WHAT IS A SURVEY FOR? 5 FREQUENT USES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The survey is a data collection technique used to gather all kinds of information about a specific group of individuals.

Surveys are normally made up of a series of closed questions. This makes it a quick and inexpensive technique, especially useful when you need to get accurate data on many people.

Surveys can inquire about objective questions such as a company's income or subjective such as political opinions.

This makes it an extremely flexible technique applicable to a wide variety of settings.

Thanks to this it is used in different disciplines and for different purposes. It is applied for research in social sciences, marketing studies, electoral and public opinion polls, as well as for business and government affairs, among others.

What are the surveys for?

Public opinion polls

Systematic studies of public opinion are carried out by private polling firms to measure trends on certain issues.

They are interested in political issues such as the intention to vote for an election or opinion on matters of public interest such as bullfighting, animal experimentation or equal marriage.

These types of polls often have the power to predict election results despite their small margin of error. For this reason they have become important political instruments.

There are even those who claim that these polls are used to manipulate electoral results.

They claim that some voters tend to determine their voting intention based on the results of these polls.

Government surveys

These types of surveys are intended to gather information on a specific group of citizens.

It is used to measure the coverage of a service, evaluate living conditions or detect unemployment levels.

These polls often have a great influence on people's daily lives. This is due to the fact that, to a large extent, governments rely on its results to make policy decisions.

Market research

Surveys are also used in market research. In this case, they are used to identify consumer habits related to a specific product, whether it is already available in the market or is just about to be launched.

This type of survey allows you to know what is the demand for a product or the characteristics that the public expects in it.

This information serves as a guide to be more successful within a given market niche.

The survey is particularly useful in the field of entrepreneurship. When an entrepreneur does not have a lot of capital to carry out a comprehensive marketing study, the survey is an ideal resource due to its low cost.

Audience polls

Surveys are also applied to identify trends in television and radio audiences.

In this case, the interest lies in identifying the habits of viewers or listeners to determine which are the times and programs that have the largest audience.

This information is used to determine which are the most “valuable” times and programs.

According to these data, the price of advertising and the cost of royalties for the music used are established.

Social investigation

Within social research studies, surveys are also used to understand social phenomena.

In this case, it is used to identify the behaviors, attitudes, and opinions of a particular demographic. These behaviors are normally analyzed in relation to a specific social event.

For example, the social impact of the construction of a road through a town can be studied, on the social practices of a specific social group or on the effects of a government decision.

Advantages of surveys

Representativeness

Of all the data collection techniques, the survey is the one that allows you to obtain information from more people with less effort.

Answering a specific questionnaire is simple, it can be applied to a group of people simultaneously, it can be done anonymously and it only takes a few minutes. This means that many more people can be reached.

In addition, thanks to the technologies available today, it is possible to do them by phone or even by email. This facilitates a greater geographic scope of the sample.

For this reason, the results of surveys tend to be more representative of the reality of a population than other techniques such as the interview that only allow one person to be covered at a time.

Standardization

Surveys allow you to collect standardized information. In the questionnaires, the same questions are applied with limited options to a large group of people. This feature allows the results to be presented numerically.

Thanks to this quality, the analysis of information is very agile and precise because it does not allow many interpretations of reality.

Reliability

Well-applied surveys make it possible to collect reliable information. An adequate selection of the sample and a clear approach to the questions, allows obtaining accurate information.

One of the principles of the surveys is that if repeated, the results should be similar. Therefore, if this technique is applied after a while and different results are found, it can be assumed that a change has occurred.

Agility

In contrast to other data collection techniques, surveys are extremely agile. Closed questions are quick and easy to answer, therefore a survey only takes a few minutes to complete.

On the other hand, strategies that reduce time can be applied without compromising results. For example, applying it simultaneously to a large group of people or using technological resources such as email.

Low cost

This research method is one of the cheapest. Unlike other techniques, it does not require the presence of the researcher to be carried out, therefore you can save on hiring interviewers and travel.

On the other hand, the tools currently available to conduct surveys by telephone or online. These features further streamline the process while reducing budget by reducing scan time and cost of prints.

References

1. A dictionary of sociology. (1998). Survey. Recovered from: encyclopedia.com
2. Learn online. (SF). The social survey. Recovered from: aprendeenlinea.udea.edu.co
3. Debois, S. (2016). 9 Advantages and Disadvantages of Questionnaires. Recovered from: surveyanyplace.com
4. Survey Methods. (2011). Benefits and Weaknesses of Survey Research. Recovered from: surveymethods.com
5. The University of Auckland. (SF). Some Further Uses of Survey Methods. Recovered from: stat.auckland.ac.nz.