| Description | This unit introduces students to the concepts of designing and implementing data collection procedures, particularly through surveys of human populations. The unit introduces simple sample designs, and covers the design of data-collection instruments, protocols for undertaking surveys of human populations, pilot surveys and pre-tests, survey ethics, survey administration, coding and archiving of data, computation of sampling errors and population statistics, response rates and other measures of survey quality, and validation of survey data. The unit also includes discussion of applications of advanced technology to surveys, such as Internet surveys, surveys using GPS devices, and other remote sensing techniques. The unit is of particular value to students majoring in transportation, logistics, marketing and urban planning. |
