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BOOK REVIEW
Survey Research Methods, 3rd ed., by Floyd J. Fowler Jr. (2002). Thousand Oaks, CA; Sage.
Given the extensive use of survey research methods in the organizational sciences, understanding issues related to sampling, data collection, and survey construction is important for organizational researchers. This is a complex topic, and entire books have been devoted to topics such as data collection and sampling procedures. One of the most appealing features of Survey Research Methods by Floyd Fowler is that it provides a concise overview of the entire survey research process and does so using clear and easy to understand language. As noted in the preface, the goal of this book is "to produce a comprehensive summary of the current knowledge about the sources of error in surveys for those who are not primarily statisticians or methodologists" (p. ix). Survey Research Methods achieves this goal.
The book is divided into 11 chapters. The first chapter is an introduction and discusses the reasons for using surveys as well as the components of surveys (e.g., sampling, question design). Fowler notes that the book is limited to the discussion of surveys designed to produce numerical or quantitative descriptions and the collection of information by asking people questions that are then quantified for data analysis. In this chapter, the author also introduces the idea of "total survey design" (p. 8). This refers to an orientation to survey research that focuses on making sound research design decisions at several stages of the survey research method process. More specifically, the total survey design involves systematically considering the use of probability sampling, the appropriate sample frame for the research question(s), the necessary sample size, the best-suited sample design, and the necessary response rate.
Chapters 2 and 3 introduce the reader to sampling and the issues associated with nonresponse to surveys. Chapter 2 discusses how to sample in a way that allows generalization to the population of interest and the important decision of which individuals will have a chance of being included in the research sample. Various approaches to sampling are discussed, including one-stage (e.g., random sampling, stratified sampling) and multistage (e.g., area probability sampling, random-digit dialing) sampling. This is followed by a discussion of sampling errors associated with different sampling procedures. Chapter 3...