Total Survey Design
Total Survey Design is a podcast for explaining the complexities of survey design. This podcast serves a diverse audience, including academics, small business owners, nonprofits, industry professionals, and students. Each season features episodes covering topics from survey utility to sample sizes, and question design to total survey error. Episode content includes insightful discussions, expert interviews, and special event coverage to enhance your survey skills and understanding.
Episodes
In this episode of Total Survey Design, Dr. Azdren Coma sits down with Dr. Rubén Ángel Arias Rueda, Project Manager and Lead Researcher at Washington State University's Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, for the second part of a two-part series on multilingual surveys. Dr. Arias Rueda specializes in mixed-methods equity research, bilingual data collection, and community-engaged fieldwork, and has led statewide quali...
In this episode of Total Survey Design, Dr. Azdren Coma explores what it takes to design surveys for populations that speak two or more languages. The episode explains why measurement equivalence (ensuring responses mean the same thing across languages) matters more than literal translation, and why the goal should be conceptual equivalence rather than word-for-word matching. Drawing on a personal case study of the 2021 North Maced...
In this episode, I explore research by Lena Le and Thom Allen at Washington State University on the use of personal appeals in survey contact letters — the persuasive statements that encourage people to participate, like explaining how results will be used or telling respondents their opinion matters.
Analyzing 190 surveys, their data shows response rates climb from 21.6% with no appeals to 51.6% with nine. I also ran my o...
In this episode, Dr. Azdren Coma explores how the Dunning-Kruger effect distorts self-reported skill ratings in hiring and surveys. A seemingly straightforward question like “On a scale of 0 to 10, how skilled are you in Microsoft Excel?” can produce misleading data because undefined scale points allow respondents to interpret them differently. Beginners often overestimate their abilities due to limited awareness of complexity, whi...
In this episode, I will be talking about open-ended questions. Along with closed-ended questions, open-ended questions are the other major type of question used in surveys. This episode covers the purpose of open-ended questions, their pros and cons, the different types of open-ended questions, several examples, and finally some tips and best practices for implementing them effectively in surveys.
The episode also includes...
What happens when you are faced with a list of options but do not have a strong preference? In this episode, I explore how the simple order of a list can nudge a person's choice. I move beyond the idea of favorite flavors to look at the undecided voter and the hungry diner. I examine why being first on a ballot can sway an election by as much as 10 percent in some local races.
I discuss why these order effects are mos...
This episode is a live guest lecture recorded for a Marketing Research class at Washington State University.
The guest lecture is meant to introduce complete newcomers to general ideas and considerations for survey design. I also offer a few general tips on survey questionnaire design.
Contact us at: totalsurveydesign@gmail.com
Find us online at: instagram.com/totalsurveydesign/
In this episode of the Total Survey Design Podcast, I explore whether to include a neutral midpoint option in survey questions or force respondents to pick a side. I define forced-choice formats, from even-numbered scales and binary picks to pairwise comparisons. I discuss key evidence like the 2019 Pew Research experiment, which found forced yes/no questions increased reporting on sensitive topics compared to select-all-that-apply...
Should you ever force respondents to answer a survey question? In this episode of Total Survey Design, I examine forced questions. While these features are often used under the assumption that more complete data means better data, forcing responses frequently leads to worse outcomes by increasing survey breakoffs, encouraging satisficing, and undermining respondents’ trust. I outline more effective and respectful alternatives, enco...
On this episode of the Total Survey Design podcast, I put generative AI to the test by asking it to critique and improve the Microsoft Word Feedback survey: a short, everyday questionnaire that many of us have seen after using the program. I compare the suggestions from Grok, ChatGPT, and Gemini, highlight where they agree, where they differ, and share my own thoughts on what they got right and what they missed.
I recap th...
On this bonus episode of the Total Survey Design podcast, I follow up on Trump and Rogan’s polling critiques with a listener email highlighting nonresponse bias, the real issue behind low response rates, where responders often differ systematically from non-responders.
I explain how rigorous weighting corrects for this bias, why it’s not foolproof, and how strong weighting helped make the 2024 election polls some of the mo...
