The document discusses social survey methods, defining them as systematic collections of data about people in specific areas to improve social conditions. It outlines the history and evolution of social surveys, comparing them to social research, and providing various types and methods, including questionnaires and interviews. Additionally, it highlights the advantages and disadvantages of conducting social surveys, emphasizing their significance in policy-making and social welfare.

1. SOCIAL SURVEY METHODS
Presenters
Lintu Mathew
Bikash Debbarma
Moderator
Prof T. Gambhir Singh

2. Outline
• What
• When - History
• Some Main Forms of Social Surveys
• How- Social survey methods
• Summary

3. WHAT

4. Duncan Mitchell’s
“Dictionary of Sociology”’ defines social survey
this way: “The social survey is a systematic
collection of facts about people living in a
specific geographic, cultural, or administrative
area”

5. “A social survey is the collection of data
concerning the living and working conditions,
broadly speaking, of the people, in a given
community”
-Bogardus

6. “A social survey of a community is the scientific
study of its conditions and needs for the purpose
of presenting a constructive programme of social
advance”
-E.W. Burgess

7. Social Survey vs Social Research
“the social surveyor is interested in fact-finding in order
to improve the current social conditions of a specific
locality, the social researcher seeks to build a body of
tested general knowledge of mankind, a body of
knowledge timeless, space-less — which may lead to
formulation of theories and general laws”
Robert Staughton Lynd

8. The social surveys are concerned with specific
persons, specific places, specific problems, and
situations, whereas the social researchers are
inclined to make the more general and abstract
problems as their principal concern

9. History of Social Survey

10. • The Domesday Book - a census of England
conducted from 1085 to 1086 by William the
Conqueror
• Surveys for social research started with nineteenth
century social reform movements in the United
States and Great Britain

11. • Early surveys were descriptive and did not use
scientific sampling or statistical analyses
• Henry Mayhew published the 4 volume (1851 -
1864) London Labour and the London Poor based
on conversations with street people and
observations of daily life

12. • Charles Booth’s 17-volume (1889–1902) Labour and
Life of the People of London and B. Seebohm
Rowntree’s Poverty (1906) documented urban poverty
in England
• The Hull House Maps and Papers of 1895 and W. E. B.
DuBois’s Philadelphia Negro (1899) documented urban
conditions in the United States

13. • By the 1920s and 1930s,
researchers began to use statistical
sampling techniques, especially
after the Literary Digest debacle
• They created attitude scales and
indexes to measure opinions and
subjective beliefs in more precise,
quantitative ways

14. • Professional researchers displacing the social reformers
• Creation of several survey research centers: the Office
of Public Opinion Research at Princeton University, the
Division of Program Surveys in the U.S. Department of
Agriculture under Rensis Likert etc
• Survey research dramatically expanded during World
War II
• Publications including survey research accelerated in the
1950s to 1960s

15. • During the 1970s, computers first became
available; they provided the statistical analysis of
large-scale quantitative datasets
• Since the 1970s, quantitative survey research has
become huge in private industry, government,
and in many academic fields

16. In India
• Census conducted 15 times, as of 2011- every 10 years
• First complete census -1881, under British Viceroy
Lord Mayo
• Post 1949, it has been conducted by the Registrar
General and Census Commissioner of India under
the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India

17. • The National Family Health Survey
(NFHS) is a large-scale survey
conducted in a representative sample
of households throughout India
• Four rounds of the survey have been
conducted since the first survey in
1992-93

18. Some Main Forms of Social Surveys
• Official, Semi-official or Private surveys,
• Census survey or Sample surveys,
• General or Specialised surveys;
• Public or Confidential surveys;
• Regional or Adhoc surveys, etc

19. Census Survey & Sample Surveys:
• In census type of survey all the units of the
research universe are contacted for collection of
data
• In sample surveys, some representative units are
selected for collection of data
• Sample surveys saves time and money when
compare to census survey if the samples are truly
represent the population

