Survey Paper in Housing Disrepair

Gabriela Martinez

RES/341

February 7, 2012

Biman Ghosh

University of Phoenix

How the Proposed Survey Addresses the Problem Statement The survey items are constructed to establish the quality of life, housing cleanliness and health issues associated with the target population. This has been done by aligning the survey questions with the objectives of the research (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2003). These objectives are: to establish the level of cleanliness of the target population, to determine the effect of low income on quality of housing and housing disrepair in the target population, and to determine effect of cleanliness and pest infestation on health of the target population.
Appropriateness and Level of Measurement of Survey Items The survey items are appropriate for this study as they will easily describe the targeted characteristics of the entire target population. The survey items are feasible for administration to a large sample, which will make the data collected to be statistically significant. Also, the questions will allow standardization, which will make measurement easy and precise (Maxwell, 1996). Standardization will be done through adopting uniform definitions of variables. The first survey item concerning the ethnicity of the respondent is in the nominal level of measurement. The importance of this question is primarily to gather the demographic data of the respondent. This question will enable the researcher to confirm if he/she is reaching the target population. The second questionnaire about the number of children in the family is in the ratio level of measurement. This question is crucial to get the family size, compare the quality of housing between large and small families, and the cleanliness level between large and small families. The third survey item about the means of income of the respondent is in the nominal scale. This item is to gather demographic data of the respondent. The fourth survey item on the average yearly income of the respondent is on the ratio scale of measurement. This question will establish the average income level of the target population, thus allow comparison with the quality of housing. It will also confirm the supposition that most of this population is low income. The fifth item on the number of rooms per house is on the interval level of measurement. This question aims to establish the size of the house, and, thus, compare it to the family size. This will lead to conclusions on the quality of life of the respondents. The sixth item is on the frequency of repairing the house and is measured on the ratio level. This item aims at correlating the effect of disrepair on quality of life and health issues of the occupants of a house. The seventh and eighth items on the presence of cockroaches and rodents in the house are on the ratio level of measurement. These items aim at establishing any correlation between level of cleanliness, rodents’ infestation and health issues of families. The ninth item about cleanliness of the house is on the ordinal scale. The question is aimed to be filled following the researcher's observation of the amount of grease around the stoves, dirty dishes and overflowing trash, dust, dirt, and food particles on the floors and behind cabinets, appliances, or furniture. The tenth survey item on the health issues experienced by the family is on the ratio level. This item aims at establishing the health issues burdening families, and as a result, correlates this information with the level of cleanliness.
Ethical Implications when Constructing Survey Items The following ethical principles have been observed while constructing the survey items.
Beneficence: This refers to the minimization of health harms and maximization of benefits to the respondents of the research. This has been taken in account in developing this research as the questions asked will not be emotionally threatening to the respondent. In addition, there will be no experiments involved with the respondents whatsoever.
Justice: This refers to the principle of achieving fair balance between those bearing the burdens of the research and those benefiting from it. This has been taken into account as the survey items will enable the establishment of problems affecting the target population, and thus come up with recommendations on how to solve these problems. The recommendations will be communicated to the respondents.
Informed consent: Before answering the questions, respondents will be informed of what the research is about, what are the implications of their participation and their right to or not to participate in the research.
Confidentiality: The survey items have been constructed taking into account confidentiality of the respondents. The respondents will not be required to give their names or any identity whatsoever. The respondents will be informed of this principle in order to make them participate more freely.
Fabrication: This refers to the unethical practice of coming up with data or results without doing the actual research. The survey questions have been constructed to make the researcher go to the actual ground and carry out the research.
Autonomy: The survey questions are constructed in such a way to allow the respondents to answer the questions as they deem appropriate. No effort whatsoever has been made to bias the way respondents will answer questions.

Problem Statement The quality of housing and health issues of low income Latinos in Salinas, California are not yet established. Everybody needs good health, and good housing and cleanliness is essential for this to be realized. Latino families in Salinas are mainly low income depending solely on agriculture. Lack of adequate income negatively affects housing and cleanliness (Bradman, Chevrier, Tager & Lipsett, 2005). This research seeks to establish the quality of housing and the health issues that low income Latino families are burdened with while being farm workers. This will be done using the survey design to establish the extent of housing disrepair and cockroach and rodent infestation in Latino homes in Salinas.
Survey Questions 1. What is the ethnicity of the respondent? 2. How many children does the respondent have? 3. What is the main means of income of the respondent? 4. What is the average yearly income of the respondent? 5. How many rooms does the house have? 6. How often is the house repaired? 7. Does the house have cockroaches? 8. Does the house have rodents? 9. On a scale of three, what is the level of cleanliness of the house? 10. Does the family experience health problems such as respiratory problems like coughing, wheezing, and asthma associated issues?

References
Bradman, A., Chevrier, J., Tager, I., & Lipsett, M. (2005). Association of housing disrepair indicators with cockroach and rodent infestations in a cohort of pregnant Latina women and their children. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(12), 1795-801. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/222642001?accountid=35812
Maxwell, J.A. (1996).Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mugenda, O. M. & Mugenda, A. G. (2003). Research methods: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. Nairobi: ACTS Press.