Survey (human research)
A survey is a list of questions aimed for extracting specific data from a particular group of people. Researchers use these tools to gather knowledge in fields such as social research and demography. Psychologists and sociologists often employ surveys to analyze behavior patterns within communities. Media organizations utilize them to evaluate political candidates or assess public health officials. Advertising and marketing directors rely on the results to guide campaign strategies. Healthcare professionals including physicians, nurses, and physical therapists participate in studies about clinical problems. A single survey consists of a predetermined set of questions given to a sample. With a representative sample, researchers can describe the attitudes of the population from which the sample was drawn. They compare the attitudes of different populations as well as look for changes in attitudes over time. Good sample selection allows one to generalize the findings from the sample to the population. This generalization remains the whole purpose of survey research. Survey questions must not be biased by using suggestive words. Biased wording prevents accurate results in a survey.
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a specific given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term applies mostly to national population and housing censuses. Other common censuses include agriculture, business, and traffic counts. The United Nations defines essential features of population and housing censuses as individual enumeration, universality within a defined territory, simultaneity and defined periodicity. They recommend that population censuses be taken at least every 10 years. Surveys differ because they explore characteristics in households without counting everyone. Household surveys with at least 10,000 participants exist globally. The General Household Survey conducted in private households in Great Britain uses a sample of 9,731 households in the 2006 survey. The Generations and Gender Survey collected at least one wave of surveys in 19 countries. An average of 9,000 respondents participated per country in that program. The National Survey of Family Growth surveyed 22,682 interviews during the 2006-2010 period. Panel Study of Income Dynamics started with over 18,000 nationally representative individuals. That study involved more than 9,000 individuals as of 2009.
First there was the change from traditional paper-and-pencil interviewing to computer-assisted interviewing. Now face-to-face surveys, telephone surveys, and mail surveys are increasingly replaced by web surveys. Mobile data collection or mobile surveys is an increasingly popular method of data collection. Over 50% of surveys today are opened on mobile devices. These devices offer innovative ways to gather data and eliminate laborious data entry. By eliminating paper, mobile data collection can also dramatically reduce costs. One World Bank study in Guatemala found a 71% decrease in cost while using mobile data collection compared to the previous paper-based approach. Apart from high mobile phone penetration, further advantages include quicker response times. They allow researchers to reach previously hard-to-reach target groups. SMS surveys can reach any handset in any language and in any country. As they are not dependent on internet access, answers can be sent when convenient. SMS surveys can deliver 80% of responses in less than 2 hours. This often happens at much lower cost compared to face-to-face surveys due to eliminated travel expenses.
Online Internet surveys are becoming an essential research tool for marketing and social statistics research. According to ESOMAR online survey research accounted for 20% of global data-collection expenditure in 2006. Online consumer panels are used extensively for carrying out surveys but quality is considered inferior because panelists tend to be fatigued. Some studies found that measurement quality for questions in an online opt-in panel was very similar to the European Social Survey which is a face-to-face survey. Face-to-face and web surveys have quite similar levels of measurement quality according to probability-based studies. Telephone surveys were performing worse in those same comparisons. Employees preferred online survey approaches to the paper-and-pencil format in some studies. Response rates vary extremely from less than 1% in enterprise surveys with email invitations to almost 100% in specific membership surveys. Non-response patterns include lurking respondents and combinations of partial and item non-response. Response rates can be increased by offering monetary or other types of incentives to respondents. Contacting respondents several times helps as well. Keeping questionnaire difficulty low also improves participation. The entire data collection period is significantly shortened since all data can be collected and processed in little more than a month.
When two variables are related, one can make predictions for these two variables. However this does not mean causality exists between them. At this point it is not possible to determine a causal relationship between the two variables. Correlation does not imply causality. Path analysis is a statistical technique used with correlational data to identify mediator and moderator variables. A mediator variable explains the correlation between two variables while a moderator affects direction or strength. A spurious relationship occurs when relation between variables can be explained by a third variable. In survey research correlation coefficients might be affected by measurement error leading to wrongly estimated coefficients. Survey researchers accept respondents answers as true but caution remains necessary. Studies examining association between self-reports and actual behavior show link though positive is not always strong. Dishonesty is pronounced in some sex-related queries with men often amplifying their number of sex partners. Women tend to downplay and slash their true number in those same contexts. The value of collected data completely depends upon how truthful respondents are in their answers on questionnaires.
The Statistical Society of London pioneered the questionnaire in 1838. One committee prepared and printed a list of questions designed to elicit complete and impartial history of strikes. That marked the first written questionnaire of which there is any record. The most famous public survey in United States of America is the national census. Held every ten years since 1790, the census attempts to count all persons. It also obtains demographic data about factors such as age, ethnicity, and relationships within households. With application of probability sampling in the 1930s surveys became standard tool for empirical research. Nielsen ratings carried out since 1947 provide another example of public surveys in United States. Nielsen rating track media-viewing habits including radio television internet and print. Results used to make commissioning decisions by media companies. Some Nielsen ratings localize data points to give marketing firms more specific information. Demographic data helps understand what influences work best to market consumer products or political campaigns. Following invention of telephone survey used at least as early as 1940s development of Internet fostered online surveys. Web surveys emerged from this technological shift in late-20th century.
Common questions
What is a survey and how do researchers use it?
A survey is a list of questions aimed for extracting specific data from a particular group of people. Researchers use these tools to gather knowledge in fields such as social research and demography.
When was the first written questionnaire recorded by the Statistical Society of London?
The Statistical Society of London pioneered the questionnaire in 1838. One committee prepared and printed a list of questions designed to elicit complete and impartial history of strikes that marked the first written questionnaire of which there is any record.
How often does the United States hold its national census since 1790?
Held every ten years since 1790, the census attempts to count all persons. It also obtains demographic data about factors such as age, ethnicity, and relationships within households.
Why might respondents provide dishonest answers during surveys regarding sex-related queries?
Dishonesty is pronounced in some sex-related queries with men often amplifying their number of sex partners. Women tend to downplay and slash their true number in those same contexts.
Which country conducted a World Bank study showing mobile data collection reduced costs by 71%?
One World Bank study in Guatemala found a 71% decrease in cost while using mobile data collection compared to the previous paper-based approach. This method eliminates laborious data entry and dramatically reduces costs.