Survey Research

Survey research has been a central activity of PPRI since its founding. For more than 25 years we have conducted hundreds of different surveys with thousands of respondents. Utilized in surveys are telephone, mail, paper and pencil, e-mail and web-based systems as well as in-person interviews. Many projects now involve coordinating mail, telephone and web-based surveys to maximize opportunities for respondent participation. Targeted respondent groups include the general population as well as special populations such as healthcare professionals, business owners, prisoners, teachers, and students.

PPRI has the capability to design and test any kind of survey instrument. We create web-based survey questionnaires, mark sense questionnaires, and instruments programmed for telephone interviewing. PPRI researchers also develop programs allowing survey data to be collected on notepad computers in the field with real-time data encryption. In addition, we have the expertise for developing a wide-range of sampling strategies including GIS database utilization to produce cluster samples and maps for in-person household interviewing.

In addition to data collection, PPRI has a great deal of experience in analyzing survey data and bringing that analysis to bear on policy and related questions. Furthermore, PPRI specializes in developing complex sample designs that often require weighting and error estimation procedures that are beyond the usual scope of methods used in more basic or routine surveys.