Research means process of seeking knowledge to answer questions or problems that exist systematically and has a clear objective. The research questions were determined obtained from studying documents and direct experience. That includes planning research or writing research projects including creating tools to collect data for research, collect data, analyze data and write research reports.

Survey Research

Survey research is research that focuses on collect information. It is a search for facts in events that occurred. Researcher can’t arbitrarily set the values of the variables such as researcher wants to survey the opinions of students regarding the college’s teaching and learning services, want to study the opinions of males and females whether they are different or not. The primary variable is gender and the values of the primary variables are male and female. The value of the variable is something that researchers cannot determine.

Process of Survey Research  

Survey research is the most commonly used research method in Thailand to collect data, random sample from the target population to be studied. Then use the results from this sample study to refer or extrapolate to the entire population again. Denzin proposed 9 steps of survey research:

1. Determining the format of the problem to be studied. Feature of the study is descriptive or explanatory and includes the hypothesis that needs to be tested, indicating the general of the problem.
2. Define the specific research problem. Interpret the concepts in the problem to be studied into measurable variables and identify the sample group that will be used as the unit of study.
3. Selecting the format of the survey to match the research.
4. Create research tools.
5. Set the format for data analysis. Select independent variables, dependent variables and control variables along with specify the scale or index of each variable.
6. Scheduled entry into data table. Preparing the analysis model. Prepare code for issues and questions in the questionnaire to make it easier to convert the data into analysis.
7. Preparation for the interviewer and interviewee. Before researchers go to work in the field. The interviewer must be trained and instructed on the location of the research area and the interviewees were determined, which was a sample of the population.
8. Analysis results of the collect data. Researchers must focus on finding answers to the problems that arise :
   • Did the sample group studied have the same details as the sample group that was expected? If researchers use a statistical sampling model, they must evaluate how likely the sample is and comparing it with the early patterns that were placed on the characteristics of the majority of the population.
   • Refusals rate to answer the questions that arise, calculations must be taken into account because this is an important issue of the research which must be checked whether or not it was due to an error in the sample bias.
9. Hypothesis testing Researchers must create a multivariate analysis model to see the co-variation between variables. Arrange in order relationship of variables and when the analysis process is concluded. Researchers must consider whether the data is sufficient to test the hypotheses and how the results support or contradict the hypotheses.