What method allows a data officer to retrieve information about the incident for which a survey has been submitted?

The correct answer is based on the functionality of database operations, specifically how data can be connected and retrieved from multiple tables. Utilizing a left join method allows a data officer to retrieve all records from one table (say the survey submissions), along with the matched records from another table (such as the incident records). This is particularly useful when you want to ensure that every survey submission is included, even if there isn't a corresponding incident record.

When performing a left join, any survey submission will display its related incident data when available. If there are no corresponding incidents, the result will still show the survey submission with null values for the incident fields. This method effectively provides a comprehensive view, enabling the analysis of survey submissions in context with the incidents they relate to.

The other options, such as inner joins, subqueries, and creating a data source, serve different purposes. Inner joins would exclude any survey submissions that do not have corresponding incidents, which may not be desirable if the objective is to retrieve all submissions regardless of incident association. Subqueries can be complex and may not directly link the two sets of data as seamlessly. Creating a data source is a method of accessing data but does not pertain directly to retrieving data from interconnected tables like joins do.