# Can Large Language Models Revolutionize Survey Research? Experiments with Disaster Preparedness Responses

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.19229 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.19229/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 12 of its 58 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 19 May 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Language Models are Few-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14165/) (2020)
- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.11401/) (2020)
- [A Survey of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.18223/) (2023)
- [A Survey on Hallucination in Large Language Models: Principles, Taxonomy, Challenges, and Open Questions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.05232/) (2023)
- [Out of One, Many: Using Language Models to Simulate Human Samples](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.06899/) (2022)
- [Large Language Models: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.06196/) (2024)
- [HalluLens: LLM Hallucination Benchmark](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.17550/) (2025)
- [Random Silicon Sampling: Simulating Human Sub-Population Opinion Using a Large Language Model Based on Group-Level Demographic Information](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.18144/) (2024)
- [Using Large Language Models for Qualitative Analysis can Introduce Serious Bias](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.17147/) (2023)
- [Automated Survey Collection with LLM-based Conversational Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.02891/) (2025)
- [PersonaFuse: A Personality Activation-Driven Framework for Enhancing Human-LLM Interactions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.07370/) (2025)
- [AI-Assisted Conversational Interviewing: Effects on Data Quality and Respondent Experience](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.13908/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Survey research faces mounting structural challenges: declining response rates, sample bias, block-wise missingness among at-risk respondents, and AI-assisted fraudulent completions in online panels. Large language models (LLMs) have been proposed as a remedy, yet rigorous evaluations across the full survey workflow remain scarce, particularly in disaster contexts where data quality matters most. We present and evaluate a five-stage framework for LLM integration covering questionnaire design, sample selection, pilot testing, missing-data imputation, and post-collection analysis, using the 2024 Hurricane Milton preparedness survey of Florida residents (n=946) as a shared empirical testbed. We introduce a Protection Motivation Theory (PMT)-constrained co-occurrence knowledge graph and develop seven LLM configurations spanning zero-shot inference, retrieval-augmented baselines, and novel theory-informed variants. Our proposed Anchored Marginal Theory-Informed LLM (A-TLM) outperforms all three classical imputation baselines (IPW/MI, MICE+PMM, missForest) on RMSE under disaster-relevant block-wise MNAR conditions (S4 RMSE 1.439 vs. 1.496 for the next-best), while achieving near-zero signed bias (-0.121) where the random-forest imputer produces the largest absolute bias (-0.631). Organizing retrieval around PMT causal structure and integrating all evidence in a single model call outperforms unstructured retrieval and staged sequential inference (MAE 0.993 vs. 1.097 for standard RAG). We document that near-zero aggregate bias can mask opposing subgroup errors and propose subgroup-stratified bias auditing as a reporting standard. A retrieval-constrained knowledge-graph chatbot demonstrates that hallucination is architecturally manageable through grounded refusal.