This discussion constructs a survey data quality strategy for institutional researchers in higher education in light of total survey error theory. It starts with describing the characteristics of institutional research and identifying the gaps in literature regarding survey data quality issues in institutional research and then introduces the quality perspective of a survey process and the major components of total survey error. A proposed strategy for inspecting survey data quality is presented on the basis of five types of survey error and the characteristics of typical institutional research survey projects. The strategy consists of identifying "quality measures" for each type of survey error, and then identifying "quality control" and "quality assurance" procedures for each of the quality measures. The discussion concludes with the implications of the strategy for institutional researchers and some closing thoughts. A checklist for inspecting survey data quality is provided in the appendix.