Data obtained by asking people questions, often utilising an electronic or paper form or through guided interviews. The volume of survey data can often be far higher than is provided by more intensive methods such as direct observation, usability tests or more in depth interviews. Closed questions, whose answers are chosen from a fixed set of options, are useful as they generate easy to analyse statistical data, but they often only tell you what is happening. Typically you need more qualitative data to help you understand why and how, including the motivation and mechanism. Such data may be obtained through open questions in the survey, or through complementary methods.
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