When deciding the best way to analyze your survey responses, it is important to note what kind of information you gathered and how you collected it.
For example, if you asked your participants to fill out a series of short-answer responses, then it would be best to analyze the survey responses through qualitative methods.
However, if you have administered a standard survey using choose all that apply, multiple-choice, scaled responses, or enter number questions, then there are a few different options for analyzing and presenting the responses you received.
Once you have collected all your information, you generally have three options regarding how to proceed: 1) use visualizations to represent the data, 2) analyze the data using descriptive information, or 3) make some inference about the population using statistical tools.
Personal Project
When looking over your research, consider which sections are most vital in answering your research question, as well as what can be added to further your project’s main takeaway. Also, consider your intended audience: Who will care about what you’re saying, and what will they care about specifically? Will they want to know about who you spoke to? Who will they want to share the results with?
When you’re ready to start analyzing your survey responses, start by considering the general trends in the responses you have received, either through graphs and visualizations, or through descriptive measures of the responses. If you are hoping to describe the population as a whole, or test specific comparisons within the group, then you may want to consider using one or more statistical tools. You’ll learn more about how to do this later in this section.
