AI exposure: Survey Researchers
Plan, develop, or conduct surveys. May analyze and interpret the meaning of survey data, determine survey objectives, or suggest or test question wording. Includes social scientists who primarily design questionnaires or supervise survey teams.
Reading this score
computed44.8% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Survey Researchers at the 81th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.8 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 16 tasks it averages 2.03 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, at 73.3%. The least is Hire and train recruiters and data collectors, at 10.0%. A gap of 63.3% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within life, physical and social science occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 60 roles in the group is 35.8%, and only 11 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 16 tasks, 13 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 2 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
16 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.54 | exposed |
| Produce documentation of the questionnaire development process, data collection methods, sampling designs, and decisions related to sample statistical weighting. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.15 | exposed |
| Write proposals to win new projects. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.96 | exposed |
| Write training manuals to be used by survey interviewers. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.35 | exposed |
| Monitor and evaluate survey progress and performance, using sample disposition reports and response rate calculations. | 64.2% | 23.3% | 12.5% | 4.42 | exposed |
| Determine and specify details of survey projects, including sources of information, procedures to be used, and the design of survey instruments and materials. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.46 | exposed |
| Direct updates and changes in survey implementation and methods. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.19 | exposed |
| Analyze data from surveys, old records, or case studies, using statistical software. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.88 | exposed |
| Consult with clients to identify survey needs and specific requirements, such as special samples. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.50 | exposed |
| Support, plan, and coordinate operations for single or multiple surveys. | 33.3% | 29.2% | 37.5% | 4.46 | exposed |
| Review, classify, and record survey data in preparation for computer analysis. | 33.3% | 29.2% | 37.5% | 3.92 | exposed |
| Conduct surveys and collect data, using methods such as interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, market analysis surveys, public opinion polls, literature reviews, and file reviews. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.77 | exposed |
| Conduct research to gather information about survey topics. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.19 | exposed |
| Collaborate with other researchers in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of surveys. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 4.35 | assisted |
| Direct and review the work of staff members, including survey support staff and interviewers who gather survey data. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 4.19 | untouched |
| Hire and train recruiters and data collectors. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 3.22 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.78 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.56 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.91 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.78 | 0-3 |
| Context | 2.03 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.66 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.