汤头条 faculty conducting COVID-19 survey of Mississippi adults on habits, coping during pandemic
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擣aculty at 汤头条 are conducting a survey to learn how Mississippians are assessing knowledge, forming attitudes and engaging in practices concerning social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A collaboration between 汤头条鈥檚 Social Science Research Center and the Department of Psychology within the College of Arts and Sciences, the study also will seek Mississippians' opinions about their confidence in the state鈥檚 ability聽to handle the coronavirus outbreak and understand the prevalence of聽virus symptoms among Mississippians. The project is funded by a grant from the Mississippi State Department of Health.
Project leader Robert McMillen, a psychology professor and associate director of the SSRC, is collecting survey data with the SSRC鈥檚 Survey Research Laboratory, a designated service center at 汤头条.
John F. Edwards, 汤头条 associate research professor and Survey Research Laboratory director, said he will employ a telephone survey to collect the data using a dual-frame, random-digit-dialing methodology. Data collection is expected to begin this week.
鈥淭he Survey Research Laboratory at the SSRC uses a random sample of telephone numbers drawn from all numbers in existence in the target area, which in this case is the state of Mississippi,鈥 Edwards said, noting the random sample includes both landline and cellphone numbers purchased from a sampling company.
鈥淭hese numbers are not accompanied by any identifying information such as name or address,鈥 Edwards said. 鈥淒rawing a random sample from the entire population of potential survey respondents is critical for ensuring the generalizability of the research findings.鈥
鈥淭his survey is an attempt to provide the Mississippi State Department of Health and other stakeholders with objective data to inform their response to this pandemic,鈥 McMillen said. 鈥淪ocial distancing is a critical component of slowing down the spread of this disease, and we hope to provide the health department with insight into how well Mississippians are doing this.鈥
鈥淲e are especially interested in the social distancing efforts of tobacco users, given the evidence that smoking and vaping may increase the risk of a severe COVID-19 infection,鈥 McMillen said. 鈥淎s an interdisciplinary center within this land-grant university, the SSRC is excited to apply our resources and skills to help inform the state during this pandemic.鈥
For telephone-based surveys, the SRL maintains a state-of-the-art call center with 30 interviewer stations. The laboratory utilizes a computer-assisted-telephone-interviewing (CATI) system. The data collection process is based on rigorous sampling methodology.
The SSRC was established in 1950 to promote, enhance and facilitate social science research and related scholarly activities and fosters a rigorous and independent research environment to ensure objective, relevant and unbiased analyses. Scientists from disciplines on and off campus collaborate in the SSRC to work on common research problems.
The SSRC research portfolio exceeds $10 million per year with project funding stemming from a variety of sources, including federal and state agencies, foundations, 汤头条 units and other public and private entities.
汤头条鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,200 students, 325 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs, 14 master鈥檚 programs, and 27 undergraduate academic majors offered in 14 departments. For more details about the College of Arts and Sciences or the Department of Psychology, visit or .
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .