Sidney Gray

Response Assignment
UWRT 1102-021
March 24, 2016
After reading several questions and answers from the dieting interview, I
have picked up on several characteristics of survey questions. Usually when a
survey is asked, it is asked to a random group, but an interview on the other hand is
meant to be used with a person who already has prior knowledge of the subject
being questioned. The questions in this survey have been clearly planned out to be
asked in a specific order, and are much more complex and opinion based than a
survey question. The questions are meant to have unique responses from each
different individual interviewed, so the questions are less informational and rely
more on the opinion of the person beings asked. Using the information from an
interview, a writer can implement the raw opinion of the person being interviewed
into their paper as to add on to their personal opinion or see the topic form a
different perspective. The key difference between what I have noticed for an
interview and a survey is that a survey is meant to research variables and create
statistical data across a large spectrum of people, whereas an interview is meant to
squeeze opinions and personal story out of someone with prior
experience/knowledge of the subject at hand. I noticed in the survey that it was only
asked to members of the LBGT group, which is completely fine, however, most true
surveys that I have researched typically question a randomized group of people.
Also, the exact wording used for each question in the survey is not on this website,
so it is unclear how the questions were written. Typically in a survey questions are
asked in a neutral manner as not to sway the person taking the survey to a specific
side. Questions in this survey, as with all other surveys, are usually kept very short
and concise and have a short set of responses. Using the information from a survey,
a writer can include various statistics within the assignment which can help them
persuade their reader easier.
For the article on teen online dating, I chose to look at the section titled How
Teens Show Romantic Interest. This article utilizes both statistical data form a
survey as well as information from various short interviews. I think for me, as an
engineering student, the statistical data was more impactful than the quotes from
teenagers. Neither the interviews nor data are greater than the other, because they
both work in sync to give new knowledge or perspective to the writer and audience.
The data sets a base where the opinions then prove/disprove the data to help sway
the audience. For me, I believe that using a survey will be more helpful for me to
better understand how people view my topic.