Glossary
Survey research
What is survey research?
Survey research gathers self-reported information through questionnaires. It can collect numerical ratings and open-ended responses about views, experiences, and reported behavior.
Common Uses of Survey Research
A survey can ask about overall satisfaction, a specific interaction, or differences between groups of users. The purpose should determine whom you ask, when you ask, and which questions belong in the questionnaire.
Question design
“How much do you love our product?” is a leading question. “How satisfied are you with speed and reliability?” asks about two things at once. Clear wording helps, but it does not solve every problem with self-report.
Other concerns include acquiescence, the tendency to agree, and nonresponse bias, where respondents differ from the people who do not answer.
Example
A product team asks about “faster performance.” One person may mean page loading, another search results, and another report generation. The phrase needs clarification before it can guide a product decision.
Why it matters
Surveys tell us what people report. They do not directly show what people do or establish why they do it. For product decisions, compare reported needs with observed behavior and the actual task.
A large response count also does not make a sample representative. Claims about a wider population depend on recruitment, coverage, response patterns, measurement, and analysis.