Dixon, Matt. “Is It Time to Ditch the Post-Call Survey?” ICMI, August 7, 2019. https://www.icmi.com/resources/2019/is-it-time-to-ditch-the-post-call-survey.

No matter the topic, surveys allow for people to express their opinions so that they impact results of a survey and/or questionnaire.

Despite their expected brevity, surveys are an easy way to get access to so many individuals’ thoughts and opinions, especially if they do not wish to vocalize them publicly.  They are tools used to gauge public opinion regarding certain topics. The process of using surveys is easy and accessible to many due to the different forms they take.  Digital?  Written?  Over the phone? There are so many types of surveys with numerous ways to conduct them in order to receive the most accurate and useful data as possible in the most efficient ways.

Nowadays, surveys are all around us whether we realize it or not, whether they be disguised in an email asking us about a recent visit to a store or through the credit card machines while we are paying for our merchandise on the lines of department stores.  Engines such as Survey Monkey and Google Forms provide easy access to partaking in a survey about any given topic.  Traditional research methods tend to be longer and more tedious while surveys typically produce immediate results that are later used for further analysis to determine a general consensus. To construct a successful and effective survey, one should be aware of the power of psychology.  The diction is a key factor in expressing the meaning and intent of the question so that the same question is understood by all participants to have the same meaning.^1  If people are asked questions in a biased manner, their answers will most likely be reflective of that.  For this reason, it is important to avoid prejudice as well as ask a variety of questions while also being mindful of being simple.  Asking complex questions with longer phrases may mislead participants while answering.

“3 Essential Ingredients of Survey and Feedback Campaigns.” Iterable, November 26, 2019. https://iterable.com/blog/3-

essential-ingredients-survey-feedback-campaigns/.

It is imperative to ask questions in a non-biased way so that participants are not influenced to answer a certain way or with a certain response.  I do not expect for those who take the survey to share the exact same world views as me; however, with whatever answers they provide, I hope for them to be truthful.  In a way, surveys are more personal where individuals have the liberty to voice their opinions and perspectives regarding sometimes crucial matters in society; anonymous surveys give individuals the liberty to express their innermost opinions while not attaching their names to their feelings, and hopefully, eliciting honesty.  We may answer the survey with the same responses, or we may not answer the survey with the same responses.

Gender, race, social class, and other demographic factors do impact the ways in which individuals see the world because we all experience things differently. No two people are exactly alike, so it is expected for us to undergo experiences differently with differing perceptions.  Certain groups and their demographics are susceptible to particular experiences. For example, minority groups experience more prejudice and discrimination than those in the majority. As a result, people form their personal values and beliefs upon the experiences they endure throughout their lifetimes. This is not to say, however, that individuals in the same group cannot express varying opinions.  Each person undergoes different experiences. Because of this, I do expect these differences to be reflected in the survey responses, although demographics are not the only varying factors. Oftentimes, the results of surveys may reveal surprising results, so considering this, one cannot be too sure about the results before actually analyzing them. Surveys have proven effective and continue to be a tool used to generate a general consensus among groups of people. For this reason along with so many others, social sciences are to be analyzed and studied time and time again due to the complexity of matters and inconclusiveness of answers. As discussed, many of the matters dealt with in society have gray areas, so one can never conclude a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to complex issues, which is when surveys become so vital and valuable in climates such as today’s.

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Footnotes

1 “Questionnaire Design.” Pew Research Center Methods. Pew Research Center. Accessed 

February 3, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/methods/u-s-survey-research/questionnaire-design/.

Bibliography

“3 Essential Ingredients of Survey and Feedback Campaigns.” Iterable, November 26, 2019. https://iterable.com/blog/3-

essential-ingredients-survey-feedback-campaigns/.

Dixon, Matt. “Is It Time to Ditch the Post-Call Survey?” ICMI, August 7, 2019. https://www.icmi.com/resources/2019/is-it-         

time-to-ditch-the-post-call-survey.

“Questionnaire Design.” Pew Research Center Methods. Pew Research Center. Accessed 

February 3, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/methods/u-s-survey-research/questionnaire-design/.