“We value your opinion and would love to hear from you.”
As far as email subject lines go, this is a pretty common one. Often, these emails contain survey research forms from a company you patronize. But have you thought about what happens behind the scenes? For instance, did you know that a surveyor can know the exact number of users who complete their polls?
That’s right! With the sheer number of online survey tools at our disposal, this is now just a piece of cake. And what’s more? Survey research methods have become so crucial today that almost every company adopts these practices!
Now, wouldn’t you agree that this warrants a closer look at all things surveys? Yes? Well, we think so too! And that, dear readers, is why we’ve put together this fun guide to the good, the bad and the weird of survey research.
So, if you’re all strapped in, let’s begin!
What Does Survey Research Mean?
Let’s start with the basics. Definition of survey research. And to answer this question, we’ve got a fun example!
Imagine you’re hosting a dinner party at your place. However, you realize that you’re unsure what your guests would like to eat. Indian? Chinese? Mexican? It’s indeed a head-scratcher. But that’s when it hits you that all you have to do is ask them! So, you rope in each of them and give them a few options to pick from. Then, once you receive all their responses, you tally their votes and make a choice. Simple!
Now, does that seem familiar to you at all? Yes? Well, great! Because you’ve just carried out a mini-survey! And when scaled to a larger audience, you get what most companies do with their polls.
And so, as the survey research definition rightly states, surveying is the process of gathering information from a specific set of people through questionnaires, opinion polls, or other such means. Then, with this information at hand, a company can answer the questions it has set for itself.
Survey research is a systematic method for collecting data from a sample of individuals to understand their characteristics, behaviours, attitudes, or opinions. It provides quantitative and sometimes qualitative insights that organizations can use for decision-making, product development, customer satisfaction assessment, and more.
Types of Survey Research
Alright, now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s delve deeper. So, for our next stop, let’s look at the types of survey research!
1. Descriptive Research
Have you got questions on the how, the what, and the when of your products? If so, descriptive research is just what you need. Here, you would aim to understand what your buyers want and give it to them. And, for all that, you only need to conduct a survey! Sounds easy, right? But if you’re a little unsure of how this would work, perhaps some survey research examples can help.
So let’s consider a company, A, that wants to understand the preferred flavors for their all-new brand of potato chips. To do that, they set up a kiosk at a local supermarket and allow customers to test some of the new flavors. Then, they record the data on their customer’s ages, flavor profiles, and more that they can compare later. Finally, after analysis of the results, they can decide what flavor to launch and how.
2. Causal Research
With causal survey research, your goal would be to get to the bottom of various cause-and-effect relationships. And if you’ve got an investigative streak, you’ll certainly like this one! So, if you’re a brand that wants to know how its new logo would affect sales, this is right up your alley.
Now, go on, monitor those sales rates for your old and new logos, respectively. Then compare all the data you get, and you’ll know which logo resonates better!
3. Exploratory Research
And finally, there’s the backbone of all marketing strategies – the exploratory survey research! Ideally, it helps if you use these at the beginning of a research process. This way, you can get some much-needed insights and information on your markets before investing.
However, if you’re looking for a way to improve your products, you can use open-ended questions. So questions like, “How can we improve? We’d love to hear from you.” or “Is there something you’d like to share with us?” are all great examples.
If you’re new to survey research, check out our guide on the types of survey research.
And now, it’s time to reveal the good, the bad, and the weird sides of survey research.
Before that, get your survey research started with SurveySparrow!
A personalized walkthrough by our experts. No strings attached!
Survey Research: The Good
- They’re Affordable
Be it a questionnaire or an online poll; surveys are an affordable way of gathering crucial data. So, even if you hire an expert surveying company to do the work for you, you can rest assured that you will find a price plan that works for your budget. And if you design your questions? Well, then you’re in for a treat because online survey tools offer lots of options that you can play with! So, when it comes to surveys, your budget is rarely a big concern.
1. Practicality Is Its Middle Name
Imagine the sheer number of people who answer online survey research questions. Now think about the cost of carrying out such a massive operation! It’s overwhelming. However, with the help of surveys, you can target a specific audience, collect opinions, and carry out market research within a single platform! Now, if that’s not being practical, then what is?
2. Quick And Easy To Boot
Surveys, especially online surveys, are quick and easy to use. With a single click, they can reach thousands of users and record their responses in no time. But that’s not all! If you use an online survey tool, it’ll even analyze the data for you. And so, worrying about time constraints is now a thing of the past.
3. They Can Be Fun!
Gone are the days of boring questionnaires that suck the life out of you. Now, with just the right amount of gamification features, your surveys can be fun and helpful! So, go ahead, pepper in some fun features for your users, and watch the responses roll in.
4. You Can Design Them To Your Liking
If you’re a fan of originality, then you’ll love how flexible survey research can be! Of course, you can use ready-made templates for a survey, but they are also easy to adapt to your needs. So, don’t fancy a question on the template? Take it out and put it in one of your own! This way, you can ensure that your survey questions are tailor-made to your users.
The Bad of Survey Research
1. Dishonest Answers Can Wreck It
Sadly, no matter how well-thought-out your survey questions are, dishonest answers can still wreck it. For instance, if you require users to share an unflattering fact about themselves, they may not be honest with you. So, you may need to find a way to encourage users to provide good answers.
