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Total Survey Design

Total Survey Design

Written by: Dr. Azdren Coma and Dr. Seon Yup Lee
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About this listen

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.

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Episodes
  • Survey Weighting: When It Helps And When It Hurts

    Survey Weighting: When It Helps And When It Hurts
    Dec 8 2025

    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 precision.

    Support the show

    Find us online at: instagram.com/totalsurveydesign/
    https://taplink.cc/totalsurveydesign
    Contact us at: totalsurveydesign@gmail.com
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    10 mins
  • Nonresponse Error. Part 1 - Response Rate vs. Nonresponse Error

    Nonresponse Error. Part 1 - Response Rate vs. Nonresponse Error
    Dec 1 2025

    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 presence of nonresponse error. The episode emphasizes that evaluating survey quality requires more than just looking at response rates; it requires understanding potential bias in who does and does not respond.

    Support the show

    Find us online at: instagram.com/totalsurveydesign/
    https://taplink.cc/totalsurveydesign
    Contact us at: totalsurveydesign@gmail.com
    Show More Show Less
    5 mins
  • A Conversation with Mark Miazga, Director of University Survey & Assessment Services at U of Minnesota

    A Conversation with Mark Miazga, Director of University Survey & Assessment Services at U of Minnesota
    Nov 23 2025

    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 institutional surveys, and how empathy and practical experience influence his approach to data collection and analysis. The discussion also touches on bridging gaps between institutional research and survey methodology, as well as a discussion of an institution-wide survey calendar, survey timing, and sampling. The episode wraps up with four points of advice for future surveyors.

    Support the show

    Find us online at: instagram.com/totalsurveydesign/
    https://taplink.cc/totalsurveydesign
    Contact us at: totalsurveydesign@gmail.com
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 6 mins
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