Academic Surveys: Why & When to Use?

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Academic Survey Software
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Surveys have always been used as one of the cheapest and most time-altering methods of gathering information. Surveys are used by businesses, scientific researchers, government institutions, and many more. 

In the academic world, surveys are used to test hypotheses, research topics, and gain data on topics related to the study. Both students and educators rely on survey data collection methods to dig deep into a topic world. 

In this blog, we will discuss what are academic surveys and its use cases. 

What do you mean by academic surveys?

Students, facilities, and professionals use academic surveys in their research projects and assignments. The results are then used to testify to the hypothesis or knowledge for a chosen subject and answer certain questions that the researcher laid out before it began the study. 

Anyone using academic surveys can then present their results on a research paper, research report, or presentation.

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Why do you need academic surveys?

Apart from all the generic advantages that surveys have in the other fields, academic surveys have their own upper hand and reasons as to why it is the best fit for any academic scholar. 

  • Gather knowledge beyond the known facts

Academic surveys give you a chance to explore the universe of information the world has to offer, which goes beyond just sitting in a classroom and digging into your textbooks. Surveys expose students to a closer look at real-life research models, theories, trends, the evolution of concepts, and much more. 

Academic research brings more insights into what are already known facts. Professors and students can have a chance to gain a deeper knowledge of the topic they have chosen. Especially when someone aspires to become a subject-matter expert, academic surveys are the prime solution to go to.  

A real-time academic survey with real data will bring students closer to the world.  Leverage an academic research software to dig deeper into real-world subjects and gather insightful knowledge. 

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  • Validate research data and theories.

Academic theories can be supported with valid real-world data collected from academic surveys. Students and professors can use this data to either confirm or deny their research findings or hypotheses that were previously made. 

  • Uncover opportunities

Conducting academic surveys can open doors to new discoveries and curiosities. Students can use surveys to develop a good research report or presentation, which will also give them an opportunity to earn scholarships, grants, and funding for their research. When we talk about opportunities, we consider both research and academic opportunities which will motivate students and professors to do better. 

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Tips for creating effective academic surveys

Academic surveys come in handy, but crafting winning academic surveys should always be the goal. We are here with some points to take care of while you are creating your next academic survey for your research.  

  • Right questions  

The kind of survey question you present to your respondents determines whether they will be willing to take more of your surveys. And to make them stick to them is to best focus on the kind of questions you ask. 

Make it clear what topic you want to research and focus all the questions on it. When creating the survey, keep the questions simple and easy to understand with understandable language.  

Your academic survey should be short and not too time-consuming. The order in which you place your questions also matters the most, as there needs to be a specific flow to the survey. 

  • Smart sample  

Irrespective of how efficiently your survey is designed, it will be of no use if you gather data from the wrong population. Your sample population needs to be the best representative of its entire population. 

It is always best practice to test your survey with a small sample to see if the responses are of any good to your study. Or to better determine your sample, it is advised to conduct a pre-test which will filter out participants to take your survey. 

You can also leverage a research panel, such as Voxco Audience, to avoid sampling bias and ensure a representative sample for the research. 

  • Customize the academic survey to generate insights

Optimize your academic research questionnaire to gather insightful data. Use open-ended questions to gather honest feedback from the target audience. Leverage branching logic, sentiment analysis, and text analysis to gather valuable insights and ensure rich data collection.

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Academic research surveys example

In this section, let’s take a look at some fields as examples where academic surveys always come to action. 

  • Economic and social research 

The study of people and the way they influence the world around them is a broad field of research that is often carried out by social scientists. This type of research is very important for various organizations, such as the government. 

  • Healthcare and medical research  

Medical and healthcare research focuses on the study of patient demographics, examining common health issues, and assessing the quality of healthcare. Academic research helps healthcare practitioners to back up the treatments used for their patients. 

  • Business studies 

The world of business uses academic research to understand the market and make strategic decisions. Product developers use academic surveys to ensure that the technology and machinery customers use are safe and useful. 

  • Education and childhood development 

Academic surveys are a convenient approach to conducting research studies on a variety of topics, including classroom atmosphere, parent-school interactions, student satisfaction and concentration, and more. 

  • Research for a dissertation  

Academic research surveys are one of the most prevalent methods of gathering data for dissertation topics. Academic research software allows you to easily create surveys, distribute them, and gather reliable data from a wider population. 

  • Technology

In technology, academic research helps companies to ensure that new discoveries are not a potential threat to customers. It also helps brands learn how they can improve or upgrade the equipment to keep up with the advancements and customers’ needs. 

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Conclusion

Academic research studies help you look deeper into the subject. It helps you look beyond the known facts and popular knowledge. With academic surveys, you can assess a theory, uncover a new point of view, and evaluate an occurrence.

Leverage academic research software that allows you to dig deep into the population of interest and conduct research in your preferred method. Voxco allows you to meet your audience where they are with three survey modes – online survey tools, mobile-offline surveys, and telephone surveys

FAQs

1. What is an academic research tool?

An academic research tool helps you design academic surveys and collect, analyze, and visualize research data. It is an easy-to-use research software that a student, researchers, or educators can use to conduct research, test theories, and analyze data on a subject. 

Academic research management software reduces time spent on interviewing people and gathering data. It streamlines the research process and collects data at a central location so you can focus on analyzing your research findings. 

2. How to choose academic research software?

There are certain factors you should consider when choosing academic research software. 

  1. Consider your research objective and how you want to perform the research – online, offline, or over the phone. Find research software tools that help you conduct research in your preferred channel. 
  2. What kind of data do you want to collect? Your software should enable you to gather and analyze quantitative and qualitative data without needing to code. 
  3. Ensure that academic research management software complies with data security regulations and enables you to secure data in the platform itself from any breach. 
  4. Additionally, you should also consider the budget constraint and customer support options of your software vendor. 

3. How to conduct academic research? 

Here are some basic steps to conducting academic research. 

  1. Outline the research purpose/goal to write questions for academic surveys. 
  2. Use research organization tools to customize surveys with skip logic to ask relevant questions to the participants. 
  3. Determine the channels to conduct the research. 
  4. Analyze the data using statistical analysis capabilities, text analysis, and sentiment analysis. 
  5. Visualize the data into charts, graphs, trends, and tables to make a meaningful conclusion. 

4. What are features to look for in academic research software?

The features you should look for in survey software for academic research depend on some general considerations such as ease of use, survey distribution, data analysis, data security, etc. 

  1. Make sure the research software enables you to create surveys easily. It should allow you to create simple or complex surveys without technical knowledge. 
  2. The software should allow you to distribute academic surveys across multiple online channels. 
  3. Look for a platform that offers multi-mode survey software, i.e., allows you to conduct research online as well as offline or by phone. 
  4. Look for advanced data analysis features. The platform should automatically analyze quantitative and qualitative data. 

5. Why do you need academic research software?

Academic research software enables you to conduct research faster than traditional ways. 

  • You can streamline the research process using survey software – create surveys, gather data, and uncover insights, all in one platform. 
  • You can reduce the time spent on conducting the research by automating the process and focusing more on analyzing the insights. 
  • You can reach a wider population across different countries in their preferred language. 

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