Survey data is the resultant data that was collected from a sample of respondents that took a survey. The data is detailed information gathered from a target audience about a specific topic. There are many ways for collecting survey data. The researcher may either use primary data or secondary data.
Primary data is data collection by a researcher from first hand sources like interviews or experiments.
Secondary data is data collected by someone else other than the primary user. Some sources of secondary data include information collected by the government, censuses or data collected for a different research.
Those are some of the ways a researcher is able to do his or her survey.
Survey data just like anything else had its' pros and cons. Let’s look at some of the merits and demerits of survey data.
Things to consider while carrying our surveys:
Good statistical significance. Ensure you are using good sampling techniques to cover a high proportion of the population and get representative and not biased results.
Be considerate: When conducting a survey all you need to spend money on is the production of the questionnaires. If you need a large sample of the general public you can grant an incentive in cash or in kind. It is courteous considering the people helped you with gathering the information you needed.
Quality Control. Questions in surveys should undergo carefully scrutiny and standardisation providing uniform definitions to all the subjects who are to answer the questionnaire.
Controversial issues. Questions that may have controversies issues may not be answered by properly by the participants because they may elicit emotional reactions hence conceal information.
Flexible design. The researcher has to maintain the same method of conducting the survey from the very beginning to the end in order to have accurate results.
HURU Schools' Data Science course will help you design representative surveys that gather useful information that can then be used to generate insights.
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