title: Good practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research.
abstract: Survey research is sometimes regarded as an easy research approach. However, as with any other research approach and method, it is easy to conduct a survey of poor quality rather than one of high quality and real value. This paper provides a checklist of good practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research. Its purpose is to assist the novice researcher to produce survey work to a high standard, meaning a standard at which the results will be regarded as credible. The paper first provides an overview of the approach and then guides the reader step-by-step through the processes of data collection, data analysis, and reporting. It is not intended to provide a manual of how to conduct a survey, but rather to identify common pitfalls and oversights to be avoided by researchers if their work is to be valid and credible.
authors.affiliation: Research Department, Worthing & Southland Hospitals NHS Trust, Worthing, West Sussex, UK.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kelley
authors.forename: Belinda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Vivienne
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sitzia
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection / Q000592:standards; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D011786:Quality Control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D006113:United Kingdom