The Institute's 2012 Spring Seminar Series features courses on survey research in the first week (April 23-27) and on qualitative research methods in the second (April 30-May 3). In addition there are introductory courses on SAS and SPSS in the four weeks in May.

The survey research courses begin with a three-day workshop on best practices in the design and implementation of survey research projects. We recommend that participants register for the complete three-day survey design workshop, but participants are free to choose any one- or two-day combinations that might suit their schedules. The first day of the workshop will focus on survey research ethics and questionnaire design. Topics for the second day include more detail on questionnaire design and a brief overview of sampling. The final day will offer strategies to collect high quality survey data, pretesting questionnaires, and will review overall research design. The fourth and fifth days of this series provide a hands-on introduction to the analysis of survey data.

The qualitative research courses begin the following week with a one-day seminar on the interpretation of qualitative data, including textual materials from interviews and focus groups. The next day is devoted to various issues in using focus groups as a specific method. The third and fourth days comprise a two-day workshop introducing the computerized analysis of textual materials using NVivo, the most common software for this type of analysis.

The introductory SAS (Wednesdays) and SPSS (Fridays) courses are designed to equip participants to undertake basic statistical analysis of quantitative data (May 2-25).

These courses provide a hands-on approach to help researchers develop practical skills. They attract an interesting mix of graduate students, researchers from government and NGOs, faculty and university staff. In our teaching we strive to provide a successful introduction to each topic, while offering new insights for more experienced researchers.

Survey Research Methods (April 23-27, 2012)

Survey Design Workshop - Day 1 The Survey Research Process, Ethics, and Questionnaire Design: Part One
Instructors:	David Northrup, MA Professor Glenn Stalker Renée Elsbett-Koeppen, MSc Liza Mercier, BSc
Date:	Monday, April 23, 2012
Time:	9:30am-Noon; 1-3:30pm
Location:	Room 1014, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Building
Enrolment Limit:	30
The first day of this workshop includes an overview of the survey research process, considers ethical issues in survey research, and provides the first of two substantive sessions on practical issues in questionnaire design. The discussion on ethics will consider the meanings of informed consent and ensuring no harm to respondents in both questionnaire design and data collection. The initial session on questionnaire design will consider how survey respondents compose their answers to survey questions, the meaning of reliability and validity in writing survey questions, and fundamental issues such as the use of open and closed questions, whether to solicit "don't know" answers, the use of middle positions, the tone of wording, and related topics. Many examples, often from ISR surveys, will be presented in the session. Each day of the Survey Design Workshop includes a lecture in the morning and a hands-on session in the afternoon, followed by a brief concluding lecture.

Survey Design Workshop - Day 2 Questionnaire Design: Part Two and Survey Sampling
Instructors:	David Northrup, MA Professor Glenn Stalker Renée Elsbett-Koeppen, MSc Liza Mercier, BSc
Date:	Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Time:	9:30am-Noon; 1-3:30pm
Location:	Room 1014, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Building
Enrolment Limit:	30
Questionnaire design issues considered in this session include question order, dealing with problems of recall, asking sensitive questions, acquiescence and the need to measure attitude strength, embedding wording or question order experiments in a survey, asking demographic questions, and other major design topics. The emphasis is on practice and many examples will be provided. The section on survey sampling will provide a short practical guide to sample design for survey researchers, including the relationship between sample size and sample error. The differences between simple random samples and complex samples, and the implications for sample size, the need to 'weight' survey data, and survey data analysis, will also be considered. In the afternoon workshop participants will be divided into groups of about five and given a short questionnaire design assignment. The workshop will provide attendees with an opportunity to write questions and receive feedback on their efforts. Each group will be assisted by members of ISR's professional survey staff.

Survey Design Workshop - Day 3 Data Collection, Pretesting, and Summary of Questionnaire Design Issues
Instructors:	David Northrup, MA Professor Glenn Stalker Renée Elsbett-Koeppen, MSc Liza Mercier, BSc
Date:	Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Time:	9:30am-Noon; 1-3:30pm
Location:	Room 1014, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Building
Enrolment Limit:	30
This session focuses on practical aspects in the design of mail and web surveys, with some discussion of telephone surveys. The relationship between mode of data collection and questionnaire design will be reviewed, as well as the effect interviewers can have on the likelihood that people will participate in the survey and how they answer the questions. Additional topics include effective ways to solicit response and maximize response rates. Data collection steps for mail and web-based surveys will also be outlined. Methods to conduct effective pretests, of both the questionnaire and the data collection procedures, will be provided. The afternoon workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to write or revise questions based on different modes of data collection. The session will conclude with a summary of best practices in the design and implementation of a survey instrument. This session, please note, is not about programming a web survey.