On this episode of the Total Survey Design podcast, I examine an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, #2219, which aired on October 25th, 2024, where he discusses survey sampling with President Donald Trump. They both express skepticism about the reliability of polls for making broad national claims. They also refute the ability to make predictions from small samples and criticize polling methodology. In this episode, I tal...
In this episode, Azdren creates a feedback survey from scratch, showing the process from idea formation, to messy first draft of the questionnaire, to final product.
To see the final version of the questionnaire and to give your valuable feedback on this podcast, please visit https://tinyurl.com/totalsurveydesign
Contact us at: totalsurveydesign@gmail.com
Find us online at: instagram.com/totalsurveydesign/
This episode of the Total Survey Design podcast demystifies the statistical technique of survey weighting (or post-stratification), explaining how it corrects sample imbalances by giving "quiet groups" more influence. The hosts define weighting, detail when it's an effective correction tool for probability samples, and provide practical advice on avoiding common pitfalls like over-adjustment that can hurt data precis...
This episode explains the important distinction between response rate and nonresponse error in survey research. Drawing on principles from Dillman et al.(2014), it clarifies that a high response rate does not necessarily mean low nonresponse error, and vice versa. Through two practical examples, the episode illustrates how systematic differences between respondents and nonrespondents -- not the number of responses -- determine the ...
In this episode, the hosts speak with Mark Miazga, Director of University Survey and Assessment Services at the University of Minnesota, about his journey into survey research. Mark shares how his upbringing in rural Wisconsin and a background in law and nonprofit work shaped his perspective on data and public service. The conversation covers his transition from corporate law to survey methodology, his work managing complex institu...
In this episode, we talk with Robert Santos, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau from 2022 to 2025, about his professional journey and philosophy toward data and public service. Rob shares how his upbringing in a Mexican American community in San Antonio and how his early exposure to music and math shaped his path into statistics. The conversation explores his commitment to equity in data, the importance of cultural understanding in...
In this episode, I talk about a survey I didn’t plan to analyze—one that popped up the moment I opened Microsoft Word. Microsoft asked for feedback, and well… I had some. I break down the flaws in their opening question, including directional bias, vague wording, and unlabeled scale points. I also reflect on how these design choices impact data quality and what could have been done better. It’s a reminder that even the most common ...
In this episode of Total Survey Design, Dr. Azdren Coma and Dr. Seon Yup Lee interview Dr. Jon Krosnick, a leading expert on political behavior, survey methodology, and public opinion. Dr. Krosnick is a professor at Stanford University who has advised the U.S. Census Bureau, led national studies on voting behavior and climate change, and published extensively on how people form attitudes and make decisions.
Recorded at the...
In this episode I sat down with Thom to talk about surveys. We talked about his time at the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, working with Don Dillman on various projects including the 2000 U.S. Census, some of his favorite projects, my dissertation survey, the application of the Tailored Design Method on a wide variety of cultures, and much more.
Contact us at: totalsurveydesign@gmail.com
Find us online a...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Post Run High features conversations with high-performing founders, athletes, artists, health and science experts, and leaders about what it really takes to succeed. Through honest, post-movement conversations, guests share how they’ve navigated challenges, built resilience, and used movement as a tool for clarity, discipline, and growth. Each episode explores the mindset behind performance — what keeps people going when things get hard — and offers tangible advice listeners can apply in their everyday lives.
Buck Sexton breaks down the latest headlines with a fresh and honest perspective! He speaks truth to power, and cuts through the liberal nonsense coming from the mainstream media. Interact with Buck by emailing him at teambuck@iheartmedia.com
Stop doomscrolling. Start decoding the tech rewiring your week - and your world. The Interface is the BBC's fiercely informed, fast and funny take on how tech is changing everything. Hosted by journalists Tom Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf, each episode unpacks week-by-week the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech news stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power. As TikTok shifts geopolitics, Trump drives digital shockwaves, Elon Musk expands his space-internet empire and AI reroutes the routines of everyday life - the trio ask: what world are the tech titans building for us? And do we want to live in it?