My Experience Participating in a Survey

During summer session II at Penn State, I took an effective speech course that required me to participate in a research study for credit. The study I opted to participate in, was an online survey based on how students at Penn State take care of themselves when they become sick. The researchers conducting the study gathered data of my knowledge of antibiotics, and asked me when I believe it is necessary to use them. In our psychology class, we discussed surveys and how they are a common method in descriptive research. Descriptive research is a type of data collection that focuses on characteristics of a population and what is going on within the population.  A survey is a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes, opinions, or behaviors of people. Researchers conducting a survey should be aware of the representative sample they are trying to reach. The representative sample is a key factor in conducting a successful study, as the results will only be accurate if the information is gathered from the group in which the study is targeted at. In the survey I participated in, the researchers were looking for information from a very wide representative sample, they wanted to collect as much information from as many Penn State students as possible. This eliminates the possible problem of  being unable to reach the representative group that they were interested in from arising, because the online survey could only be accessed by Penn State students. This is also an example of random sampling, which gives each member of a population, in this case the Penn State community, an equal chance of being selected for this study. The survey first started by asking me questions such as: how often I become ill, what medications I take when illness occurs, if I visit a medical professional right away, and if I ask their doctor for an antibiotic immediately. Then, I was instructed to watch a video about antibiotics that showed how and when to use them appropriately. The video also showed how they can be harmful if I use them when it is not necessary. After the video, I was presented with more questions based on the video, to test my knowledge based off of the information they presented to me. I was then asked questions that were very similar to the ones I was asked before I watched the video, that regarded my personal preferences about if and when I think I should take antibiotics to cure different types of infections. The survey did not use words that would be difficult for students to understand, and was based on a topic that every student is familiar with and has some previous knowledge on. In a survey, it is common for the wording of questions in a survey to lead the representatives to answer a question in a certain way. This survey worded questions in a very straight-foward manner and allowed for students to answer openly and honestly. This study was not trying to sway their participants in a certain direction, but rather collect their knowledge about antibiotics, and educate them. Also, in case any students were unfamiliar with how antibiotics worked, they provided information in the video and even included information that students may not have previously known.