Introduction to Survey Data Analysis
Instructor:	Professor Bryn Greer-Wootten
Dates:	Thursday, April 26 and Friday, April 27, 2012
Time:	9:30am-Noon; 1-3:30pm
Location:	Room 2114 Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Building
Enrolment Limit:	25
The practical analysis of survey research data is presented in this two-part course. The first day begins with the matrix representation of survey data, including levels of measurement for typical survey questions, the distributional properties of variables and simple descriptive statistics. Subsequently, the construction of scales (e.g., for attitude items) and the fundamentals of statistical inference and hypothesis testing in a survey context are developed. The second day continues with the implementation of a survey analysis design, including basic analyses of contingency tables, of group differences using analysis of variance, and of relationships between variables, using correlation and regression. On both days, the morning sessions are used for lectures and demonstrations; afternoon lab sessions replicate procedures used in the morning, for a different data set. To benefit from the course, participants should have some background in basic statistics or the fundamentals of survey research as well as some prior knowledge of SPSS. Because these materials are presented sequentially and build upon the basics presented at the beginning of each day, participants need to arrive on time and attend both sessions. Click here to download the Survey Data Analysis course data in a self-extracting (.exe) file. Click here to download the Survey Data Analysis course data in a zip file.

Qualitative Research Methods (April 30 to May 3, 2012)

Interpreting Qualitative Data: An Overview
Instructor:	Raymond Garrison, MA
Date:	Monday, April 30, 2012
Time:	9:30am-Noon; 1-3:30pm
Location:	Room 1004 Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Building
Enrolment Limit:	40
This course provides a conceptual overview, with hands-on examples, of strategies for analyzing qualitative social science research materials, such as field notes, transcripts of in-depth interviews and focus groups, and documentary and archival materials. Organized around the major themes of keeping track of what you are doing, what you are finding, and how you are feeling about it, this course pays particular attention to the initial stages of analysis, and to coding and indexing as integral components of the analytic process. A discussion of the presentation of results from qualitative research reviews various formats and approaches, the voice of the author and positionality, ethical and confidentiality issues, and the notions of 'qualitative rigour' and replication. The course concludes with a brief overview of the advantages and limitations of qualitative data analysis software, including NVivo. Class participants are encouraged to discuss their own research projects in the context of issues raised throughout the course. This course is well suited to researchers who are relatively new to qualitative analysis and to those wishing to know more about interpretive analysis in general.

Conducting Focus Groups for Social Research
Instructor:	John Pollard, MA
Date:	Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Time:	9:30am-Noon; 1-3:30pm
Location:	Room 1014 Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Building
Enrolment Limit:	30
This seminar is an introduction to focus group research. The morning session deals with the basic features of focus group planning and implementation, including how focus groups are currently being used, strengths and weaknesses of the research method, ethical considerations, and the stages of focus group research. The afternoon session looks at a number of practical aspects of conducting focus groups, including appropriate settings for focus group research, selecting and recruiting participants, developing a discussion guide, recording focus groups, and moderator techniques. There will be an opportunity for participants to discuss focus group research they have conducted or may be considering. The workshop will include some hands-on focus group practice. This presentation is suitable for students, faculty, staff and other researchers who are considering focus group research for the first time, and also for researchers wanting to refresh their knowledge of this method.

• For York students, the fees are $45.20 per course.

• For York faculty and staff, the fees are $90.40 per course

• Full-time students at other post-secondary institutions
  may register for a fee of $90.40 per course

• For external participants, the fees per course are:

Survey Design Workshop - Days 1, 2 and 3	$497.20
Survey Design Workshop - Day 1 only	$180.80
Survey Design Workshop - Day 2 only	$180.80
Survey Design Workshop - Day 3 only	$180.80
An Introduction to Survey Data Analysis	$361.60
Interpreting Qualitative Data: An Overview	$180.80
Conducting Focus Groups for Social Research	$180.80
An NVivo Workshop	$361.60
An Introduction to SAS for Windows	$397.76
An Introduction to SPSS for Windows	$397.76

See the registration form for payment options.

Refunds are available upon three business days' notice prior to the course start date and are subject to an administrative fee.

Please review our policy regarding refunds here.

Registration

You can register for courses by completing the on-line registration form, which is date-stamped.

You can register in person (weekdays, from 9:00am to 12:00pm or 2:00pm to 4:00pm), please see:

Betty Tai
Room 5075
Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Building

To register by mail, print a blank registration form, complete, and send to:

Betty Tai
Institute for Social Research
Room 5075
Technology Enhanced Learning Building
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
Canada

You may also fax a completed registration form to: 416-736-5749.

Certificate of Completion

Available on request, full attendance is required.

A $5.65 administrative fee applies, for each certificate requested.

