Objectives and Types of Social Survey

Social Survey

The word survey is derived from two words sur or sor which means over and the word veeir or veor which means to see. In this way, the word survey means to oversee or to look over. According to Webster Collegiate Dictionary the word connotes, 

“A critical inspection, of then official, to provide exact information, often a study of an area with respect to a certain condition or its prevalence as a survey of school”.

Objectives and subject matter of social survey

The following are the major objectives which social survey strives to achieve

1. Collection of data related to the social aspect of community: Social survey studies individuals as members of society and in this way studies social circumstances and problems.
2. Study of social problems, labor class and its problems: In social survey social problems and in particular, problems of the labor class like illiteracy, poverty, in sanitation, unemployment, drinking, crime, juvenile delinquency, prostitution, labor problems etc. are studied.
3. Practical and utilitarian view point: Studies of social survey are made from a practical and utilitarian viewpoint in order that suggestions for constructive programs in solving different problems may be offered.

In this way, the subject matter of social survey includes—(1) demographic characteristic. (2) Social Environment. (3) activities of the members of the community. (4) opinions and attitudes.

The following are the important kinds of social survey

1. General or specialized surveys: Originally, social survey was taken to be two kinds –general and specialized. In the general survey the community is made the subject of study like a country, state, town or village. In the specialized or topical survey the study is confined to some special aspect only e.g. unemployment, health, cleanliness, labor welfare, child welfare etc.
2. Direct or indirect surveys: Direct survey is one in which the facts can be quantitatively interpreted while, on the other hand, no such quantitative interpretation is possible in the case of an indirect survey, e.g. the survey of population is direct, while on the other hand, the surveys of the state of health or the level of nutrition are indirect. Different problems of social sciences are studied by both kind of survey.
3. Census survey or sample survey: in the census survey the different parts of the entire area are individually studied and the figures are then complied into one. On the other hand, in the sample survey, instead of the whole is being studied, a part which represents the entire area is taken. Now this representative part is studied. Compared to the census survey, the sample survey is far less expensive and it is, therefore, very popular in the study of rural sociology which makes much use of it.
4. Primary or secondary surveys: in the primary survey, the survey work is started right from the beginning. In this, the survey or himself collects facts concurring with his objectives and hence the primary surveys are more reliable and pure. But, if some data have already been collected in the study of any subject a new start has not to be made. The survey conducted under these circumstances is called a secondary survey. It is obvious that when the situation is favorable to a secondary survey there is much saving of time and money.
5. Initial or repetitive surveys: if the survey conducted in the area is the first of its kind, it is called an initial survey while if some survey has been done in the past then the present survey is termed a repetitive survey. An initial survey involves comparatively greater effort and exertion and comparable data are not available. In repetitive survey the information obtained is more reliable and can be compared.
6. Official, semi-official or private surveys: As the names indicate, official survey is the survey sponsored by the government, semi-official survey is the survey conducted by universities, district boards, municipalities and other similar semi-official institutions and private survey is a survey attempted by an individual. Among these, official survey has the greatest probability of success because it is not hampered by a dearth of finances or trained personnel. Semiofficial survey is not only less economic but also more difficult. In the private survey, the problem of expenditure, time and trained personnel is even more acute. But, in spite of the fundamental difficulties, some semi-official and private surveys have yielded better results than some government surveys.
7. Widespread or limited surveys: surveys are given these names according to their extension or coverage. A survey covering a greater area is called widespread survey while a more delimited or less extensive survey is known as a limited survey. A limited survey is comparatively more reliable and less liable to mistakes but it carries with it the probability of some of the facts being omitted. On the other hand, a widespread survey includes many aspects of the subject under study and presents a more complete picture. But, due to its extension, it becomes less reliable because the probability of irregularities is increased.
8. Public or confidential surveys: it is evident from the very name that public surveys are those in which the processes and results of study are not concealed while the confidential surveys are those in which the processes and results are not revealed to people. Whether the survey is going to be public or confidential depends upon it nature and aim.
9. Postal or personal surveys: postal survey, as the term itself implies, is a method in which the survey or obtain the answers by sending the questionnaire by post. If the survey is to be a personal one then the surveyor has to move about the area to be surveyed and collect information. Postal survey certainly does economies upon effort and money but the information which it can obtain is very limited and lacks reliability. Although personal survey demands more time, energy and money the information obtained is correspondingly more comprehensive and more reliable.
10. Regular or ad-hoe surveys: regular surveys are conducted after the lapse of a fixed period of time. The organization made for an ad-hoe survey is temporary and is dissolved after the survey has been completed. An ad-hoe survey, in comparison with a regular survey, supplies less extensive and less comparative information but it, all the same time, involves the expenditure of less time, money and energy.

In the book Social Survey in Town and Country Areas, Herman N. Morse has accepted the following steps in the scientific methods of social survey:

1. Definition of the purpose or object.
2. Definition of the problem to be studied.
3. The analysis of this problem in a schedule.
4. The delimitation of the area or scope.
5. Examination of all documentary sources.
6. Field work.
7. Arrangement, tabulation and statistical analysis of the data.
8. The interpretation of the results.
9. Deduction.
10. Graphic expression.

Social surveys are carried on by official or non-official bodies with a  set purpose or object, for example, to explore particular facts regarding a particular  problem. This problem should also be well defined and precise. Clarity of the problem is the sine quo of all scientific research. Now each problem involves several important aspects which should be minutely studied. Hence, after defining the problem, it should be analyzed in a schedule. Then, the researcher should delimit the area of scope or survey. Without this delimitation, survey would be neither possible nor useful. For example, there can be no general survey of the working conditions of the laborers. Only the working conditions of the laborers at a particular factory or city may be studied. Now, actual survey starts. This is a twofold job, first, examination of documentary sources and second, field work. Examination of documentary sources is table work and if done properly, it will save much labor besides clarifying the actual lines of field work. The field work involves on the spot inquiries from the person concerned. For this, the surveyor should visit the area of survey and gather necessary information in the pre-planned schedule. After the gathering of the data through the above mentioned steps, facts are systematically arranged, tabulated and analyzed. These results are now to be interpreted. This requires a statistically keen understanding of the problem and an objective approach. In fact, interpretation of the results is the most important steps in a survey. This interpretation helps in the deduction of useful principles. Finally, the results are graphically expressed so that the whole thing may be understood at a glance.

Limitations of Social Survey 

As in evident from the meaning and purpose of social survey, this method has certain limitations. It studies only one part of the society. In it the study of the working of the lower classes is made something of a specialty. Obviously enough, in social survey, there is no endeavor to obtain detailed information about the middle and the upper class people. But to be limited is no defect in any scientific method. The scientific method invariably studies only a delimited subject, a fact which constitutes its limitation, but it is, at the same time the secret of its success and validity. It is for this reason that the survey method yields organized, systematic and scientific information about the problem, on the basis of which, programs for social development and social reconstruction can be formed. It also protects the society from becoming disintegrated. Information regarding different aspects of social institutions and society is supplied by the use of the survey method.

REFERENCES

RURAL SOCIOLOGY BY RAJENDRA KUMAR SHARMA