ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some general rules for question development, important things to remember for survey deployment, some techniques for collecting data, and general strengths and weaknesses of the process. It acquaints the reader with a taste of the promise and peril that survey research provides. Surveys are excellent tools for collecting data from places where the information resides. In order to make sense of the data during the analysis process, it is important to make sure that every part of the survey design and data collection is reflected in the survey data. Surveys often contain sets of questions that ask for the respondent's agreement or feeling for a statement. Telephone surveys were at one time the gold standard of survey research in the United States. Electronic surveys are becoming more and more popular and can provide the benefits of a mail survey while greatly reducing the lag time caused by the postal service.
