Crafting Survey Research: A Systematic Process for Conducting Survey Research

Surveys represent flexible and powerful ways for practitioners to gain insights into customers and markets and for researchers to develop, test, and generalize theories. However, conducting effective survey research is challenging. Survey researchers must induce participation by “over-surveyed” respondents, choose appropriately from among numerous design alternatives, and need to account for the respondents’ complex psychological processes when answering the survey. The aim of this chapter is to guide investigators in effective design of their surveys. We discuss state-of-the-art research findings on measurement biases (i.e., common method bias, key informant bias, social desirability bias, and response patterns) and representation biases (i.e., non-sampling bias and non-response bias) and outline when those biases are likely to occur and how investigators can best avoid them. In addition, we offer a systematic approach for crafting surveys. We discuss key steps and decisions in the survey design process, with a particular focus on standardized questionnaires, and we emphasize how those choices can help alleviate potential biases. Finally, we discuss how investigators can address potential endogeneity concerns in surveys.