Additional Information

Additional information regarding registration, telephone 416-736-5061, weekdays, from 9:00am to 12:00pm or 2:00pm to 4:00pm

Directions to York University (Keele Campus), building and parking lot locations click here. For additional information on parking click here.

Instructors

Ryan Barnhart is a PhD candidate in Psychology at York University with specialization in Quantitative Methods. His research interests and statistical work have focused on longitudinal data analysis using multilevel modeling and generalized linear multilevel modeling. This work has helped Mr. Barnhart develop a multi-platform approach to using statistical software, including SAS, STATA, R and SPSS.

Renée Elsbett-Koeppen received her MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Western Ontario. She manages health-related research projects at ISR, including the Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System, a monthly study for more than 20 Ontario public health units. Other recent projects include barriers to diabetes care, access to primary health care, and Canada's participation in an international study on gender, alcohol and culture.

Lisa Fiksenbaum is a Doctoral candidate in Social/Personality Psychology at York University where she received her BA and MA. She is a Teaching Assistant in the honours thesis course and has been involved in a number of research projects. Her research interests include organizational issues, work family relationships, stress and coping. Proficient in SPSS, Ms. Fiksenbaum regularly consults with graduate students.

Raymond Garrison is a Senior Supervisor in the Telephone Lab at ISR. He holds a Specialized Honours BA (magna cum laude) and an MA in Geography from York University, and is pursuing a PhD in Geography (ABD) at York. Mr. Garrison has presented and published papers on qualitative methods and has designed and implemented questionnaire surveys. He has extensive experience with interviewing techniques and textual analysis.

Pamela Grassau is a Doctoral candidate in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. She is also a Project Manager with the Palliative Care, Education and Research Group at the Élisabeth Bruyère Research Institute in Ottawa. Ms. Grassau’s research focuses on relational experiences of health and illness, particularly as families move into Palliative and End-of-Life Care. She has been offering qualitative software trainings for the past 10 years.

Bryn Greer-Wootten is Professor Emeritus in Environmental Studies and Professor Emeritus of Geography at York University. In 2002 he joined the staff in the Statistical Consulting Service, where he is currently an Associate Coordinator, and in 2004 was appointed an Associate Director of ISR. He has taught and carried out quantitative and qualitative research, with a particular interest in survey research, especially for environmental and social policy.

Liza Mercier is a Project Manager at ISR where she manages a variety of mail, web and telephone surveys. She has a BSc in Health Studies from the University of Waterloo, with a background in public health, mainly in the areas of health education and health promotion. Her research interests focus on health-related social research.

David Northrup, MA, is Associate Director at ISR. He has over 25 years of experience in the design and implementation of survey projects. Recent major national studies completed under his direction include the Canadian Election Studies, Women's Political Participation Survey, Canadians and Their Pasts, and the Canadian Internet Project. His research interests include the relationship between survey design decisions and survey results, how people engage the past in their everyday lives, and public health.

John Pollard received his MA in Sociology from York University. He also holds a BA in French from the University of Toronto and a BA (Honours) in Sociology from York. Mr. Pollard manages research projects at ISR and consults with faculty, students and staff on questionnaire design, survey administration, and qualitative research methods. He has managed telephone survey projects and focus group studies at the Institute for many years.

Glenn Stalker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at York University and an Associate Director at York's Institute for Social Research. He received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Toronto and was previously appointed to Brock University's Faculty of Applied Health Sciences. His interest in quantitative sociology and survey methods has been used to carry out research projects in work and family, cultural sociology, environmental and political sociology.

Statistical Consulting Service (SCS)

The Institute for Social Research's Statistical Consulting Service provides consultation on a broad range of statistical problems and on the use of computers for statistical analysis. Its services extend beyond the social sciences to other disciplines that make use of statistics. Consultation is available to assist in research design, data collection, data analysis, statistical computing, and the presentation of statistical material.

Consultation is provided by a group of faculty drawn from York University's Departments of Psychology, Mathematics and Statistics, and Geography in conjunction with full-time professional staff at ISR. The faculty and staff have extensive experience with many forms of statistical analysis. Topics for which assistance is available include regression analysis, multivariate analysis, analysis of categorical data, structural equation modeling, factor analysis, multilevel/mixed modeling, survey data and longitudinal data, experimental design, survey sampling, and statistical computing.

Three times a year, the Statistical Consulting Service offers short courses on various aspects of statistics and statistical computing, including regular introductions to the SPSS and SAS statistical packages. Recent course offerings have addressed factor analysis, structural equation modeling, graphical methods for categorical data, introduction to the R programming language, and mixed models.

The Statistical Consulting Service maintains a regular schedule of office hours during the academic year. The Service primarily serves the York University community; for others, consultation is available on a fee-for-service basis. Please go to the Institute's Web site at www.isr.yorku.ca/scs to make appointments online with SCS consultants.

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