Transcript Creating Surveys That Work!

Creating Surveys that Work!
Copyright 2009 National Student
Loan Program
Why should I survey?
• To find out what your clients want and
expect
• To measure attitudes of employees, other
offices
• Examples – customer service, usefulness
of forms
2
Six key areas
•
•
•
•
•
•
What do you want to learn?
Who should you survey?
What method should I use?
How do I design the survey?
How do I administer the survey?
I have the results—now what?
3
What do I want to learn from the
survey?
•
•
•
•
Purpose
Plan
Brainstorm
Be efficient
4
Selecting the audience
•
•
•
•
Target audience
How to choose a sample to survey
How many respondents
Everyone invited might not respond
5
What method should I use?
•
•
•
•
•
Web-based surveys
E-mail surveys
Telephone surveys
Mail surveys
Personal interviews
6
Web-based surveys
• Highest response rates
• Fast, easy, effective and inexpensive
– free web-based services—SurveyMonkey,
Polldaddy, eSurveyPro
– useful if primarily Internet users
– respondents may be more honest
7
8
E-mail surveys
• Economical and fast
• Current/correct e-mail addresses
• Less control of survey
9
From: Me
To: You
Subject: A sample email survey. Please click the REPLY BUTTON of your email program
to participate in this survey.
1. What is your gender? [ ] Male [ ] Female
(Place an X between the brackets to indicate your response)
2. How old are you? [
]
(Please type your answer between the brackets)
3. What is your favorite brand?
(Place an X between the brackets to indicate your response)
[ ] Brand X
[ ] Brand Z
[ ] Brand Y
[ ] Undecided
4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate our product?
(Please type your answer between the brackets)Rating: [
]
(1=Poor & 10=Excellent)
5. What is the one thing we could do to improve our product?
(Please type your answer between the brackets)
[
]
<== CLICK THE SEND BUTTON TO FINISH THIS SURVEY ==>
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION!
10
Telephone surveys
•
•
•
•
At one time, the most popular method
Immediate feedback
Longer/more complete answers
Telemarketers have given research by
phone a bad name
• Small window of time to call
11
Sample telephone survey script
Hello, I'm ______ calling on behalf of [organization name]. We are doing a
survey and are asking questions about [topic of survey questions]. The
information provided will be used to [describe purpose of study]. We are not
trying to sell you anything. Your phone number has been chosen [describe
random or purposive sampling] to be included in the study.
I [will/won't] ask for your name, address, [or other personal information that
can identify you]. [if collecting identifying data, briefly explain how it will be
kept confidential]
I [will/won't] include your phone number with your responses to make sure
that we accurately collect your information. You don't have to answer any
question you don't want to, and you can end the interview at any time. The
interview takes only about [estimate number of minutes] and any
information you give me will be confidential. If you have questions about
this survey, I will provide you with a telephone number for you to call to get
more information.
[If the respondent has questions about the survey, the researcher must
provide a telephone number to call for more information and offer to provide
the IRB Chair contact information on rights as a research subject].
12
Mail surveys
•
•
•
•
Traditional method
Takes longer for results
Increase response with follow-up
Offer incentives
13
Public Library Districts: An Introduction; Creating
Public Library Districts in New York State: A “Howto” Guide
Mail survey example
•
•
•
•
•
Please choose one adult member of your household to complete this
questionnaire on behalf of all family or household members.
Your answers to these questions will be held in confidence and reported
only in statistical summaries. Please do not give us your name and address.
If you have any questions about this survey please telephone the Library at
(518) 555-0000.
Thank you for your cooperation in our efforts to plan for the future and
continue to serve you to the limits of our ability.
1. How many individuals of all ages are presently living in your
household? DO NOT INCLUDE ANY HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS AWAY AT
SCHOOL, IN ARMED FORCES, ETC.
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
E. 5 or more, please specify: ___
14
Personal interviews
• Can be more expensive and time
consuming
• Can provide more in-depth data
• Intimidating
15
Designing the survey
• Organize your questions
– free text—for questions that need longer,
more detailed answers
– multiple choice—quick and simple, answers
restricted
– multiple tick boxes—similar to multiple choice
but respondent can choose multiple options
16
How to design
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Start with simple questions
Limit the number of questions
Have an introduction and ending
Keep questions brief and clear
Don’t ask complex questions
If you ask yes/no questions, follow-up with “why”
Don’t ask leading questions
Deal with open-ended questions
Review and test the survey before it is
implemented
17
Administer the survey
• Don’t send your survey to all respondents
at the same time
• Administration involves collecting the
information and ensuring quality of
process
• Reminders and incentives
18
Interpret the results
•
•
•
•
How do you want to tabulate your results
Trends in responses
Overall average/relative scores
Survey comments
19
Sample results
20
Implementing what we learned
•
•
•
•
It’s not over!
Focus groups
Discuss the results
How to use the results
21
Surveys can make a
difference!
22
To find out more
• Customer Service for Dummies, by Karen
Leland and Keith Bailey
• Knowledge Base Tutorials. Online Survey
Glossary. http://www.knowledgebase.supersurvey.com/glossary.htm
• Dillman, Don A. 2000. Mail and Internet Surveys:
The Tailored Design Method. New York: John
Wiley & Sons
• Salant, Priscilla, and Don Dillman. 1994. How
to Conduct Your Own Survey. New York: John
Wiley & Sons
23
More information
National Student Loan Program
1300 O St., PO Box 82507
Lincoln, NE 68501-2507
www.nslp.org
800-735-8778
Shelley Sutton
785-224-8069
[email protected]
24