The Social Survey

The technique of social surveying and the technology of social surveys have developed so recently and so rapidly that a thorough analysis of them is immensely important. It is the purpose of the author to present, from his experience as a social surveyor, and from a rather extended study of social surveys, the evolution, methods, and value of the social survey. Chapter I is an attempt to introduce them to the purposes of the social survey. Chapter II describes the origins and evolution of the survey idea and survey methods and should thus give the reader a more comprehensive appreciation of the purpose of social surveys. Chapters III and IV are attempts to equip the reader with a beginning knowledge of just how to go about making a social survey. The appendix should be studied in conjunction with these chapters. Chapter V presents some things of theoretical value to be derived from the social survey. The bulletin is published with the hope that it will serve as a manual for social surveyors who want to do actual field work.