20. General and Specific Surveys:
• General surveys - collecting information about
population, institutions or phenomena without any
specific objective or hypothesis
• Usually taken up by the government for providing
regular data on socio – economic problems e.g.
Census
• Specific surveys data collection based on certain
specified objectives or hypothesis

21. Primary and Secondary Surveys:
• Primary surveys are undertaken afresh and
the field workers collect data directly from the
field
• On the contrary, in the secondary surveys, the
surveyor only examines the facts which are
already available

22. Official, Semi-Official and Private Surveys
• Official survey is sponsored by the government
• Semi-official survey is the survey conducted by
universities, district boards, municipalities and
other similar semi-official institutions
• Private survey is a survey attempted by an
individual, institutions etc which are non
governmental agencies

23. Regular and Ad-Hoc Surveys:
• The regular surveys are conducted at regular
intervals without any discontinuity
• Ad-hoc surveys are conducted once for all
with some specific purpose without
regularity

24. Public and Confidential Surveys:
• The data of public surveys are of general
type and no secrecy is maintained in
collecting data or in publishing the findings
• Confidential surveys the data required are of
highly personal nature needing
confidentiality

25. Advantages of Social Survey
• Greater Objectivity
• Useful for Administrators & Policy Makers
• Social Change & Development

26. Disadvantages of Social Survey
• Specific Training is required
• Time Consuming
• More Costly
• Sampling Errors

27. Positivism
• Positivists see society as shaping the
individual and believe that ‘social facts’ shape
individual action
• Prefer quantitative methods such as social
surveys, structured questionnaires and official
statistics because these have good reliability
and representativeness

28. Interpretivism
• Interpretivists, or anti-positivists argue that
individuals are not just puppets who react to
external social forces
• An Interpretivist approach to social research
would be much more qualitative, using
methods such as unstructured interviews or
participant observation

30. SOCIAL SURVEY METHODS

31. Methods of Social Survey
1. Questionnaire Survey
2. Interview Survey
3. Mixed method

32. QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY
• Invented by Sir Francis Galton, 1870
• Research instrument consisting set of questions
• Capture responses from respondents
• Questionnaire may be structured or unstructured

33. Structured questionnaire
• The questions are
asked exactly as they
are written, in the
sequence, using the
same style, for all
interviews
• Mostly closed ended
Un-structured
questionnaire
• Mostly open ended
• Not necessary to arrange
in sequence
• Can probe
• Responses are not
predetermined in
advance

34. Types of questionnaire survey
1. Self-administered mail survey
2. Group-administered survey
3. Household drop-off survey
4. Online or web survey

35. Self-administered mail survey
Same questionnaire mailed to a large number
of people
Willing respondents can complete
Return it in postage-prepaid envelopes
Advantages
Unobtrusive, cheap,
coverage large sample,
needed low resources
Disadvantages
Low response, delay
returning, clarification
is impossible

36. Group-administered questionnaire survey
Respondents are brought together at a common
place and time
Each respondent asked to complete the survey
questionnaire
Enter their responses independently
 Easy to conduct (convenient for surveyor)
 High response rate can assured
 Clarification is possible of any question

37. Drop-off/Pick up Survey Method
Researcher drops off questionnaires for
respondents to complete in their own time
The completed forms are mailed back or
picked up again at some later date
Benefits over mail or interview survey
Increase response rate

38. By hand (Street) Questionnaire Method
• A set of question is
distributed among willing
respondents and ask to
response within a given
time (usually in
street/roads)
• Street intercept survey

39. Online or web survey
Respondents receive an e-mail request for
participation in the survey with a link
Survey questionnaire may be sent into email,
after completion can return via e-mail
Advantages
Inexpensive
Instant record
Easy to modified
Disadvantages
Computing the response
Internet inaccessibility
Computer unavailability
Sampling bias

