WHAT IS SURVEY 
      RESEARCH?
       Survey research is used: 
       “To answer questions that have been raised, 
      to  solve  problems  that  have  been  posed  or 
      observed, to assess needs and set goals, to 
      determine whether or not specific objectives 
      have been met, to establish baselines against 
      which  future  comparisons  can  be  made,  to 
      analyze trends across time, and generally, to 
      describe what exists, in what amount, and in 
      what context.”
       (Isaac & Michael, 1997, p. 136) 
    THREE DISTINGUISHING 
    CHARACTERISTICS OF 
    SURVEY RESEARCH
   
   First,  survey  research  is  used  to  quantitatively  describe 
   specific aspects of a given population. These aspects often 
   involve examining the relationships among variables.
   
     Second,  the  data  required  for  survey  research  are 
   collected from people and are, therefore, subjective. 
   
   Finally,  survey  research  uses  a  selected  portion  of  the 
   population  from  which  the  findings  can  later  be 
   generalized back to the population
   POPULATION
    
    A  research  population  is  generally  a  large 
    collection  of  individuals  or  objects  that  is  the 
    main focus of a scientific query. ... This is the 
    reason  why  researchers  rely  on  sampling 
    techniques.
    
    A  research  population  is  also  known  as  a 
    well-defined collection of individuals or objects 
    known to have similar characteristics.
   UNIVERSE
    
   The universe consists of all survey elements 
   that  qualify  for  inclusion  in  the  research 
   study. The precise definition of the universe 
   for a particular study is set by the research 
   question,  which  specifies  who  or  what  is  of 
   interest.  The  universe  may  be  individuals, 
   groups  of  people,  organizations,  or  even 
   objects.
    UNIVERSE AND POPULATION: 
    DISTINCTIONS
    
    From a statistical point of view, the term 
    ‘Universe’ refers to the total of the items 
    or units in any field of inquiry, whereas 
    the term ‘population’ refers to the total 
    of  items  about  which  information  is 
    desired.  The  attributes  that  are  the 
    object  of  study  are  referred  to  as 
    characteristics and the units possessing 
    them are called as elementary units. The 
    aggregate  of  such  units  is  generally 
    described as population.