Surveys, longitudinal, cross-sectional and trend studies

This chapter identifies the key features, strengths and challenges of a survey, and how to plan, conduct and report it. It discusses different kinds of survey – longitudinal, cross-sectional and trend studies – and their distinguishing ontologies, epistemologies, strengths and weaknesses. In doing so it gives examples and practical advice on how to design and plan a survey, the kinds of questions to ask and how to organize and group them. Here attention must be given to the purposes of the survey, population and sampling, available resources, modes of data collection, the challenges of self-reported answers, and ethical issues. The chapter raises the importance of sampling in survey methodologies, and discusses how to address sampling issues and how to handle and reduce non-response, low response and missing data. The chapter indicates key issues on postal, interview and telephone surveys, and compares methods of data collection in surveys.