Guidelines for Writing Survey Reports

Example:

This survey indicates that no disparity exists between males and females regarding Internet use.

Acceptable:

The respondents claim that their frequency of Internet use is due to its popularity and entertainment value.

Unacceptable:

According to respondents: “We use the Internet because it is popular and provides entertainment.”

Acceptable:

Nothing in the data suggests that this trend will be reversed in the future.

Unacceptable:

I have seen nothing in the survey to suggest that they will be able to reverse this trend in the short to medium term.

Example:

This survey suggests that a correlation exists between the frequency of cellphone use and incidents of clinical depression among selected senior high school students.

Example:

75% or 375 of the 500 respondents were surveyed; of the 9,545 senior high school students, only 75% or 7,159 of the total population were involved in this survey.

These exact quantifiers are more concise than the following vague expressions: a majority of the respondents; a large number of people; a significant proportion of those involved in the survey. Avoid using these phrases as they do not contribute to the clarity and accuracy of your survey report.