What does a survey researcher do?
Survey researcher responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real survey researcher resumes:
- Develop software tools to automate cad work.
- Modify standard Nielsen script as required to achieve customer cooperation.
- Assist in calculating records of survey, plats, Alta's, and parcel maps.
- Administer computer-assist telephone interviews (CATI) targeting specific respondents for data.
- Work using (CATI) computer assist telephone interface software doing political polling and survey research.
- Generate survey drawings and reports for control, ALTA, construction as-built, topographic & property surveys.
- Collect the data and import into programs, use SAS programming language to produce tables of results and findings.
- Script cross platform and device compatible surveys on a python base platform with support for embed JavaScript, HTML and CSS.
- Compute and analyze regression and logistic models of national census data.
- Experience in working with difficult-to-survey populations such as physicians, Medicaid populations, retirees, and people suffering from chronic disease conditions
- Utilize creative skills in generating promos for represent photographers through InDesign and Photoshop.
Survey researcher skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Survey Researchers are proficient in Conduct Interviews, Conduct Surveys, and Public Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Problem-solving skills, Analytical skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Survey Researchers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Conduct Interviews, 14%
Conduct interviews with various groups to provide statistical data for numerous companies and the state.
- Conduct Surveys, 12%
Plan and conduct surveys commissioned by a variety of external business and public policy organizations.
- Public Health, 9%
couple of thousand calls per week, several important surveys completed on election results and public onions on public health.)
- Customer Service, 7%
Called consumers and businesses giving surveys of different opinions of products purchased or improving customer service within the business
- Market Research, 6%
Conducted labor market research and data analysis through statistical survey research, and developed survey instruments for data acquisition.
- Outbound Calls, 6%
Survey Research Make outbound calls Conduct scientific & governmental surveys Record and maintain responses of selected respondents
Common skills that a survey researcher uses to do their job include "conduct interviews," "conduct surveys," and "public health." You can find details on the most important survey researcher responsibilities below.
Problem-solving skills. One of the key soft skills for a survey researcher to have is problem-solving skills. You can see how this relates to what survey researchers do because "survey researchers need problem-solving skills when identifying survey design issues, adjusting survey questions, and interpreting survey results." Additionally, a survey researcher resume shows how survey researchers use problem-solving skills: "conducted over the phone surveys customer service with over the phone receipents resolved complaints from the respondents"
Analytical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling survey researcher duties is analytical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "survey researchers must be able to apply statistical techniques to large amounts of data and interpret the results correctly." According to a survey researcher resume, here's how survey researchers can utilize analytical skills in their job responsibilities: "conducted phone interviews and actively recorded interviewee responses into the computer database for future references. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of survey researchers is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday survey researcher duties, as "survey researchers must pay attention to details, because survey results depend on collecting, analyzing, and reporting the data accurately." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "determined and specified details of survey projects, including sources of information, procedures to be used. "
Communication skills. A big part of what survey researchers do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to survey researcher responsibilities because "survey researchers need strong communication skills when conducting surveys and interpreting and presenting results to clients." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical survey researcher tasks: "enhanced communication skills through survey administration ~applied knowledge about criminology to assist survey completion ~communicated survey results to research staff survey administrator"
The three companies that hire the most survey researchers are:
- American Institutes for Research11 survey researchers jobs
- Deloitte8 survey researchers jobs
- Mathematica7 survey researchers jobs
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Compare different survey researchers
Survey researcher vs. Pollster
An Interviewer is responsible for relaying the right questions and evaluating candidates to determine if they would be an efficient addition to a company or organization. Besides asking the right questions, one must have a keen sense of observation to have a reliable and unbiased basis of discernment. The duties of an interviewer include reviewing requirements and necessary documentation, conveying and discussing the nature of the job description, and recognizing a candidate's talent and ability.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a survey researcher are more likely to require skills like "conduct interviews," "public health," "customer service," and "market research." On the other hand, a job as a pollster requires skills like "survey completion," "social issues," "survey research," and "government officials." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, pollsters reach similar levels of education than survey researchers. Pollsters are 3.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Survey researcher vs. Interviewer
Each career also uses different skills, according to real survey researcher resumes. While survey researcher responsibilities can utilize skills like "market research," "outbound calls," "research surveys," and "literature reviews," interviewers use skills like "data entry," "life insurance," "quality standards," and "telephone calls."
Interviewers earn similar levels of education than survey researchers in general. They're 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Survey researcher vs. Survey operations director
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, survey researchers are more likely to have skills like "conduct interviews," "conduct surveys," "public health," and "customer service." But a survey operations director is more likely to have skills like "survey operations," "qc," "survey data," and "data acquisition."
Most survey operations directors achieve a similar degree level compared to survey researchers. For example, they're 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Survey researcher vs. Research methodologist
Types of survey researcher
Updated January 8, 2025
