GESIS Guides

Survey Instruments

In the “Measurement” section of the GESIS Survey Guides, the contributions devoted to quality assurance present concrete methods, for example cognitive pretests and the assessment of reliability. Moreover, questionnaire construction is addressed in contributions on question wording, response format design, the handling of possible response biases, and the design of instruments for use in intercultural surveys. The “Survey Instruments” section of the Survey Guides describes offerings in which researchers can find survey instruments for measuring social science and psychological characteristics. The measurement of socio-demographic characteristics is also addressed.

Quality Control of Survey Instruments    

Reliability – The Precision of a Measurement

Cognitive Pretesting

Use of Eye Tracking in Cognitive Pretests

Web Probing

Validity in Survey Research

Questionnaire Design     
Question Wording 
Design of Rating Scales in Questionnaires
Open-Ended Questions
Response Biases in Standardised Surveys
Measurement Instruments in Cross-national Surveys
Documenting Measurement Instruments for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Questionnaire Translation

Questionnaire Design Decisions  - When Transitioning from an Interviewer-Administered to a Self-Administered Online Mode

Socio-Demographic Variables Standardization and Harmonization of Socio-Demographic Variables
The Coding of Occupations
The Conceptualisation, Measurement, and Coding of Education in German and Cross-National Surveys
Measurement of Migrants's Educational Attainment

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