This is part 2 on the subject. You can find part 1 here.
DIY surveys are a great solution for some use cases and are
here to stay. They are fast, low cost and provide an excellent solution
to people who have basic research needs or even outside the context of
research – people who just want to collect and analyze data. However,
as I discussed in the previous part of this blog posting,
there are
some pitfalls to avoid when using them – (1) asking the wrong
(non-representative) group of people, (2) asking the questions the
wrong way (leading people to the answer), (3) missing out important
data points
because of complex tools or lack of experience in looking at
data.
About the first issue – there are multiple statistical
guidelines on how to “sample” correctly – but in general, the
simplest
guidelines are to sample your respondents randomly and make sure that
all respondents’ types are represented in the data set in correct
ratios.
About the second issue – there are a multiple lengthy
guidelines on how to create surveys correctly. To simplify
matters, we would recommend
using survey templates – most survey platforms have those today - or at
least try learning from templates on how to ask questions properly. In
general, try to ask short and concise questions and try not to confuse
your respondents with complex jargon. Most importantly – NEVER lead the
respondents to a specific answer.
About the third issue – and this is a shameless self-promotion
- With groketeer
– Anyone can Analyze and Share Survey Findings -
Without installing anything, tables and graphs are charted
automatically of all of your questions and it is very easy to compare
different groups of respondents. Take a look at one of my previous blog
posts - Do Men and Women Use Social Media
Differently? Well… Yes! - for an example of that. I gave
there an example of how looking at
the answers to a question does not tell the full story until the women
respondents are compared to the men who responded, and this reveals a
whole new dimension.
groketeer can load SurveyMonkey™ data and soon
other types of data like SPSS™ or Excel™. From there, you can share
your findings via email and download them into fully editable
PowerPoint™ slides. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you should do so
at http://www.groketeer.com.
In any case, we would recommend that if a big strategic
decision is relying on the survey, that you consult a professional
market researcher.
By following these tips you can be sure that the energy and time you
are investing in your research is well spent. What other tips would you
add to help others build better online or DIY surveys? You can use the
comments
section to respond.
This was part 2 on the subject. You can find part 1 here.
