There are three reasons for this:
- Comparing the answers to some demographic questions allows the researchers to get a sense of how closely the survey respondent match the overall institution or organization’s population in key characteristics. That is, it gives a sense of the extent to which survey results are representative of the population at large.
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Audit results can be used to break out results to see differences in answers across groups of people. This is essential for making sense of the results.
- In a few instances, demographic questions asked at the beginning of the survey are used to filter additional questions. This reduces the likelihood that you are asked to answer questions that are not relevant to you.
In all cases, these questions may be skipped. In most cases, there are options for “choose not to answer,” or “not listed.”