Principles of survey research part 2: designing a survey

ABSTRACT

This second article of our series looks at the process of designing a survey. The design process begins with reviewing the objectives, examining the target population identified by the objectives, and deciding how best to obtain the information needed to address those objectives. However, we also need to consider factors such as determining the appropriate sample size and ensuring the largest possible response rate.To illustrate our ideas, we use the three surveys described in Part 1 of this series to suggest good and bad practice in software engineering survey research.

REFERENCES

• 1: Shari Lawrence Pfleeger, "Experimental design and analysis in software engineering, Parts 1 to 5," Software Engineering Notes, 1995 and 1996.