About Us
The Survey Lab conducts a variety of social science studies across a wide range of topics using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In addition to surveys, the Survey Lab conducts focus groups, in-person interviews, observations and rating scales. Our clients also fall into a number of different categories - from academics/professors to local, non-profit organizations.
The work of the University of Chicago Survey Lab has entailed varying degrees of involvement at different stages of the research process. Some clients come to us with questions that they have already formulated and simply need us to conduct the survey. For others, we might design the questionnaire but not administer it, and for others we might design the questionnaire, administer the survey and conduct the data analysis. Some clients want consulting about a specific phase of their project, while others wish to be coached through the whole process of conducting their own survey. We may take on a discrete task associated with a study (data entry or web-hosting, for example), or we carry out an entire survey project from start to finish.
In contrast to survey operations designed to support production work, The University of Chicago Survey Lab's smaller size and ability to accommodate textual as well as numeric data allows us to more fully customize our approach to the nature of the research question and to maintain flexible research designs that can adjust to meet the needs of field conditions. Our short chain of command insures that clients work directly with experienced and qualified staff who are directly involved at every phase of the project.
The Survey Lab takes great care to protect the confidentiality of our respondents. All projects at the Survey Lab are cleared through the University's Institutional Review Board, a committee charged with the ethical review of research protocols. Staff at the Lab are trained to understand the seriousness of maintaining respondent confidentiality. Our data entry systems store contact information separately from answers to survey questions. We employ firewalls, alarmed rooms, locking file cabinets and password-protected systems to keep your data safe.