2. The Difficulty of Conveying Emotions
Unless it’s a one-on-one interview, survey research may struggle to understand the emotions of a responder. And more often than not, these can be crucial to an accurate analysis. So, if you think a personal approach would be a better choice, don’t hesitate to go for it!
3. The Difference in Understanding
We’ve all had to answer vague survey questions. For instance, if a question asks to ‘somewhat agree’ or ‘somewhat disagree’ to a question, it can be challenging for a responder to know what exactly that means. And very often, this can skew the conclusions drawn from the data.
4. Users May Not Respond
Without the required response rates, a survey may not be of much help. However, it is often hard to get users to take one. So what can you do to solve this? For starters, you can offer incentives to get more responders. You can also make your survey and questions more attractive with fun animations, humor, and interactive questions.
The Weird Side of Survey Research
While we’ve covered the good and the bad, there’s also a “weird” side to survey research that’s worth exploring:
1. Hawthorne Effect
This phenomenon occurs when people modify their behavior simply because they know they’re being observed or studied. In survey research, respondents might answer questions differently than they normally would just because they know their answers are being collected and analyzed.
2. Social Desirability Bias
Let’s be honest, sometimes people just want to look good. Respondents give answers they think will make them look good, rather than what they truly believe. For example, fewer people will admit to rarely washing their hands after using the bathroom in a survey than actually skip this hygiene step in reality!
3. Too many choices may affect the results
Surveys with too many answer options can actually lead to lower completion rates and less thoughtful responses. This paradox shows that while we think more options are better, they can actually overwhelm respondents and lead to poorer data quality.
4. Surveys on surveys
Sometimes organizations survey people about their survey experiences. Yes, it’s surveys about surveys! This meta-approach helps improve the survey process itself but can create some genuinely strange recursive research scenarios.
Survey Question Examples: The Good vs. The Bad
Lets look at some examples of good and bad surveys. So, let’s begin.
Example 1: The Leading Question
This right here is one of the most common examples of bad surveys. With a question like this, you may lead the user into replying the way you want rather than what they think. So, when you ask them something like this, you’re unlikely to get an honest answer.
Example 2: The Ambiguous Question
Let’s take a question like this:
“How do you feel about your most recent purchase?”
Here, the question fails to quantify the data it collects and might be hard to analyze. Instead, it’d be much better to turn it into a yes or no question. So, most good surveys would frame it like this:
And if not that, you can also put in a scale.
In both these cases, you’ll now have more quantifiable data.
Example 3: Complex Questions
To avoid confusing your respondents, don’t use long and complex questions like this:
Instead, it’s better to break these into a series of questions:
Some Weird Survey Factoids For The Win
It was weird when I read it, so here are some of the most bizarre findings of survey research.
1. To Drink or Not To Drink?
In a 2013 survey by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth and Boston University, 30% of U.S. youth aged 13–20 admitted to underage drinking, with Bud Light topping the list.
Takeaway: Sensitive topics can yield surprisingly honest responses—if the survey ensures anonymity and trust. Want the truth? Build a survey environment that feels safe, not judgmental.
2. Save Yourself From The Deadly HTML!
Do some commonly used tech terms scare the bejeezus out of you? If so, we assure you, you’re not alone! For example, in one study, 11% of responders have previously admitted to thinking that HTML stands for a sexually transmitted disease. In the same study, Vouchercloud.net also found that 27% believed ‘gigabyte’ was an insect, 23% said ‘MP3’ is a bot from the Star Wars universe, and 18% thought ‘Blu-ray’ was a marine animal.
Takeaway: Be wary of jargon! If your survey uses industry-specific terms, explain them clearly. Otherwise, you might collect wildly inaccurate data—and a few laughs.
3. Weather Forecasting in the Age of Cloud Computing
According to Wakefield Research, 51% of Americans thought overcast weather affected cloud computing.
Takeaway: Misunderstood concepts can lead to flawed survey results. Test your questions first to make sure they’re interpreted correctly—especially when dealing with tech or abstract topics.
4. Earn Your Way Through Weight Loss
A Mayo Clinic study found that people were more likely to lose weight when they were offered cash incentives.
Takeaway: Incentives matter. If you’re struggling with low response rates, consider offering a reward—financial or otherwise—to motivate participation.
5. The Most Eligible Insurance Agent? Oprah Winfrey!
Forget all about your rising insurance premiums for a second! This survey research, conducted by Insure.com, found that 33% of voters believed Oprah Winfrey would make a great insurance agent. And ranking below her, at 31%, was none other than the former POTUS, Donald Trump! So if you think you’re unhappy with your insurance, you might need a new, famous agent.
Takeaway: Popularity can skew results. If you're asking about preferences or choices, be sure your sample isn’t just voting based on fame or familiarity, so add qualifiers to dig deeper
Wrapping Up
There’s no denying that surveys are one of the most important research tools available to a company. And so, it’s best to believe that they’re here to stay. However, survey research is only as good as the responses they get. So, how do you make sure you get a high response rate?
Well, for one, you’d need to ask some great questions. So, put on your thinking caps and get to work on that right away! Next, you’ll need to work on making the survey more visually appealing. Here, you can go to town on animating it and making it as fun as possible. But fair warning! With the growing number of mobile users each year, don’t forget to include them in the fun features. Finally, when all that’s done, you can work on polishing your follow-up email skills.
And now, with all that information under your belt, you’re more than ready to create your surveys. So here’s wishing you some happy surveying!
