Survey (human research)

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In research of human subjects, a survey is a list of questions aimed at extracting specific data from a particular group of people. Surveys may be conducted by phone, mail, via the internet, and sometimes face-to-face on busy street corners or in malls. It is used to increase knowledge in fields such as social research and demography. It is used to increase knowledge in fields such as social research and demography.

Types

Census

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A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.[1] The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses include agriculture, business, and traffic censuses. The United Nations defines the essential features of population and housing censuses as "individual enumeration, universality within a defined territory, simultaneity and defined periodicity", and recommends that population censuses be taken at least every 10 years.

Other household surveys

Other surveys than the census may explore characteristics in households, such as fertility, family structure, and demographics.

Major household surveys include:

Opinion poll

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November 3, 1948: President Harry S. Truman, shortly after being elected as President, smiles as he holds up a copy of the Chicago Tribune issue predicting his electoral defeat. This image has become iconic of the consequences of, and bad polling data.

An opinion poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence intervals.

Methodology

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A single survey is made of at least a sample (or full population in the case of a census), a method of data collection (e.g., a questionnaire) and individual questions or items that become data that can be analyzed statistically. A single survey may focus on different types of topics such as preferences (e.g., for a presidential candidate), opinions (e.g., should abortion be legal?), behavior (smoking and alcohol use), or factual information (e.g., income), depending on its purpose. Since survey research is almost always based on a sample of the population, the success of the research is dependent on the representativeness of the sample with respect to a target population of interest to the researcher. That target population can range from the general population of a given country to specific groups of people within that country, to a membership list of a professional organization, or list of students enrolled in a school system (see also sampling (statistics) and survey sampling).

History

The most famous public survey in America is the national census. Held every ten years, the census attempts to count all persons, and also obtain demographic data about factors such as household income, ethnicity, and religion. The most recent survey was conducted in 2010, the results of which are available online at http://www.census.gov/2010census/data/

Nielsen ratings are another example of public surveys. Nielsen ratings track media-viewing habits (radio, television, internet, print) the results of which are used to make decisions by and about the mass media. Some Nielsen ratings localize the data points to give marketing firms more specific information with which to target customers. Demographic data is also used to understand what influences work best to market consumer products, political campaigns, etc.

See also

References

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  4. Integrated Household Survey
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  6. Understandingsociety.org.uk

Further reading

  • Schaff, Philip, The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. III (2006) http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc13/htm/TOC.htm
  • Wilbur Schramm, "The Beginnings of Communication Study in America: A Personal Memoir", ed. Steven H. Chaffee and Everett M. Rogers. (1997) Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
  • Sunstein, Cass, Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge.(2006) Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.
  • Tapscott, Don & Anthony Williams, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. (2006) Penguin, New York.

External links