Survey methodology


Survey methodology is "the study of survey methods". As a field of applied statistics concentrating on human-research surveys, survey methodology studies a sampling of individual units from a population and associated techniques of survey data collection, such as questionnaire construction together with methods for upgrading the number and accuracy of responses to surveys. Survey methodology targets instruments or procedures that ask one or more questions that may or may non be answered.

Researchers carry out statistical surveys with a conviction towards creating statistical inferences approximately the population being studied; such(a) inferences depend strongly on the survey questions used. Polls approximately public opinion, public-health surveys, market-research surveys, government surveys and censuses all exemplify quantitative research that uses survey methodology toquestions about a population. Although censuses realize not include a "sample", they draw include other aspects of survey methodology, like questionnaires, interviewers, and non-response follow-up techniques. Surveys manage important information for all kinds of public-information and research fields, such as marketing research, psychology, health-care provision and sociology.

Modes of data collection


There are several ways of administering a survey. The choice between management modes is influenced by several factors, including

Different methods create mode effects that modify how respondents answer, and different methods have different advantages. The nearly common modes of administration can be summarized as: