Describe survey and the two main types of surveys

Welcome, researchers! This section equips you with the tools to navigate the world of Quantitative Methods, a powerful approach to research that relies on numerical data and statistical analysis. Quantitative methods offer valuable insights into trends, relationships, and patterns within populations.

According to Kerlinger (1973), survey research involves the studying of large and small populations through selecting and studying samples chosen from the populations, to discover the relative incidence, distribution and interrelations of sociological and psychological variables. In other words,

Surveys can provide a quick, inexpensive and accurate means of obtaining information from a large group of people. If you want to know the opinions, attitudes and perceptions of respondents, the survey is an appropriate method of collecting data. Besides, describing surveys can also be used to explain the relationship and differences between variables. The term sample survey is often used because a representative sample of the target population is used. The survey method is widely used in the social sciences, education, business and medicine. In order to serve these different needs, there are two main types of surveys that can be conducted (see Figure 3.1).

                                                                           Figure 3.1: Two types of surveys

Remember, the type of survey used will depend on the objectives of the study. If the study aims to get a snapshot of opinions and practices, then the cross-sectional survey would be most appropriate. If the objective is to compare differences in opinion and practices over time, then the longitudinal survey would be the obvious choice. Now, let’s watch this video on the two main survey types: descriptive surveys that capture current characteristics and analytical surveys that examine relationships between variables.