Survey vs Experiment
Survey and experiment are one and the same thing when you see them superficially but an in depth study of these two terms will reveal a truly different story. When a business man wants to market his products it’s the survey he will need and not an experiment and similarly a scientist who has discovered a new element or a new drug he will need an experiment to prove its usefulness and not a survey. A survey is random opinion of different people who give their opinion about a particular product or about a particular issue whereas experiment is a comprehensive study about something to prove it scientifically.
Survey is often conducted by the volunteers or by the employees of a company so that the usefulness of a product to the consumer can be established but an experiment of the same product is conducted by the qualified person a scientist or an educated person so that the effectiveness of the product and its safety of the consumer can be ensured. Survey involves analysis of data that is amassed by the volunteers regarding the product or regarding the opinion as in the case of an issue but experiment zeroes down on the figures that are obtained when the product is put to different tests.
Both survey and experiment can at times be mistaken as same by a layman but they are definitely poles apart. Survey is conducted on a mass scale with lots of data but experiment does not require mass data as it only requires qualitative data. The results of survey are never dependable as they are simply opinions and may show a certain bias but the results of an experiment are the confirmed results that reflect the true nature of the product. Hence it can be said that survey is a mere shadow whereas experiment is the true reflection.