The Science of Surveys

Survey methodology is a complex and technical body of knowledge; achieving the necessary level of mastery to conduct effective surveys calls for a commitment of time, energy, and resources that would diminish your own research. Since the field is characterized by rapid growth, staying abreast of the latest findings requires the undivided focus of a dedicated survey scientist.

Ultimately, designing your own survey is more than inconvenient—it may jeopardize your entire research endeavor. Since the value of your project ultimately rests upon the reliability of the data you collect, a low-quality survey can destroy even high-quality research. SSG can preserve your data quality by providing these advantages over an independently designed study:

  1. Breadth of Expertise
    SSG is uniquely equipped to approach your survey from many angles—we offer the collective experience of a group of professionals with varied survey methodology expertise, such as web-based surveys, qualitative research, and telephone interviewing. Our staff also features support specialists, survey managers, a graphic designer, and technical writer. When a project requires additional expertise, we draw upon a network of industry leaders to collaborate.
  2. Design Informed by Best Practices
    Even seemingly trivial details like font type or question order may impact your response rates. SSG uses an evidence-based approach to identify an appropriate study plan and design your questionnaire, sample, and data-collection strategy. We have particular expertise in web surveys, and administer our surveys through a user interface designed with data quality in mind.
  3. Flexibility and Customization
    A survey methodologist can help you to tailor these universal best practices to your specific research endeavor. SSG recognizes that every project requires a degree of customization, and can tailor your instrument to improve data quality. This may include customizing the respondent correspondence or “branding” your instrument to a sponsoring organization. Our web surveys use respondent-specific customizations that use pre-loaded sample data to streamline the instrument.
  4. Quality of Implementation
    While design is important, if it is not executed appropriately, the results are meaningless. SSG will thoroughly test your survey, including logic and validation testing as well as a dataset review. Our protocol for testing web-surveys—the industry standard—was created and published by SSG founder and CEO, Scott Crawford. We also offer robust sample management customized to your specific needs, survey access control to uniquely rack respondents, and pre-loaded data that manages respondent flow through our surveys.
  5. Supplemental Services
    SSG provides other assistance that is difficult to replicate while conducting your own research, such as a daily response-rate monitoring during data collection and professionally designed final reports. We also offer comprehensive respondent support via telephone, postal mail, and e-mail. All support requests are integrated into our sample management system for further analysis or exploration of potential sources of bias.

Science of Surveys