Measurement Issues in Surveys of Giving and Volunteering and Strategies Applied in the Design of Canada’s National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating

Despite the frequent use of surveys to study charitable giving and volunteering, little is known about the quality of the data collected. This article discusses the challenges associated with designing giving and volunteering surveys, suggests strategies for improving measures of giving and volunteering, and shows how they were applied in the design of Canada’s 1997 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating.