Research in music education
A "survey" is a systematic method of collecting information on one or more variables. An example of a survey study is a 1998 study by Gillespie and Hamann. The purpose of the study was to gather descriptive information about orchestra programs that can be used as baseline data when considering the needs of school string programs. The findings indicated a continued enrollment increase in school orchestras in the 1990s although the number of orchestra teachers remained stable, and that larger schools are more likely to offer orchestra instruction. The impact of the study was the recommendation that school systems should provide larger, more adequate teaching facilities and that universities and string teachers should emphasize strategies for teaching larger string classes in their teacher preparation programs.
Survey (human research)
The value of collected data completely depends upon how truthful respondents are in their answers on questionnaires. In general, survey researchers accept respondents’ answers as true. Survey researchers avoid reactive measurement by examining the accuracy of verbal reports, and directly observing respondents’ behavior in comparison with their verbal reports to determine what behaviors they really engage in or what attitudes they really uphold. Studies examining the association between self reports (attitudes, intentions) and actual behavior show that the link between them—though positive—is not always strong—thus caution is needed when extrapolating self-reports to actual behaviors, Dishonesty is pronounced in some sex-related queries, with men often amplifying their number of sex partners, while women tend to downplay and slash their true number.