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Capella University — Psychology

PSY7660: Survey Construction and Administration

A complete guide to Capella's PSY7660. Students gain the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to plan, design, develop, and administer high-quality surveys — covering questionnaire construction, sampling, administration modes, and data quality assurance. Prerequisite: RSCH7864.

Graduate5 CreditsPrereq: RSCH7864Research Methods

PSY7660 provides a comprehensive, applied treatment of survey research — from conceptualizing what a survey should measure, through questionnaire design and testing, to sampling strategy, administration, and data quality evaluation. Surveys are the primary data collection tool in psychology, public health, social science, organizational research, and program evaluation, making competent survey construction an essential doctoral skill. Students leave with the ability to design surveys that produce valid, reliable, and generalizable data for use in dissertations, program evaluations, and applied research.

Survey design, sampling, and data quality

Core topics

  • Survey planning and conceptualization: Translating research questions into measurable survey constructs — operationalizing abstract concepts, defining the target population, establishing the survey's purpose (descriptive, explanatory, evaluative) — and the planning decisions that must be made before the first question is written: mode, timeline, budget, and intended analysis
  • Questionnaire construction: The science and craft of writing effective survey questions — the four major question types (open-ended, closed-ended, rating scales, ranking questions), Likert scale construction (item wording, response options, polarity, midpoint decisions), response format design, avoiding common question-writing errors (double-barreled questions, leading questions, ambiguous wording, social desirability bias), and organizing questions into a coherent, respondent-friendly sequence
  • Sampling theory and strategies: Probability sampling methods (simple random, systematic, stratified, cluster) versus non-probability methods (convenience, purposive, snowball, quota), determining adequate sample size (power analysis for survey research), sampling frames and their limitations, and the concept of sampling error and how to minimize it
  • Survey administration modes: The strengths, limitations, and best practices for each major administration mode — mail surveys (coverage, low response rates, follow-up protocols), telephone surveys (declining contact rates, IVR systems), online/web surveys (platform selection, skip logic, mobile optimization, panel versus recruitment), and in-person interviews (structured and semi-structured formats, interviewer training, CAPI) — and mixed-mode designs
  • Response bias and data quality: Threats to data quality in survey research — acquiescence bias, social desirability responding, satisficing, question order effects, interviewer effects — and design and administration strategies that reduce each. Pilot testing surveys before fielding, cognitive interviewing, and evaluating survey data for quality indicators
  • Survey validity and ethical considerations: Evidence for the validity of survey measures (content, construct, criterion-related validity), test-retest reliability for self-report scales, IRB requirements for survey research, informed consent, confidentiality protections, and special considerations when surveying vulnerable populations

PSY7660 assignments include original survey design projects, sampling plans, and data quality analyses

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Related courses

PSY8230Psychological Testing PSY8100Principles of Educational Psychology

Frequently asked questions

What is the prerequisite RSCH7864 and why is it required for PSY7660?

RSCH7864 is Capella's graduate-level quantitative research methods course, providing the foundation in research design, measurement concepts, and statistical reasoning that PSY7660 builds on. Survey construction sits at the intersection of measurement theory and research design — students need to understand reliability and validity conceptually before they can evaluate whether their questionnaire is measuring what it intends to measure, and they need foundational knowledge of sampling and statistical power before they can design a sampling strategy that will produce adequately powered results. Attempting to design a valid, reliable survey without a research methods foundation risks producing instrument that cannot answer the research question it was designed to address. RSCH7864 is therefore a prerequisite, not a co-requisite — students should complete it first to maximize the quality of their work in PSY7660.