ABSTRACT
The social survey dominates empirical social research in Western industrial societies. A very large proportion of social research is carried out using the methods, and the majority of textbooks on research methods devote most attention to aspects of research design, sampling, data collection and analysis for social surveys. Two broad types of social survey may be distinguished, namely: descriptive and analytical. A common misconception about the usefulness of social-survey research in studying one's own society is that there is nothing to be found out. Historically there has been a considerable divergence between those whose primary interest in social surveys is statistical and technical, and those whose interests are more theoretical and sociologically oriented. The aim of rendering theory more precise and testable is one which sociological survey researchers have pursued vigorously, with notable success in some areas such as social stratification and social mobility. The task of sociological inquiry is to identify the causal antecedents of regularities in social behaviour.