40. INTERVIEW SURVEY
Personalized form of data collecting method
Conducted by trained interviewers
Used structured questionnaire (standardized set
of questions) but not seen by respondents
Opportunity to clarify or probing
But time consuming, resource intensive, require
skills to take interview

41. Different Types of Interview Method
Personal / Face to Face interview
Telephonic interview
Focus group interview
Computer assisted interview
(CASI, ACASI, CATI, CAPI)

42. Personal / Face to face Interview
Most commonly used method
Interviewer works directly with the respondent
to ask questions and record responses
Conducted at respondent’s home or office
Some respondents feel uncomfortable in
allowing stranger in their homes

43. Telephone Interview
Interviewer contact potential
respondents over the phone
Respondents are selected randomly from
a telephonic directory
Ask a standard set of survey questions
Issues: Network, illiterate, non-response,
time

44. Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing
• A computerized ques. is
administered over the telephone
• The interviewer sits in front of a
computer screen
• When contact is made, the
interviewer reads the questions
posed on the computer screen and
records the answers directly into
the computer

45. Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing
An interviewing technique in
which the respondent or
interviewer uses an electronic
device to answer the questions

46. Computer Assisted Self-Interviewing
•The respondent uses a computer to
complete the survey questionnaire
without an interviewer administering
it to the respondent
•Pre-recorded audio is played back for
the respondent one question at a time
(audio computer assisted self-
interviewing - ACASI)

47. Role of
Interviewer
Clarify any
confusion /
concerns
Observe
quality of
responses
Motivate
respondents
Locate & enlist
cooperation of
respondents
Conduct a
good
interview
Open and friendly people, yet polite
and sensitive enough to encourage,
honest, well dress and demeanour

48. Interviewer’s Kit
• Kit should be carried easily
• Kit includes:
 A professional looking notebook with logo
 Map
 Sufficient copies of survey instrument with pen
 Official identification with photo
 A cover letter from Sponsor/Principal Investigator
 Mobile phone with list of contact numbers

49. Interview
• Process of an interview
1. Opening remarks
2. Asking questions
3. Recording the responses
4. Concluding the interview

50. Asking Questions
• Use questionnaire
carefully, but informally
• Ask questions exactly as
written
• Follow the order given
• Ask every question
• Don’t finish sentences
• Probe (if require)
Opening Remarks
• Gaining entry
• Doorstep technique
• Introduction
• Explaining the study
Recording the response
• Record responses
immediately
• Include all probe
• Use abbreviations
3
2
1

51. Concluding the Interview
• Thank the respondent
• Tell them when you expect to sent results
• Don’t be hasty
• Immediately after leaving – write down any
notes about how the interview went

52. Mixed Method
• Questionnaires can provide evidence of
patterns amongst large populations, interview
data often gather more in-depth insights on
participant attitudes, thoughts, and actions
• Allow cross-checking of information collected
in different ways

53. Steps of
Composing a
Questionnaire
What information
should be collected
Edited & finalized
Revised/pretested
/pilot study
First draft of the
questionnaire
How to collect
information
1
2
3
4
5

54. Constructing the Survey Method
Numerous decisions must be made
Types of survey questions
Question content
Wording
Response format
Question sequencing

55. Constructing the Survey Method
- Structured/unstructured
- Open/closed ended
- Nominal/ordinal/dichotomous
- Filter or contingency question
Types of
questions

56. Constructing the Survey Method
- Is the question necessary/useful?
- Are several questions needed?
- Do respondent have the needed information?
- Does the question need to be more specific?
- Is question sufficient general?
- Is question biased/loaded?
- Will respondent answer truthfully?
Question
content

57. Constructing the Survey Method
- Can the question be mis-understood?
- What assumptions does the question
make?
- Is the time frame specified?
- Is the wording too direct?
- Is the wording clear?
- Is the wording loaded or slanted?
Question
wording

58. Questions (Content & Wording)
Should be …….
• Easy to asked
• Easy to understand
• Quick to answer
• Quick to code
• Avoid negative manner

