PRINCIPLES IN WRITING A SURVEY REPORT AND SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

Survey Report

A type of technical report that uses research to provide information about a topic.

Report

Academic papers that present and analyze the results or findings of research.

Research

Aims to contribute new knowledge or perspectives.

Survey Questionnaire

Basic tool of survey report.

Body

Classifies the data (e.g. respondents' demographic profile, hobbies, interests).

Survey Questionnaire

Consisted of forms containing the questions that the researcher will ask during the survey.

Body

Contains all the information collected during the survey research process which has been tabulated, analyzed, and explained.

Limit types of questions and response sets to no more than three. Give clear-cut answer choices. Make response sets easy to navigate. Make sure response categories do not overlap. Make sure responses cover all possibilities.

DO'S: Formulating Response Categories.

Group questions that are similar. Put them in a logical order. Place demographic questions at the beginning. Put any sensitive or difficult questions at the end. Put any open-ended questions at the end.

DO'S: Sequencing Questions.

Use common language & clearly defined terms. Use mostly closed questions. Include demographic questions to help identify the sample. Use precise, unambiguous language. Make sure questions are valid & reliable.

DO'S: Writing Good Questions.

Avoid double-barreled, biased, loaded, and repetitive questions. Avoid personal questions if not necessary. Give out your questionnaire without revising, validating, or pilot-testing it.

DON'T'S

Survey Questionnaire

Depends on the research objective.

Body

Discuss the correlation between the data (e.g. frequency of internet use and interest).

Report

Focuses on summarizing and conveying existing information or findings in a clear and concise manner.

Body

Graphs are also very useful in simplifying and effectively communicating statistical information in pictorial form.

Use the present tense of the verb. Use reported speech. Use formal, impersonal and straightforward language. Use reporting verbs such as claim, argue, cite, state, report, agree, complain, suggest, points out, etc. Use percentages and proportions.

Guidelines in Writing a Survey Report

Survey Report

Involves questions that are based on the research objective, to be answered by respondents and later analyzed using appropriate data analysis methods.

Survey Report

Involves report writing which is a very important element of the survey research process.

Report

It is a specific form of writing that is organized around concisely identifying and examining issues, events, or findings that have happened in a physical sense, such as events that have occurred within an organization, or findings from a research investigation.

Survey Questions

It should be simple, to the point, and easy to understand and hard to misinterpret.

Conclusion

May include a recommendation to enhance the worth of the survey report and address the implications cited in the survey report.

Survey Questionnaire

May range from the most basic to the more complex (e.g. close-ended, open-ended), which respondents to provide answers to thought-provoking questions.

Expressions Used in the Body

On the whole, this survey involves 60% of the entire senior high school graduating class. In practice, researchers have sought to determine if a correlation exists between...

Title or Cover Page Introduction Body Conclusion

Parts of a Survey Report

Survey Report Scientific Report Field Report

Reports can be in the form of:

Conclusion

Sums up all the collected information and further analyzes and discusses them.

Expressions Used in the Introduction

The purpose of this survey report is to... It is the aim of the survey report to... This survey was carried out to... This survey was conducted by means of...

Good writing skills.

To be able to disseminate the information from the survey, you need to have ___. Without it, the survey report is at risk of being misrepresented or not explained well.

Expressions Used in the Conclusion

To sum up... It is clear that... If any conclusion may be drawn from the data... The survey indicates that...

Yes/No True/False Agree/Disagree Scale Ranking Rating Checklist Open-ended questions

Types of Questionnaire Questions

Body

Use subheadings and separate tables to explain each set of findings.

Body

Well-formatted tables help in presenting your findings more efficiently and clearly.

Disseminate

What do you do with the data or information you have collected after conducting your survey?

Introduction

Why was the survey conducted? Who were involved in the study? Who conducted the survey? When/ Where was it carried out? How was it carried out?