ABSTRACT
A survey is a means of collecting information from individuals concerning topics of interest by asking them to respond to questions about themselves or others. There are various ways of accessing data to inform decision-making in academic settings, including administrative data, students' test scores, and qualitative observations. This chapter outlines the basic steps and important considerations that should accompany the design and implementation of any survey. It aims for a wide audience, from practitioners in higher education to researchers looking to use a survey within a larger research framework to anyone who wants to design an educational survey. The chapter describes the steps to designing a new survey instrument, and provides guidelines to aid in making necessary decisions. The target population describes the entire group of people to whom the results of the survey will be generalized. Probability samples require every element of the sampling frame to be included in the sample with a known, nonzero probability.
