Talking to People I: Surveys

Abstract

Surveys are built up of standardized interviews with larger samples of individuals in order to make inferences about a specific population. They belong to the most popular methods within the social sciences; this is particularly true for research in different areas of policy, where surveys, initiated by all kinds of actors that are involved in policy-making, have become an integral element of the whole policy cycle. With regard to media policy research surveys can provide data on patterns of media use and on opinions on specific media policy issues. In order to achieve meaningful results researchers who consider applying surveys have to reflect their main characteristics: they are based on self-reports, they are reactive methods, and they include standardized measurements. The design of a survey includes the following steps: defining the relevant population, sampling, decision on specific comparative designs, selecting a mode of interviewing, designing the questionnaire, data analysis and presentation. As an illustration of surveys that are particularly relevant for media policy research two international studies are shortly presented: the Reuters Institute Digital News Report on current trends of news consumption, and the EU Kids Online survey on children’s and young people’s online experiences and online safety.