Survey Researchers
Additional Information
Duties
The following is a typical survey researcher's workflow:
- To prepare for a survey, do some preliminary research.
- Decide on acceptable techniques of survey design and execution.
- Check the questions in surveys to see if people can comprehend them.
- Survey interviewers and data collectors need to be coordinated.
- Sample concerns, such as nonresponse, can have a negative impact on a study.
- Compile and run statistical analyses on a set of data.
- Use tables, graphs, and fact sheets to summarize survey results.
- Analyze survey results, as well as the techniques used to collect them, in order to make future surveys even better.
Surveys are designed and conducted by survey researchers for a variety of reasons. To conduct scientific research, researchers conduct surveys on a wide range of subjects. Drug usage or illness prevalence may be an area of interest for a survey, for example.
Researchers that conduct public opinion surveys are interested in finding out what the public thinks and feels about a certain topic or issue. It is possible to conduct surveys on a wide range of subjects ranging from politics to culture to the economy.
Research on what customers want, need, or prefer is conducted by other survey researchers. Market research analysts are researchers that gather and evaluate market research data.
In-depth interviews, survey questionnaires, and focus groups are just a few of the survey methods available to researchers (in-person, small group sessions led by a facilitator). Data is collected through a variety of ways, including online, telephone and in-person interviews.
Some academics utilize surveys to gather feedback from a large group of people. A good example of this type of survey is the tenth-year census. Surveys may also be used to narrow the scope of a campaign to a certain demographic, geographic region, or political party.
Statisticians are used to ensure that the sample collected appropriately represents those who make up the target population. Researchers employ a range of statistical approaches and analytical software to organize surveys, correct for data mistakes, and assess outcomes.
Survey researchers may oversee interviewers who conduct in-person or telephone interviews to gather data for surveys.
Education
Survey researchers normally require a master's or Ph.D. degree. You may get a master's degree in a variety of subjects, such as statistics or marketing or survey research. Some entry-level jobs require only a bachelor's degree.
Students should take courses in research methodologies, survey methodology, computer science, mathematics, and statistics in order to prepare for a career in this field. Business classes like marketing and consumer behavior as well as social science courses like sociology, psychology, and economics may also be beneficial for some students.
Additional Experiential Information
Internships and scholarships are excellent ways for aspiring survey researchers to get their feet wet. Internships in market and survey research are widely available for college students and recent graduates in a variety of corporations, polling agencies, and marketing firms. It's these kinds of experiences like this that can go a long way toward helping you land a job later on.
Registration, Certification, and Licenses.
However, although it is not needed by law, certification can demonstrate a level of expertise for survey researchers.
Survey researchers can get certified by the Insights Association as Professional Researchers. Candidates must have at least three years of experience working in opinion and marketing research, pass a test, and be a member of a professional organization in order to be considered for certification. To keep their accreditation, researchers must take continuing education courses and reapply every two years.
Qualities that are critical to success
Analytical capabilities. Researchers conducting surveys need to be able to work with vast datasets, apply statistical techniques, and accurately interpret the results. A good command of statistical software is also required.
The ability to communicate. In order to conduct and analyze surveys, survey researchers must have excellent communication skills.
The ability to use critical thinking. There are several factors to consider while conducting surveys, including the type of questions asked and the method used. Data analysis and drawing acceptable inferences from survey results are equally important skills for them to have.
Dedicated to accuracy. In order to get reliable findings from surveys, survey researchers need to pay attention to the tiniest details.
The ability to solve problems. If you're going to conduct a survey, you're going to require problem-solving abilities.
Pay
The median annual wage for survey researchers was $63,380 in May 2024. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $36,950, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $118,730.
Job Projections
Employment of survey researchers is projected to show little or no change from 2023 to 2033..
