Surveys and questionnaires have become a useful tool in marketing and research. Surveys can be used for a variety of reasons and the structure of the survey can direct it in a particular direction. The anonymousness that surveys can allow brings a larger pool of participants to the survey group. Allowing the answers to remain anonymous allows participants to answer questions more truthfully, whereas if their name was attached to an answer, they may hesitate and choose a more socially correct answer in the fear of judgement or disapproval. Although anonymous, surveys can still ask questions in order to define a particular age group, race, or subject pool which can help infer the data of the results. The ability to be anonymous in a survey separates surveys from other research methods such as interviews because it is easier to obtain data from a larger, more honest pool of participants.

Surveys allow participants to tell the truth on their opinions and views of the world. While designing a survey, I may have my own personal distinct view on a topic and I may construct the questions in a way that lead participants to answer how I want them to by using certain wording techniques and placing the questions in a certain order. If conducting a survey, I would not expect any of my participants to share the same world views with me although I may be able to word the questions in a way to persuade the participants to answer the same way I did; surveys can be manipulative.

Being in a society such as we are now, every can have their own, distinct views on the world and problems occurring within it. Race, ethnicity, and social class have a clear impact on an individual’s world view. New Jersey and states bordering us, such as New York, problems with police brutality have been rising in the communities. Although unjust for everyone, black or African American individuals are more likely to be concerned on this issue than other races. An article from nj.com explains how the black community feels that they are more likely to be punched by a cop. This issue would be of a greater significance to certain races than other and answers may vary about the severity of the situation and the importance of it. Black individuals see the world differently than let’s say non-Hispanic white individuals. Ethnicity has also separated society into groups based on their culture such as their traits, language, religion, or diet. With this separation comes different world views as each group has different values. Social class is another distinction that can alter the way that individuals view world topics. Unemployment in the US and in the world are a concern to all, but primarily a concern to the poor and lower social classes. The rich, wealthy class can rely on their trust funds and money to support them, while the homeless get fired from their job for no specific reason and can no longer afford items such as food. If asked, lower social classes would be more concerned about unemployment rates because it personally affects them. Race, ethnicity, and social class are three socioeconomic statuses that can affect an individual’s world view.

Being that each individual can have their own opinions on which worldly topic is most important, or least important, surveys would be able to reflect that. Surveys speak for the people and show how they feel. You can provide ten people that a very similar with the same ten questions and still come out with ten different results because every individual has their own values and opinion. Surveys are a very useful method to conduct research and analyze data.