Survey Methodologies for Stated-Choice Studies

In this chapter, we focus on administration of stated choice (SC) surveys. Many decisions you make regarding methodology will directly impact the quantity and quality of the data. Should you administer the survey through the mail, or in-person, or on the web? How many people should you contact? What do you do when individuals do not complete and return the survey? How do you know if you have a good response rate? Although there are not hard and fast rules, there are generallyagreed upon best practices. In this chapter, we synthesize the survey literature relevant to conducting SC surveys and offer some of our practical knowledge about best practice. In the next section, we discuss sample design and the process of selecting the individuals who will receive the survey. In Section 3, we describe potential sources of error that can impact data quality. Section 4 covers survey administration and Section 5 provides important guidelines for managing your SC survey.

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