New ThisIsStatistics Video Features Survey Research as Career

“The demand for survey researchers is through the roof,” says Frauke Kreuter, director of the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland. “We have a 100 percent employment rate for our graduates.”

While many people might equate survey research with public opinion polling, the reality—as the latest ThisIsStatistics career video explores—goes far beyond that. “Companies are doing surveys to understand things like ad testing, testing products, and tracking their reputation,” says Kyley McGeeney, senior director of survey methods at PSB Market Research.

“On one day, I can be doing firefighter research, travel behavior research—I can be doing a housing discrimination study,” says Rob Santos of the Urban Institute, who points out that one common thread to survey research is the impact it often has on people’s lives.

It is this diversity of application, coupled with a lack of awareness of the field, says McGeeney, that means demand for survey researchers outstrips supply.

The video was developed for This is Statistics with the input and guidance of the ASA Survey Research Methods Section.