In statistics, survey methodology is the field that studies the sampling of individuals from a population with a view towards making statistical inferences about the population using the sample. Polls about public opinion, such as political beliefs, are reported in the news media in democracies. Other types of survey are used for scientific purposes. Surveys provide important information for all kinds of research fields, e.g., marketing research, psychology, health professionals and sociology. A survey may focus on different topics such as preferences (e.g., for a presidential candidate), behavior (smoking and drinking behavior), or factual information (e.g., income), depending on its purpose. Since survey research is always based on a sample of the population, the success of the research is dependent on the representativeness of the population of concern (see also sampling (statistics) and survey sampling).
Survey methodology seeks to identify principles about the design, collection, processing, and analysis of surveys in connection to the cost and quality of survey estimates. It focuses on improving quality within cost constraints, or alternatively, reducing costs for a fixed level of quality. Survey methodology is both a scientific field and a profession. Part of the task of a survey methodologist is making a large set of decisions about thousands of individual features of a survey in order to improve it.
The most important methodological challenges of a survey methodologist include making decisions on how to:
- Identify and select potential sample members.
- Contact sampled individuals and collect data from those who are hard to reach (or reluctant to respond).
- Evaluate and test questions.
- Select the mode for posing questions and collecting responses.
- Train and supervise interviewers (if they are involved).
- Check data files for accuracy and internal consistency.
- Adjust survey estimates to correct for identified errors.
Read more about Survey Methodology: Selecting Samples, Modes of Data Collection, Response Formats, Nonresponse Reduction, Interviewer Effects
Famous quotes containing the words survey and/or methodology:
“In a famous Middletown study of Muncie, Indiana, in 1924, mothers were asked to rank the qualities they most desire in their children. At the top of the list were conformity and strict obedience. More than fifty years later, when the Middletown survey was replicated, mothers placed autonomy and independence first. The healthiest parenting probably promotes a balance of these qualities in children.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)
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—Paul Feyerabend (1924–1994)