Surveys are a quantitative research method. They are exceptional at answering 'How many?' and 'How frequently?', but poor at answering 'Why?'. If you do not yet understand the problem space, launching a survey will only measure prevalence across flawed assumptions.
The Research Sequence: Always run qualitative interviews first to discover the language and variables your users care about. Then use surveys to validate the prevalence of those variables across a broader population.
Level 3 · Quantitative Surveys & Rating Scales