ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews one of the most popular, versatile, and efficient quantitative methods for social scientists—surveys. We share how surveys allow social justice researchers to acquire a broad overview of the sample of respondents and identify key patterns in variables that help explain complex social issues. We discuss the use of surveys to measure attitudes, opinions, and behavioral intentions or tendencies while maintaining confidentiality. We also provide insights into how survey researchers could reduce measurement error, improve sample coverage, and increase response rates. We introduce readers to various types of survey approaches such as omnibus surveys, cross-sectional surveys, analysis of publicly available survey datasets, cross-cultural surveys, trend studies, cohort studies, and panel research. Some common mistakes while designing surveys such as asking questions for which respondents do not know or cannot easily access answers are addressed. We suggest ways to create meaningful, collectively exhaustive, and mutually exclusive answer options so that the respondents can accurately record their responses. Since social justice researchers are likely to use surveys with minoritized groups and also to conduct cross-cultural surveys, we discuss how surveys can be made more accessible, inclusive, and easy to administer by considering the types of questions to include, the order in which to present them, and their appropriate modes of administration. In order to address nonresponse, a growing concern in survey research, we note that surveys that assure confidentiality, ask relevant questions, are personalized, provide incentives, and are perceived as leading to actionable outcomes are more likely to be completed.
