Dependent Variable Survey Questions

Seminar students,

If you are planning on doing the survey methodology, consider including a 'pure' dependent variable question (or questions). Remember - you can't ask any personal questions about what your subjects have done or experienced, so you need to stick with perception and opinion questions. Here are some examples:

(1) How many youth would you say occasionally engage in delinquent acts (meaning they break the law)?
___1 in 10 ___1 in 50 ___1 in 100 ___1 in 250


(2) How many youth would you say repeatedly engage in delinquent acts?
___1 in 10 ___1 in 50 ___1 in 100 ___1 in 250

(3) How many youth would you say engage in serious, violent delinquency? 
  ___1 in 10 ___1 in 50 ___1 in 100 ___1 in 250

OR:

(4) How many sex offenders would you say reoffend (commit another sex crime) after they are released from prison? ___1 in 10 ___1 in 50 ___1 in 100 ___1 in 250

(5) How many sex offenders would you say reoffend - specifically, commit another non-sex crime such as shoplifting or using drugs - after they are released from prison?
___1 in 10 ___1 in 50 ___1 in 100 ___1 in 250

OR:

(6) How many youth would you say occasionally physically bully other kids (e.g., push, shove, punch)? ___1 in 10 ___1 in 50 ___1 in 100 ___1 in 250

(7) How many youth would you say frequently physically bully other kids?
___1 in 10 ___1 in 50 ___1 in 100 ___1 in 250

(8) How many youth would you say are occasionally physically bullied by other kids (e.g., pushed, shoved, punched)?
___1 in 10 ___1 in 50 ___1 in 100 ___1 in 250

(9) How many youth would you say are repeatedly physically bullied by other kids?
___1 in 10 ___1 in 50 ___1 in 100 ___1 in 250

This question could also be tweaked to ask about other bullying types (verbal, emotional). You could also ask a short, open-ended question that asks about what specific behaviors they think constitute "delinquency" or "bullying" (for instance). Example:

(10) How would you describe bullying? What type of behaviors constitute bullying? ______________________________________________________________________________

The type of behavior you ask about will obviously depend on what your research question is.