Resources

Many resources for survey research exist in the Harvard community, and beyond. One of the goals of the PSR is to make these resources readily available to scholars in the Harvard community.

Survey Resources at Harvard

Many resources for survey research exist in the Harvard community. One of the goals of the PSR is to make these resources readily available to scholars in the Harvard community.

Survey Research Courses

The Course Guide for Harvard Students interested in Survey Research (below) has been compiled by the Program on Survey Research as a reference for students interested in the field of survey research. Various schools and departments at Harvard offer courses related to survey research. To the best of our knowledge, this course list is complete and accurate, but students are advised to check course catalogs for the most up-to-date information on specific courses.

Here you'll also find downloadable documents on 'Introduction to the Survey Process', a 'Guide to Question Writing', and 'Sampling, Coverage, and Nonresponse'.

Guides to Survey Research and Related Resources

Guides to Survey Research and Related Resources

Related Centers/Programs

Related Centers/Programs

Select Funding Opportunities

Select Funding Opportunities

General Survey Reference

General Survey Reference

  • Biemer, Paul P. and Lyberg, Lars E. Introduction to Survey Quality. Chichester, England: Wiley, 2003.
  • Fink, A., The Survey Research Handbook - How to Conduct Surveys: A Step-by-Step Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1983.
  • Fowler, Floyd J., Jr. Survey Research Methods (2nd.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1993.
  • Groves, Robert M., F J Fowler, Mick P. Couper, James M. Lepkowski, Eleanor Singer, and R Tourangeau. Survey Methodology. New York, NY: Wiley. 2004.
  • Rossi, P., Wright, J., and Anderson, A. (eds.). Handbook of Survey Research. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1983.
  • Weisberg, Krosnick, Bowen. An Introduction to Survey Research, Polling, and Data Analysis (3rd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1996.
  • Weisberg, Herbert. The Total Survey Error Approach: A Guide to the New Science of Survey Research. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2005

Questionnaire Design

  • Belson, William A. The Design and Understanding of Survey Questions. Aldershot, Hants, England: Gower, 1981.
  • Fowler, F.J. Jr. Improving Survey Questions: Design and Evaluation, Applied Social Research Methods Series Volume 38. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1995.
  • Payne, Stanley. The Art of Asking Questions. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University, 1980.
  • Schuman, H. and Presser, S. Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys. New York, NY: Academic Press, 1981.
  • Sudman, S., & Bradburn, N. Asking questions: A practical guide to questionnaire design. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1982.

Survey Sampling/Survey Error

  • Cochran, William. Sampling Techniques. New York, NY: Wiley, 1977.
  • Fink, A. How to sample in surveys. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1995.
  • Groves, Robert M. Survey Errors and Survey Costs (Wiley Series in Survey Methodology). Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, 2004.
  • Groves, Robert M., et al. Survey Nonresponse (Wiley Series in Survey Methodology). Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, 2001.
  • Henry, G. T. Practical sampling. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1990.
  • Kalton, G. An Introduction to Survey Sampling. SAGE Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA, 1983.
  • Kish, Leslie. Survey Sampling. New York, NY: Wiley-Interscience, New Ed edition January 20, 1995.
  • Lohr, Sharon. Sampling: Design and Analysis. Belmont, CA: Duxbury Press, 1999.
  • Lyberg, L., and Kasprzyk, D. Survey Measurement and Process Quality. New York, NY: Wiley, 1997.

Survey Analysis Software

Survey Resources on the Web

Here you'll find an array of useful references throughout the web. If you know of additional web resources that you believe we should list here, please don't hesitate to contact us

Survey Data Collections

Major Longitudinal Surveys

  • United States Census Bureau
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics -- The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics.
  • Eurobarometer -- A series of surveys conducted among European countries.  Semi-annual surveys have been conducted since 1974, including some tracking questions on a variety of issues.  This link is to the Public Opinion Analysis office of the European Union.  Eurobarometer data are available through the ICPSR and other archives.
  • General Social Survey -- One of NORC's oldest landmark surveys, the General Social Survey has been administered 25 times since its initial fielding in 1972, with core funding from the National Science Foundation.
  • The Health and Retirement Study -- A longitudinal study of health, retirement, and aging, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging.
  • National Center for Education Statistics -- The National Center for Education Statistics ( NCES ) collects, analyzes and makes available data related to education in the US and other nations.
  • National Center for Health Statistics -- Comprehensive information on births, deaths, aging, disease classification and other health statistics.
  • National Election Survey -- NES conducts national surveys of the American electorate in presidential and midterm election years and carries out research and development work through pilot studies in odd-numbered years. Measures can be pooled over time, and both long-term trends and the political impact of historical events can be identified.
  • Panel Study of Income Dynamics -- The PSID is a longitudinal survey of a representative sample of US individuals and families, which has been ongoing since 1968.

Other Links

Major Public Polls