Communication Research

Asking Questions, Finding Answers

Joann Keyton, Ph.D.

University of Kansas

Chapter 9

Surveys and Questionnaires

Fitting Yourself into a Category

Have you ever been confused or frustrated trying to identify your race or ethnicity on a survey? As a result of the problems in how people use racial and ethnic identifiers, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) revised its Directive 15, which designated and standardized racial and ethnic categories used in the 2000 U.S. census. All other federal programs must adopt these standards no later than 2003 to provide uniformity and comparability n the collection and use of data by federal agencies. The categories used by the OMB are often applied in public and private research projects as well, especially those funded by government agencies.

Want to Create an Online Survey?

There are two online services that can be used to create, post, and host your online surveys. Check out SurveyMonkey.com and QuestionPro.com.

Communication Research Measures

Dr. James McCroskey, West Virginia University, has posted over 30 scales of communication variables on his website. These may be used for research with proper citation.

Back to Web listings by chapter