Design
This survey aims to collect a representative sample for a future study regarding the Black Lives Matter or #BLM movement. It was designed to help me find out the general trend of satisfaction/dissatisfaction of the modern adult US citizens regarding the police level of accountability. This survey also helps me discover the public support for the #BLM movement and how it correlates with the actual participation in peaceful gatherings.
Sampling
The survey intends to use the sampling frame of modern adult US citizens since this survey aims to gather information regarding US society’s general tendencies. Therefore, the survey’s sampling frame is the registered US citizens who live in the US’s geographical area. This survey does not require further sample stratification to focus on particular groups of society (Babbie, 2020, p. 209). However, the sample stratification will form the representative sample that will reflect the actual deviations in gender, age, race, occupation, income level, and political views for the general US society.
If an actual researcher uses this survey to capture real data for an existing research project, this researcher will need to determine what a representative sample might look like. To do this, the researcher will need to contact the US Bureau of Statistics to provide the information that the statistics department staff collects during the general population census. This information can be stored in state databases and reflect general trends and trends specific to each region, city, and town. Such statistical information may also be available to many public and private research institutions within and even outside the United States.
It is noteworthy that the researcher may need data from phone books since statistical computer programs quite often use phone numbers as data arrays for subsequent random, systematic, or stratified sampling. A representative sample will need to consider geography, interviewing people from multiple locations, cities, and states. The representative sample must reflect the entire groups that make up the US population (Babbie, 2020, p. 193). For example, a certain percentage of the US population lives in rural or urban areas, in rich or poor neighborhoods of large cities, in Republican or Democratic states. If researchers conduct interviews by phone, they will also have to consider time zones since not all respondents are ready to communicate during working hours, which will differ depending on the time zones. To comply with ethical guidelines, researchers will need to conduct telephone interviews between 9 am and 10 pm.
When thinking about my ideal sample’s representativeness, I consider the “big three” classic sociological variables of race, class, and gender. I also consider education, political affiliation, (dis)ability, sexual orientation, occupation, and family size to get closer to the sustainable study results. People’s opinions on fundamental issues are usually very different within these categories since people face distinct daily influences, surroundings, and circumstances. In the context of future research, it is important to take into account the opinions of people who have traditionally been viewed as hostile or indifferent towards the group whose interests are protected by the #BLM movement.
It seems essential since future research aims to study how the #BLM movement changed attitudes in general US society and how these attitudes changed under other factors and over time. As noted above, the representative sample was generated using the methods of systematic and stratified sampling. Stratification was based on the US Census data, which reflects the general division into groups. The variables of geographical regions, time zones, race, class, gender, education, political affiliation, (dis)ability, sexual orientation, occupation, and family size were considered.
Since many variables were taken into account, the sample size should be at least 100 people, ideally 400 people, or 2000 if it is a real study. A sample of 2000 people is widely recognized as sufficient to predict voting tendencies and is widely used by sociologists when conducting election-related polls (Babbie, 2020, p. 200). Therefore, the 2000 sample size is sufficient to answer the main research questions. To sample the population, I used non-random sampling, namely, systematic and stratified sampling. Stratification helped form the representative sample, and systematic sampling, which only slightly differs from random selection, was used to finalize the sample formation. Systematic sampling was used since it prevents researchers from making the mistake of randomly choosing from the previously aligned stratified sample group, as alignment requires a systematic approach.
Results
After receiving the first ten responses, I began to see particular initial takeaways or patterns emerging within this small sample. I particularly noticed the positive correlation between the support of the #BLM movement and participation in public demonstrations on behalf of #BLM. I also saw a significant positive correlation between the mentioned variables and higher ranks of dissatisfaction with how politicians and public officials are receptive to the need for increased police accountability. Besides, females were more likely to participate in demonstrations on behalf of #BLM.
The data reflecting that females are more prone to participate in public demonstrations was a surprise to a certain extent since males are generally perceived better suited for such potentially dangerous affairs. On the other hand, I was not surprised since I met more female than male demonstration participants on the streets. Besides, this phenomenon was noticed by the media and reflected in various picture stories. The responses I received did not provide any information that could be applied to change the larger research question. However, the answers encouraged me to include more questions about how and why people support the #BLM movement. Besides, I was pleasantly surprised that much more white people support the movement than was initially perceived.
Now that I’ve seen the responses, I would like to add one close-ended question in an improved version of this survey. This question is as follows: On a scale of 1 (Not interested) to 5 (Very interested). Were you interested in participating in public demonstrations and protests to support the #BLM movement? I would add this question as many people could not participate in the demonstrations due to geographic location or lack of free time. Therefore, I would like to know how ready these people would be to join in protests if they had the opportunity.
Another aspect is the level of fear for one’s life and safety and perceived danger and threats from the state and the police. This aspect is even more critical as it reflects the fundamental processes in modern society. The presented question would be supplemented with a suggested list of reasons why people could not participate. Besides, I would add a list of reasons why people were afraid to participate in demonstrations.
Reflections on the Survey Process
In the process of writing the survey, the most challenging thing was to form a central question that reflects the reason for the protests taking place, namely, “Do you feel politicians and public officials are receptive to the need for increased police accountability?” It was also imperative for me to avoid unethical answer options, for example, two options for gender, two options for politics, or two options for the #BLM movement support.
Besides, respondents may have found it difficult to answer the question about satisfaction with how concerned politicians are about increasing police accountability. This question has a complex formulation due to the complexity of the message it conveys. Noteworthy, if my sample size was more extensive, I think I would get more reliable data since 100 respondents cannot be enough to represent the whole US population. Therefore, I can focus on a particular geographic area to reduce the sample or increase the selection to get more reliable results.
It was the first time I tested this survey, so it needs some design tweaks. If I were to implement this survey in an actual study, I would not change the existing questions since they are satisfactory. However, I would add more questions about the willingness to participate in demonstrations and the reasons that may deter people from doing it. I would also revise the age limits since many people under 20 are worried about the current situation that led to the #BLM movement. I definitely would not change the topic since it is highly resonant with people’s feelings and aspirations. A revised version would look like this survey with more open-ended questions and more close-ended questions regarding the reasons, motivations, and personal attitudes.
References
Babbie, E. R. (2020). The practice of social research. Cengage Learning.