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CHAPTER
5
Surveys

5.1 INTRODUCTION
Surveys are one of the most commonly used research methods, across all fields of
research, not just human-computer interaction (HCI). Surveys are frequently used to
describe populations, to explain behaviors, and to explore uncharted waters (Babbie,
1990). Surveys are also one of the most maligned methods. Surveys can be struc-
tured, well-tested, robust, and result in data with a high level of validity. However,
surveys can be poorly done, resulting in data of questionable validity.
What is a survey? In short, it is a well-defined and well-written set of questions
to which an individual is asked to respond. Surveys are typically self-administered
by an individual, with no researcher present; because of this, the data collected is not
as deep and in-depth as with other research methods (such as ethnography or focus
groups). The strength of the survey is the ability to get a large number of responses
quickly from a population of users that is geographically dispersed. Surveys allow
you to capture the “big picture” relatively quickly, of how individuals are interacting
with a certain technology, what problems they are facing, and what actions they are
taking. Surveys also allow you to make statistically accurate estimates for a popula-
tion, when structured using random sampling.
One of the reasons why surveys may be maligned is that they are often used
not because they are the most appropriate method but because they are the easiest
method. There are a lot of bad research projects, in which professors or students
quickly write a survey, do not do sufficient pilot testing of the survey questions, dis-
tribute it to first-year students, and then claim that the survey results can generalize to
other populations. Unless the actual focus of the research is university students, then
this research example is misguided. As an example, an appropriate use of students
was made in a survey study (Hanks et al., 2008), in which the goal of the research
was to learn more about student perceptions of sustainable interaction design. It col-
lected 435 surveys, from a cross-section of majors, not just computer science majors.
There are many HCI research projects in which a survey is the ideal method; in
which the survey is well-designed, strict controls are used, and the resulting data has
a high level of validity. Survey research may be the most appropriate methodology for
measuring attitudes, awareness, intent, feedback about user experiences, character-
istics of users, and over-time comparisons (Müller et al., 2014). Surveys may be less
appropriate for precise measurements, or for solely identifying usability problems in
an interface; however, surveys are often used appropriately in as one component of a

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