What are surveys?

A survey is like asking lots of friends the same question to find out what they all think together.

Imagine you're trying to decide which flavor of ice cream your class should have for dessert. Instead of guessing, you could ask everyone in the class: “Do you like chocolate or vanilla best?” That's a survey, it helps you know what most people want by collecting their answers.

A survey has questions that people answer, just like when your teacher asks you, “How did you feel about today’s math lesson?” You pick an option, like “I loved it!” or “It was tricky.”

Then, the person doing the survey adds up all the answers. If most say “I loved it!”, that means the class probably wants more fun math lessons, just like how you might want more ice cream!

People use surveys to make decisions about things like:

• What game to play at recess
• What movie to watch on a field trip
• Even what new toy your school should buy

It’s like collecting little pieces of opinions, then putting them all together, and that helps you know the best choice!