By: Ty Gardner, Thomas Pegan, and Michelle Jing

 A survey is a research method in which people respond to questions.
 Secondary Data is used by many sociologists from other sociologists—it is precollected information for data collection and research purposes.

 Surveys are used to fulfill many purposes for all kinds of people like companies use them to find out whether consumers like their products or public institutions finding out their communities' problems or preferences.
 Surveys are often used when a company needs to find answers about a reoccurring problem.
 Secondary Data is mostly used for research. Looking over other data and comparing it to yours is a high use of secondary data.
 Being able to compare your data to other data is very useful for many types of projects and other research.

 There are four scientific breakthroughs that have been made over the last 200 years.
 The typical modern survey relies on the four breakthroughs.
 During the Middle Ages, respondents to surveys were those of high authority. They reported whatever was needed for the surveys because the rulers didn’t trust the common people to speak for themselves.
 This approach of survey research continued on into the 1800s.
 Example: Karl Marx relied on factory owners for information of working conditions for the poor.

 A revolution was introduced when factory workers and those of lower class were asked to participate in surveys. Henry
Mayhew, English philosopher and social reformer, decided to ask ordinary people about their living conditions in London during the
19 th century.

 Today, there are respondents who don’t give a truthful answer. This is called:
: the wish not to reveal troubling opinions or behavior . Social desirability bias still remains an important problem when taking surveys.
 The future seems to be looking bright for survey research. While technology and techniques evolve, so will survey research.

 In an international survey, sociologists sought out how countries fit on the happiness scale. Factors included: economic status, religious views, and political views.
 One question asked about one’s relationship with
God. Answers from all around the world varied widely and any comparison was impossible.
 Conducting international surveys, like this one, can make one country look better economically than another, more connected to God than others, etc. Culturally biased surveys can cause pride or shame towards a certain culture/ethnic group.

Admin of Prairie Research Associates (n.d.). A brief history of survey research . Retrieved from http://www.pra.ca/resources/pages/files/technotes/history_e.pdf
Chardon Local Schools, 2014. CMS 7 th Grade . Retrieved from http:/ www.cms7thgrade.weebly.com/this-week-in-social-studies1.html
P., Colby, (2011, Sept. 7). Creating a Practical Survey: The Effect of
Survey Design on Data Presentation . Retrieved from http:// www.surveymonkey.com/blog/en/blog/2011/09/07/surveydesign/
RSM Global, (2015). Cultural Bias in International Survey Research .
Retrieved from http://rsmglobal.com/cultural-bias-ininternational-survey-research/