Surveys

Surveys are, arguably, the most popular method for collecting data for evaluations. Surveys involve asking questions of specific individuals and obtaining their responses. The responses are usually tabulated or analyzed and presented as evaluation findings. Conducting a survey is a low-cost and relatively straightforward way to obtain data from many people in a short period of time. However, obtaining answers that accurately reflect the attitudes or behaviors of a study population is more difficult than it may seem on the surface. Fortunately, there has been a great deal of research on survey research methods in the past 20 years that can guide the collection of accurate data.

To develop a survey that will yield an accurate depiction of a study population for an evaluation, evaluators must ...