Hierarchical Relational Survey — Multilevel Survey Research for Relational Questions

A hierarchical relational survey combines the correlational goals of relational survey research with a multilevel data structure in which respondents are nested within higher-level units such as classrooms, schools, hospitals, or organizations. The design acknowledges that observations within the same group are not independent, and uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) or equivalent multilevel techniques to examine relationships among variables both within and between levels simultaneously.