Student-Collected Survey Data: An Examination of Data Quality and the Value of Survey Research as a Learning Tool

Instructors who use students enrolled in survey methodology courses to collect data must ensure that the process is not unreasonably difficult for some students and that the data gathered are representative of the population. Two sets of student-collected survey data are used to examine the fairness of the data-collection process for students and the quality of the data based on comparisons with census data. The findings demonstrate this process is a useful learning tool that efficiently yields quality data. The authors provide suggestions for improvement in student survey-data collection based on their experience as both students and instructors in the experiential-education-based data-collection process.