What is a sociolinguistic survey and how is it done? Surveys on language use of the population

The aim of this paper is to explain the nature and mechanics of a sample survey using sociolinguistic surveys undertaken in Catalan language territories, especially the Survey on Language Uses of the Population. Sociolinguistic surveys collect information on knowledge, uses and attitudes towards language, no more methodological differences can be found with other surveys. This article explores the key concepts of this methodology: universe and sample, questionnaire, field work and analysis of results. Finally, we will discuss advantages, limitations and challenges of the sociolinguistic survey.