Survey

Structured questionnaire distributed to a large sample of users to collect quantitative data on behaviors, preferences, satisfaction, and motivations at scale.

Process

Key Fields

Question it answers	What percentage of users want feature X? How satisfied are users with aspect Y? What are preferences across the population?
Participants & timing	100-1,000 responses · 1-4 weeks distribution · 1-2 weeks analysis
AI compatibility	AI generates initial summaries, identifies correlations, and creates segmentation dashboards; question design and interpretation require human judgment.
Output	Survey report with demographic breakdowns, preference distributions, correlations, recommendations

Use when

Quantitative data is needed to validate qualitative findings
Feature prioritization requires understanding demand at scale
Satisfaction or NPS is tracked over time
Segment preferences are expected to differ and need measurement

Skip when

Qualitative research alone is sufficient to make the decision
Population is too small (under 100 possible respondents)
Topic is sensitive and people will not answer honestly in a survey

Common Mistakes

Confusing questions with unclear options

"How often do you use the app? [Daily, Weekly, Sometimes, Rarely]" - what does "sometimes" mean? Pre-test with 5 people; if they ask clarifying questions, rewrite.

Leading questions

"Don't you think the new design is better?" vs. "Compare the new design to the previous one. What changed?" Neutral questions get honest feedback.

Low response rate invalidates conclusions

A 5% email response rate likely skews toward people with strong opinions. Report the response rate; do not extrapolate from low-response data as if it represents the full population.