Survey Research

A popular research method in media and communication studies and the social sciences, survey is a technique for collecting information directly from respondents with the use of a questionnaire. Specifically, respondents are asked to indicate concrete answers to survey items carefully designed by the researchers in accordance with their research needs. To successfully carry out a survey, researchers need to design the questionnaire in a concise, logical, and unbiased way; minimize the survey errors (e.g., biases in measurement and sampling) as much as possible; and administer the survey in an appropriate and efficient manner. This entry provides an overview of survey research, including its uses, design and administration, its time dimension, and its strengths and limitations.