So, would you like your original research published in a reputed or high-impact journal of medicine? Well, a survey study could be one of the ways forward. These studies require fewer resources and are easier to carry out than interventional studies.

So, if you lack resources, infrastructure, or even abilities to conduct clinical studies, this is no excuse for not doing any study. Survey studies still contribute significantly to the development of medical science and are relatively easily managed.

Here the options are limitless. For example, during covid-19, many researchers published survey studies regarding disease awareness, vaccine hesitancy, pandemic-related stress, and much more.

Carrying out such a study in the pre-internet era would have been a challenge. However, now most of the tasks involved in the study can be managed through the technology. Therefore, spreading the word, preparing survey questions, carrying out the survey, and data analysis all those steps can be performed more readily.

1.      Start out with a survey question

This is the first step in any study. You would first need to identify the relevant question. It is something that you must dedicate much time to. After all, any study is as relevant as the question itself. So, for example, understanding vaccine hesitancy in various population groups is quite important.

However, survey studies can be used to understand more complex themes. For example, they can also be used to study the prevalence of stress in the population group, satisfaction from specific interventions, and much more.

Therefore, survey studies are not just about understanding attitudes or trends. They can even be used to understand diseases, interventions, etc. They might also produce important epidemiological data, and so on.

Before finalizing the survey question, we highly recommend that person go through the literature review on the topic. This will help you decide if your question is relevant, how complex it is to answer the question, what must be explored in the survey,  what are the existing knowledge gaps, and much more.

2.      Designing an Effective Survey Questionnaire

This is a crucial and daunting step. The quality of questions would ultimately decide the quality of the study. This can be a pretty challenging task. Moreover, creating questionnaires is one thing, and validating them is another thing altogether.

Here the best way to get started is either use some of the existing toolboxes created by some reputed organizations like the NIH has more than 50 toolboxes for assessing mental health, behavior, cognition, and more.

The second approach could be using the questionnaire from another well-recognized study, of course, to not forget to take the needed permissions from the authors or give credit to the original authors.

The above are two simple and effective ways of getting started with survey questions.

3.      Determine the population group and sample size

Any study is done in a specific population group. For example, you might be interested in exploring Monkey Pox awareness among men. Or you might be interested in exploring breast cancer awareness among women.

Here it is vital to be more selective about the population group, as this will add greater value to the study. For example, most breast cancers are diagnosed in women older than 50 years of age. Thus, you might be interested in exploring its awareness in women older than 35 years of age. Of course, you might include younger women, but that may lower the importance of your findings.

Fortunately, in the internet age, the sample size is less of a concern since reaching a large number of people is relatively easier. Nevertheless, it is vital to limit the survey to specific numbers; else, it may result in the generation of too much data and also take too long. One can use many online sample size calculators to understand the best sample size for that particular study. Calculating a sample size is among the complex steps, so we recommend learning a bit more about it.

4.      Data collection and analysis

Again, there used to be times when data collection was highly challenging. It often meant posting surveys through the postal mail or interviewing individuals. However, nowadays, one would be better off by using online surveys.

Here there are many options. The best choice for most people could be using Google Forms. Platforms like Google Forms make data collection and even analysis a breeze. However, alternatively, one may even use Google Sheets or other kinds of forms and share them with people through emails.

Once the data has been received, the next crucial step is data analysis. This could be one of the most challenging tasks. Here one may either consult a statistician or do some study to understand how to analyze data correctly. If data analysis is done wrong, everything goes in vain.

5.      Prepare your manuscript

Finally, start preparing your manuscript according to the requirements of the specific journals. Although manuscript preparation may appear relatively simple, many researchers find it challenging. Many researchers are not good at writing. However, one must understand that writing is a skill that develops with practice. So, keep practicing and improving your manuscripts.

One of the common reasons why many manuscripts get rejected is due to poor presentation. In many instances, it does not follow the journal format. Thus, always pay attention to these matters.

That is not the end once the manuscript has been accepted and the article published. It is just the beginning. It is vital that people discover and read your study. Therefore, make some efforts to promote your study through social media and other ways.

To sum up, survey studies are one of the relatively simpler ways of getting started with clinical research. Such studies are easier to register as a trial or study, and they also more readily get approvals from ethical committees. Moreover, such studies are not likely to harm the participants.