SURVEYING INFORMATION 

Survey: Definition

A Survey is defined as a research method used for collecting data from a pre-defined group of respondents to gain information and insights on various topics of interest.Surveys have a variety of purposes and can be carried out in many ways depending on the methodology chosen and the objectives to be achieved.

Types of Survey

Now that we know what a survey is, let us understand the different types of surveys. Surveys can be classified in different ways, as mentioned earlier, depending upon the frequency at which they are administered and ways in which they are deployed. There are other types of survey like random sample survey (to understand public opinion or attitude) and self-selected type of surveys. You will read more about types of a survey in the following paragraphs. 

Types of survey based on deployment methods:

1. Online surveys: One of the most popular types of survey is online survey. With technology advancing many folds with each passing day, online survey is becoming more popular. This survey consists of survey questions that can be easily deployed to the respondents online via email or they can simply access the survey if they have an internet connection. These surveys are easy to design and simple to deploy. Respondents are given ample time and space to respondent to answer these surveys and so researchers can expect unbiased responses.  They are less expensive as compared to traditional surveys and data can be collected and analyzed quickly.

2. Paper surveys: As the name suggests, this survey uses the traditional paper and pencil approach. Many would believe that paper surveys are a thing of past. However, they are quite handy when it comes to field research and data collection. These surveys can go where computers, laptops or other handheld devices cannot go.

There is a flipside to it too, this survey type is the most expensive method of data collection. It includes deploying a large number of human resources along with time and money.

3. Telephonic Surveys: These surveys are conducted usually over telephones. Respondents are asked questions related to the research topic by researcher. These surveys are time-consuming and sometimes non-conclusive, as the success of such surveys dependents on how many people answer the phone and would want to invest their time in answering questions over the telephone.

4. One-to-One interviews: One-to-one interview helps researchers gather information or data directly from a respondent. It’s a qualitative research method and depends on the knowledge and experience of a researcher to frame and ask relevant questions one after the other to collect meaningful insights from the interview. These interviews can last from 30 minutes up to a few hours.

Learn more: Quantitative Research

Types of survey based on the frequency at which they are administered:

1. Cross-sectional surveys: Cross-sectional surveys are those surveys that are administered to a small sample from a larger population within a small time frame. This type of survey offers a researcher a quick summary of what respondents think at that given time. These surveys are short and quick to answer and can measure opinion in one particular situation.

For example, consider hypothetically, a study related to breast cancer was conducted in America and a sample was chosen to obtain cross-sectional data. This data indicated that breast cancer was most prevalent in women of African-American origin. This data was obtained at one point in time. Now, if the researcher wants to dwell deeper in research, he/she can deploy longitudinal survey.

Learn more: Cross-sectional Study

2. Longitudinal surveys: Longitudinal surveys are those surveys that help researchers to make an observation and collect data over an extended period of time. There are three main types of longitudinal survey: trend surveys, panel surveys, cohort surveys.

Trend surveys are deployed by researchers to understand the shift or transformation in the thought process of respondents over a period of time. These surveys are administered to understand how people’s inclination change with time.

Another longitudinal survey type is panel survey . As the name suggests unlike trend survey, these surveys are administered to the same set or group of people over the years. Panel surveys are expensive in nature and researchers to try to stick to their panel to gather unbiased opinions.

The third type of longitudinal survey is cohort survey. In this type of survey, people are categorized on meeting certain similar criteria and characteristics. It is not necessary that the same people will form a group, however, people forming a group should have certain similarities.

Learn more: Longitudinal Study

3. Retrospective survey: Retrospective survey is a type of survey in which respondents are asked to report events from the past. By deploying this kind of survey researchers can gather data based on past experiences and beliefs of people. This way they can save the cost and time required, unlike longitudinal survey.

SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS 

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