Strategy Survival Guide
Strategy Survival Guide
Strategy Survival Guide
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<strong>Strategy</strong> <strong>Survival</strong> <strong>Guide</strong> Version 2.1<br />
Prime Minister’s <strong>Strategy</strong> Unit<br />
home | strategy development | strategy skills | site index<br />
<strong>Strategy</strong> Skills > Building an Evidence Base<br />
Collecting data - Surveys<br />
> in practice<br />
Surveys are a means of developing a broad, representative understanding of a situation, social attitudes or<br />
prevalent behaviour.<br />
It is helpful to first identify whether survey data is actually required or whether it is more appropriate to use<br />
data collected through other means such as focus groups, interviews with experts or practitioners or email<br />
discussion groups.<br />
If a survey data is considered necessary, a search should be conducted for previous surveys that have been<br />
undertaken that could provide raw data required. The ONS’s <strong>Guide</strong> to Official Statistics is a good starting<br />
point. If the data does already exist this would save considerable time and expense<br />
If a survey is to be conducted, it may be necessary to commission a market research company to undertake<br />
the work. This can be particularly helpful if a large amount of data needs to be collected in a short period of<br />
time. The company will also have experience of what makes a good survey, and can feed best practice into<br />
its design. However, it will be expensive and will also take some time to tender for the job, design the survey<br />
and train the market researchers to conduct it successfully. This timing should be incorporated into the<br />
project plan.<br />
Types of Survey Data<br />
Most surveys contain cross-sectional data. This provides a snapshot at a point in time. A typical crosssectional<br />
survey asks a random sample of the population the same questionnaire. As long as the sample is<br />
statistically representative, then it will give a clear guide to what answers the whole population would have<br />
given to the same questions. The larger the sample, the more confident you can be that the survey<br />
accurately represents the population's viewpoint.<br />
Alternatively a longitudinal survey may be appropriate. These trace the same individuals over time. They<br />
may range from short-term panel studies, such as when the same people are asked the same questions<br />
before and after a big event, to comprehensive studies that track individuals – and even whole families or<br />
households – over a life-time, enabling causal links to be more confidently established than when based on<br />
one-off surveys. Longitudinal data can therefore be used to analyse the impacts of policy over time (for<br />
instance over an individual's lifetime or between generations) and also permit the analysis of how policy<br />
interventions may affect the future.<br />
Things to consider when designing a survey<br />
Designing a survey is a complex task and should usually be done in collaboration with a government social<br />
researcher or specialist market research firm. Before starting to design a survey, there are a number of<br />
questions that need to be considered:<br />
• The purpose of the survey: a survey can either be descriptive or explanatory. A descriptive survey<br />
describes the distribution within a population of certain characteristics, attitudes or experience. An<br />
explanatory survey investigates the relationship between two or more variables. Explanatory surveys<br />
require that all variables that might be important are identified and measured during the data<br />
collection process.<br />
• A structured or an unstructured approach: structured approaches are useful for hypothesis testing.<br />
Unstructured approaches are more useful for acquiring population data in an area where little<br />
research has been done.<br />
• Quantitative or qualitative data: which type of data is more appropriate?<br />
<strong>Strategy</strong> <strong>Survival</strong> <strong>Guide</strong> – <strong>Strategy</strong> Skills<br />
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