ABSTRACT
A social survey is a method of obtaining large amounts of data, usually in a statistical form, from a large number of people in a relatively short time. It usually takes the form of a self-completion questionnaire (this may be handed to the respondent or sent through the post) or an interviewer may read the questions to the respondent and fill in the questionnaire (otherwise known as an ‘interview schedule’) on behalf of the respondent. If the latter course is taken, the survey method is termed a ‘structured interview’. Whichever survey method is used, the social survey has for many years been the most widely used method of social research. Such surveys aim to be explanatory or descriptive and, sometimes, a combination of these.