59. Constructing the Survey Method
Fill-in-the-blank
Male Female
Or, Name
Response format
Tick the correct
N. Modi
D. Trump
Your preference
1. Com. Med.
2. Surgery
3. Microbiology
Check answer, mark “X”
ORAL IV IM
Circle the answer
Agree Neutral Disagree

60. Question Sequencing (Rules – of – thumb)
 Start with easy, non-threating questions that can be
easily recalled
 Never start with open-ended question
 For historical events, follow chronological order
 Ask about one topic at a time
 When switching topics, use a transition
 Reduce response set
 For filter or contingency questions, make a flowchart

61. The Golden Rule
Do unto your respondents as you
would have them do unto you!
Respect their time,
trust, attention, and
confidentiality
Use practical
terms
Be alert for any
sign of
uncomfortable
Assure that you
will share a copy
of the final result
Thank your
respondents
Keep your
survey as short
as possible

62. Questionnaire Fatigue
 Becoming tired and uninterested
 Due to: Too long, too difficult, contain irrelevant
 Leads to poor and incomplete quality data
 Some tips to prevent questionnaire fatigue:
Don’t survey too often, manage expectations,
make your questions relevant, eliminate
unsuitable questions, test your surveys

63. Issues of selecting the survey method?
- Can the population be enumerated?
- Is the population literate?
- Are there language issues?
- Will the population cooperate?
- What are the geographic restrictions?
Population
Issues

64. Issues of selecting the survey method?
-What data is available?
-Can respondents be found?
-Who is the respondent?
-Can all members of the population be
sampled?
-Are response rates likely to be a problem?
Sampling
Issues

65. Issues of selecting the survey method?
- What types of questions can be asked?
- How complex will the question be?
- Will screening questions be needed?
- Can question sequence be maintained?
- Will lengthy questions be asked?
- Will long response scales be used?
Question
Issues

66. Issues of selecting the survey method?
–Can the respondents be expected
to know about the issue?
–Will respondent need to consult
records?
Content
Issues

67. Issues of selecting the survey method?
Bias
Issues
– Can social desirability be avoided?
– Can interviewer distortion and
subversion be controlled?
– Can false respondents be avoided?

68. Issues of selecting the survey method?
- Costs
- Facilities
- Time
- Personnel
Administrative
Issues

69. PLUSES & MINUSES OF SURVEY METHODS
Issue
Group
Ques…
Mail
Ques
Drop-Off
Ques
Online
Ques
Personal
Interview
Phone
Interview
Online
Video
Interview
Visual Presentations ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Long Response Categories ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❓ ❌ ✅
Is Privacy? ❌ ✅ ❌ ✅ ✅ ❓ ❓
Flexible? ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Explain in Person? ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ✅ ❓ ✅
Reading & Writing Needed? ❓ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅
Judge Quality ✅ ❌ ❓ ✅ ✅ ❓ ✅
High Response ✅ ❌ ✅ ❓ ✅ ❌ ❓

70. PLUSES & MINUSES OF SURVEY METHODS
Issue
Group
Ques…
Mail
Ques
Drop-Off
Ques
Online
Ques
Personal
Interview
Phone
Interview
Online
Video
Interview
Does It Give Access to Dispersed
Samples?
❌ ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅
Have Time to Formulate Answers ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Personal Contact ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ✅
Long Survey Feasible ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Quick Turnaround ❌ ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ✅ ✅
Low Cost ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Low Resources Needs ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌

71. SUMMARY
• The purpose of social survey is to gather information
in large scale from people on their social facts for
welfare of the society.
• Organizing social survey is a complex business
primarily because it involves engaging with a public or
society.
• Social surveys are a quantitative in nature, positivist
research method conducted through structured
questionnaire and interviews.

72. THANK YOU
If you select a method that isn’t appropriate or
doesn’t fit the context, you can doom a survey
before you even begin designing the
instruments or questions themselves