NSVRC Evaluation Toolkit Case Studies

Conducting a Statewide Survey Focused on Risk and Protective Factors

(Based on personal communication with Dori Pynnonen Hopkins, PhD, Evaluation 
Specialist, & Sara McGirr, PhD, Research Scientist, Michigan Public Health 
Institute [MPHI], February 2020)

Project Description
Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI) evaluates the Rape Prevention & Education 
(RPE) efforts in Michigan, which are funded by the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC). The team at MPHI conducted a statewide survey focused on 
risk and protective factors for sexual violence perpetration in Winter 2018/2019. 
Over a thousand Michigan residents took part in a survey that will be used to focus 
strategies to prevent sexual assault, abuse, and harassment in the state. 
This project also allowed the evaluation team to test potential survey items 
for future evaluations. It provides a baseline for comparison should Michigan be 
able to repeat the survey in the future.

Approach

After conducting a review of the literature and secondary data sources to see what 
other state and national data existed (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance [YRBS], 
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System [BRFSS], National Crime Victim Survey 
[NCVS], American Community Survey [ACS], National Intimate Partner and Sexual 
Violence Survey [NISVS]), the team decided to focus on the following risk and 
protective factors: 

Connectedness (to neighborhood, workplace, place of worship, and family)

Economic Supports (access to paid family leave and impacts of childcare on economic 
choices) 

Social Norms (related to consent and gender)

Support for Survivors (rape myth acceptance, perceived support of justice system 
and peers, and intention to support survivors and speak up about sexual assault)

Validated questionnaires from campus climate inventories and research in related fields 
were used and adapted for the survey design. After receiving Institutional Review Board 
approval and settling on a contract with a survey contractor, a random sample of 15,000 
households were sent an invitation letter and a paper survey. Participants also had the 
option of completing the survey online. If the sampled address did not complete the 
survey, a final reminder letter (with the URL to the survey) and hardcopy survey were 
mailed approximately four weeks later. A $10 incentive was offered for survey completion. 
Households in areas heavily populated by African Americans were oversampled, in hopes of 
recruiting a sufficient sample of this second-largest racial group to allow for statistical 
comparison with white Michiganders. The response rate was 8.66%. Over 1087 individuals 
(88%) completed at least 90% of the survey, and 749 (60%) individuals completed all 
questions. The oversampling of African Americans was successful, as the proportion 
of surveys received from this population resembled the proportion of African 
Americans living in the state. The team worked closely with a survey consultant to weight 
the data according to census information.

The team produced an initial report with the survey outputs and created a data-sharing 
policy and request form so that researchers and public health practitioners can use this 
data in ways to benefit their own work.

Lessons Learned

The team initially envisioned success as the survey data being used to inform sexual violence 
prevention programming efforts in Michigan, as well as being made available and useful 
for other researchers and data-savvy practitioners. Just months after a dissemination 
website for the data report and action resources was established, multiple researchers 
requested access to the survey data to publish content/contribute to the knowledge base, 
and several partners want to adapt the survey protocol for youth and other communities 
around the state. The keys to this success are found in the lessons learned below. 
For those that are excited about the possibility of conducting a survey in their 
state or territory, here are some lessons learned:

Time. It is important to plan that everything will take much longer than you expect.
 
Data duplication. It is tough to avoid duplicating data while still using validated survey 
items and scales.

Intergroup analysis. If you want to look at differences between groups, you must plan in 
advance to ensure your sample will be sufficient to do so.

Usefulness. You have to get stakeholders invested in the survey, which sometimes involves 
convincing them of its usefulness at many points along the way. 

Share the expenses. Survey research can be incredibly expensive. Consider ideas for how to 
leverage special funds and/or encourage partners to support it financially. (Note that the 
survey can be scaled up or down depending on the resources and partnership.)

Consultant communication. Be sure to use clear communication with your vendor and set up 
expectations from the beginning.  

Teamwork. Work with LOTS of advisors! See tip below for ideas. You will appreciate this 
effort later in the game.

And lastly, remember that there is a steep learning curve. Doing a statewide survey is not 
the same as what we usually tackle as evaluators.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Sexual violence indicators: Guide & 
database (Webpage). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 
https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/apps/sexual-violence-indicators-guide-database/database

McGirr, S., Pynnonen Hopkins, D., Fluegeman, S. & Stechschulte, A. (2019). Data Sharing 
Policy for the Michigan Sexual Violence Prevention Survey. Center for Healthy Communities, MPHI. 
https://www.mphi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Data-Sharing-Policy-for-MI-Sexual-Violence-Prevention-Survey-FINAL-.pdf
 
McGirr, S., Pynnonen Hopkins, D., Fluegeman, S. & Stechschulte, A. (2019). The Michigan 
Sexual Violence Prevention Survey Report. Center for Healthy Communities, MPHI. 
https://www.mphi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Michigan-Sexual-Violence-Prevention-Survey-Report_Accessible_FINAL.pdf

RALIANCE. (2018). Where we’re going and where we’ve been: making the case for preventing 
sexual violence. Berkley Media Studies Group. https://www.raliance.org/report_posts/where-were-going-and-where-weve-been-making-the-case-for-preventing-sexual-violence/

This publication was supported by the Grant or Cooperative Agreement Number 1 NUF2CE002510-01-00, 
funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility 
of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.

© 2020 National Sexual Violence Resource Center. All rights reserved.                   

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