103 - Lecture 5 & 6 - Survey

Why are surveys important?

1) Government agencies may carry out surveys to use data for policy making to maximize the welfare of the population

2) Non-governmental agencies may carry out surveys to use data to improve their organizational efficiency and their services to people.

What are the advantages of sample survey over census survey?

1) Less time, reduced cost, greater scope

2) Easy organization of work

3) Greater accuracy

4) Urgently required information

5) Feasibility

What is meant by “less time, reduced cost and greater scope”?

1) less observation units, less time and money required to collect data
2) supplementary data could be collected by interviewers at minimal cost

What is meant by “easy organization of work”?

1) easier to obtain data from small, representative samples across various regions than to obtain data nationwide from every individual

2) more accurate and precise data due to stronger oversight

What is meant by “greater accuracy”?

It is difficult to engage a large number of skilled interviewers for a census survey, due to a scarcity of skilled interviewers. Hence, skilled interviewers can be used to conduct sample surveys.

What is meant by “urgently information required”?

1) sample surveys require less time, so quick decisions can be made

2) time-sensitive data that may not be useful if delayed can be collected

What is meant by “feasibility”?

There may be cases where obtaining data from an observation unit may result in its destruction. Hence, sample survey is conducted.

What are the types of surveys?

Demographic, Educational, Economic, Agricultural, Health, Employment, Market, Election, Opinion, Campus

What are demographic surveys?

Surveys used to collect data such as age, religion, ethnicity, marital status etc.

What are educational surveys?

Surveys used to collect data such as number of students in an institute, number of staff in an institute, number of labs in an institute etc.

They are important to assess progress in education sector.

What are economic surveys?

Surveys used to collect data such as cost of production, marketing of production, foreign remittance etc.

What are agricultural surveys?

Surveys used to collect data such as weight of wheat harvest in a region, irrigation facility, use of pesticides etc.

What are health surveys?

Surveys used to collect data such as child mortality, number of hospitals in a region, cost of treatment etc.

What are employment surveys?

Surveys used to collect data such as type of jobs in a region, availability of jobs, labour conditions etc.

What are market surveys?

Surveys used to collect data such as customer satisfaction, customer feedback.

What are election surveys?

Surveys used to collect data such as the opinions of people on electoral candidates.

What are opinion surveys?

Surveys used to collect public opinion on certain issues.

What are campus surveys?

Surveys used to collect data about campus facilities, activities and programs from students.