Survey Research and where it is used

In most works of literature, survey has been defined as the collection of facts and figures to gain insight about a specific subject, hence quantitative in nature.

Survey can also be qualitative especially when they are used to collect qualitative data. For example, when a researcher collects data from respondents using an open-ended questionnaire, they are simply gathering qualitative data which is very rich in information.

This post focuses on survey research that are objective and information are gathered using a probabilistic sampling method where each respondent has a non-zero chance of participating in the study. The good thing about this approach is that it helps researchers to generalize their findings to the entire population.

Where is it used:

Survey can be used in various fields, for instance

  • companies can use survey to collect data about a particular product so as to enhance their marketing strategies and enhance consumer preferences and interests;
  • politicians use opinion polls to measure the political perception and opinions about their citizens;
  • in academic discipline, surveys can be used to collect data on respondent’s attitude, beliefs, motivation, emotions etc. about a phenomenon.
  • the Bureau of Labor Statistics conduct survey to collect data on people’s income, the availability of jobs, and unemployment rates.
  • the record department of the police service uses survey to gather data about criminal events and measure people’s fear and concerns about crime.

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