient surveys provide unique insights for improving cancer care quality and new opportunities for research. However, features of survey populations such as sampling and early mortality should be accounted for when analyzing the findings.
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Jul 19, 2016
Statistics Views
Catherine L. Saunders, Gary A. Abel
Democracy

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Taking the American Pulse This Election Season
For the past decade, a unique RAND survey has asked Americans how they feel about the economic crisis, health care reform, and more. Now, it's focused on the 2016 presidential election.
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May 4, 2016
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The Latest from the RAND Presidential Election Panel Survey
RAND's panel survey examines voter attitudes, intentions, and choices, and how these change throughout the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Some sizeable shifts in positions occurred in survey results from December to March.
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Apr 7, 2016
The RAND Blog
Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard, Joshua Mendelsohn
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RAND Kicks Off 2016 Presidential Election Panel Survey
RAND's panel survey examines voter attitudes, intentions, and choices, and how these change throughout the 2016 U.S. presidential election. What sets this effort apart from public opinion surveys and political polls is that it surveys the same people over the course of the election.
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Jan 27, 2016
The RAND Blog
Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard, Joshua Mendelsohn
Survey Research Methodology

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Taking an Interest: What Makes Someone Respond to a Survey
Researchers have two main reasons for caring about non-response. First, it is important to ensure that survey findings are unbiased and representative, and second, concern about survey non-response is a key reason given by those who ignore or chose not to act on the findings of research.
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Jan 5, 2016
Statistics Views
Catherine L. Saunders
Survey Research Methodology

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How to Help Surveys Have More Impact
How can researchers and the users of survey research move from a knee-jerk dismissal of survey findings to being comfortable trusting and acting on the findings? Likely ways forward include emphasizing the methodology, triangulating the evidence, acknowledging the limitations, and developing good communication and trust between parties.
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Oct 16, 2015
Statistics Views
Catherine L. Saunders
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Republicans May Make Gains in Midterm Election, but Democrats Remain Strong Nationally
The Republican Party has a strong chance of maintaining control of the House of Representatives and possibly even gaining control of the Senate. But survey results suggest that, while individual races may vary, support for Republican candidates nationwide may be less than support for Democratic candidates.
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Nov 4, 2014
The RAND Blog
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman, Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard
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Survey Says: House, Senate Races Too Close to Call
Recent survey data suggests competitions for both houses of Congress are too close to call. While reported probability of voting for a given party has remained constant overall, churn in individual responses indicates some voters are changing their minds.
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Oct 27, 2014
The RAND Blog
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman, Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard
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Voters Give Republicans an Edge in Senate Races, House Too Close to Call
Significantly more survey respondents anticipate Republicans will take the Senate for their state compared to those who anticipate Democrats will. However, there is not a clear difference in opinion regarding the race for the House.
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Oct 16, 2014
The RAND Blog
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman, Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard
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With Midterm Elections Less Than a Month Away, New Survey Data Shows Many Voters Have Made Up Their Minds
Survey responses indicate many U.S. voters already know how they'll cast their ballots in the upcoming midterm elections. But RAND's unique methodology provides an interesting perspective on those who don't lean strongly toward Republican or Democratic candidates.
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Oct 9, 2014
The RAND Blog
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman, Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard
commentary
New Survey Data Indicates Increasing Polarization in the Ways Democrats and Republicans View the Role of Government in Reducing Income Inequality
Today, Democrats are more than six times likelier than Republicans to believe the U.S. government should play a role in reducing income inequality. This is not due to differences in age, gender, education, or income distributions among the two parties.
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Oct 9, 2014
The RAND Blog
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman, Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard
Affordable Care Act

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A New Way to Measure Public Opinion of Health Reform
Whether the public will begin to settle on an overall positive or negative perception of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is very much an open question. But understanding how opinion of the law evolves over time could offer valuable insight into Americans' appetite both for the ACA and for health reform more broadly.
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Dec 18, 2013
The RAND Blog
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman
Survey Research Methodology

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Creating More Savvy Consumers Through Public Reporting
Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys are designed to capture patients' experiences in a systematic way that facilitates reporting the results publicly to help other consumers make more savvy care decisions. Consumer choices may influence providers to improve the care they offer so that they can effectively compete in the market.
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Dec 27, 2012
Mary E. Vaiana