The methodological challenges of global surveys: A Quaker case study

This paper discusses the methodological framework and initial findings of the first-ever World Survey of Friends in 2024, which was conducted among the participants of the World Plenary held by the Friends World Committee for Consultation in 2024. The survey was run by Woodbrooke's Centre for Research in Quaker Studies, which has a 35-year track record in surveying Quakers in Britain, and it gathered responses of Quakers from across the world and the breadth of theological traditions. In that context, this paper compares the challenges of constructing a new, global and multilingual survey with those of administering a well-established survey within a single territory. I argue that the quantitative approach to such a survey has academic value but that it can be significantly enhanced when combined with qualitative comments and interviews detailing individual experiences.