Surveys

A survey is an investigation into the opinions and/or experiences of a group of people (the target) done by asking them a series of standardized questions (the questionnaire). Surveys are useful for gathering research and ideas on a specific topic. Surveys may be online (through a website) or offline* (paper-based).

Here are a few reasons why teachers and other TEFL workers might need to write surveys:

to compile research for a presentation (at a conference, for example)
to find data and opinions to support an idea for a TEFL course paper, project, article or blog post
to discover how teaching styles and methods are changing (for professional development)
to gather research that can be used for ELT materials (publishers/writers/webmasters)
to receive feedback and suggestions from students or parents
to offer students a model for writing their own surveys

Survey Design →

Survey Analysis→

What's the difference between a poll and a survey? Essentially, a poll is a "quick survey", answering only one question. A survey can answer more questions in more depth.

* Some offline surveys are conducted in person with a researcher asking the respondent questions and entering their responses. Such survey techniques generally allow for added complexity and it is beyond the scope of these pages to discuss them.