Chapter 8 Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• identify non-experimental quantitative data collection approaches used for human subject research in political science, and describe the commonalities amongst these approaches;
• outline the primary modes of survey research, explaining how different modes are subject to coverage and non-response bias and to interviewer effects;
• describe the advantages and limitations of using secondary datasets, including secondary survey data, big data, and official statistics;
• distinguish among quantitative measures, identifying common closed question types and assessing survey questions for potential problems; and
• critically assess research that uses data collected from surveys and secondary data sources.