By Samir Abu-Rumman, Ph.D.
I often hesitate to agree to undertake a quantitative survey research project, unlike my colleagues who are often more enthusiastic than I am. This type of research requires collective work and diverse efforts, including multiple stages in building questionnaires, collecting data, ensuring statistically and logically reliable response rates, and addressing other challenges that I don’t encounter in writing an article, delivering a lecture, or preparing a qualitative research that may only require personal effort until completion without waiting for data or assistance, without concerns and struggles in organization and quality control, and then patiently waiting to receive a message that the final results and report have been approved!
Therefore, some entities requesting this type of research understand the requirements and costs of public opinion research and generously invest, carefully choosing who conducts these research and surveys. Some prestigious universities also recognize the importance of this type of research, seeking to provide its requirements and budget to its students and faculty. This is exemplified by the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) at Qatar University, often referred to as the ‘Survey Clinic.’ I was pleased to participate in the experience of Princeton Survey Research Center, affiliated with the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA).
The Survey Research Center at Princeton University provides comprehensive support to students at different academic levels, whether they are undergraduates or postgraduates. Since 1992, the Center has been offering its diverse services free of charge, funded by the university. These services include providing access to survey databases for research studies, consultation on survey suitability for research studies, building forms, guidance on formulating and formatting questions, planning and designing the survey, assisting in developing the survey sample, preparing for and launching the survey, data collection, increasing participation rates, and statistically analyzing the data to extract results!
These services may appear qualitative but are of significant value because survey research inherently requires assistance in its various stages, especially for students, convincing them of the necessity of collective work. Therefore, Princeton Survey Research Center encourages students to interact and benefit from the services offered to them in various ways, including ‘Open House,’ where students at different stages are welcomed, and consultations are provided as mentioned earlier, regarding compliance with ethical standards and research-related guidance!
On the other hand, survey research is a collective effort, and it is in the industry’s interest not to be limited to one’s mind and thought. The gathering of minds facilitated by the consultations, advice, guidance, and extensive experiences offered by the Center will reduce errors and stumbling blocks. This will prevent anyone from resorting to cheating and providing false data to obtain a degree or promotion!
This article was first published in Arabic in Alanba daily newspaper and translated first in English on Generation1.ca.
Samir Abu-Rumman, PhD, is a visiting research scholar at Princeton University, USA, with extensive years of experience in research, education, and development in different countries. He is the supervisor of “World of Opinions” in Kuwait, Jordan, and the U.S., has led and supervised different regional and global research projects for organizations such as the World Values Survey and Arab Barometer for Princeton University and also last participated as a keynote panelist in our fall 2023 virtual insights career fair and case competition.
