Surveying Surveys
2/18/09
Seth’s five tips for better online surveys
How to improve online surveys? Ask anyone that creates or takes surveys and you’ll probably get an opinion. We’ve even chimed in on the topic in the past. (And on another Seth post.) Seth Godin recently posted Five tips for better online surveys, and, as usual, we have our own two cents to contribute. 1. Every […]
By David KennedyRead More
2/10/09
Ski surveys
We’ve talked plenty about good survey methodology, sampling, and making sure you’re getting the right information, and here is another excellent example: I was up in the mountains this past week skiing and decided to demo (i.e. try out) some new skis. So, I went to the shop at the resort and tried several different […]
By David KennedyRead More
1/27/09
What are we weighting for?
Let’s say that you just conducted a public survey of your community for a community needs assessment. In your community, 29% of residents are between age 18 and 34, and 29% are age 55 or older. Yet among your survey respondents, 8% are aged 18-34, while 52% are aged 55 or older (this is a […]
By Beth MulliganRead More
1/19/09
Tradeoffs between survey length and cooperation
In a previous post we discussed how survey length can indirectly drive up participation recruitment costs. Another often-ignored consequence of long surveys is poor quality data that may or may not be easy to identify. Even conscientious participants lose the desire to be cooperative as a survey drags on. By the sixth page, or the […]
By Beth MulliganRead More
1/12/09
The not so ultimate question?
In a recent edition of Quirk’s Marketing Research Review, there was an article (Article ID: 20081004….requires registration, but it is free) on the Net Promoter Score (NPS). The NPS has long been touted by many as the best way to measure customer satisfaction, and a key characteristic of the system is its simplicity. In case you […]
By David KennedyRead More
12/22/08
The many uses of surveys
We’ve blogged before about the many uses of research (it’s sort of like the many uses of duct tape), but this one is new to even us. Apparently surveys can even be used to catch criminals. No, not by complex analyses, but by tricking them into thinking they’ll receive $500 for participating in the research. […]
By David KennedyRead More
12/11/08
Cutting through the clutter
As a fun experiment, I’ve kept track of all the chances I’ve recently had to complete a survey. In the past two weeks I’m up to six (conservatively counting). This includes a few invites from research panels, a student’s class project, a mail survey, and a customer feedback form. This doesn’t count “fun surveys” such […]
By David KennedyRead More
11/20/08
Long surveys
I heard the following conversation a few nights ago while on the bus ride home between the bus driver and a passenger regarding a survey that RTD was administering to a few riders on each bus. “That survey was like a book.” “It even had chapters.” “I think they get paid by the question.” Of […]
By David KennedyRead More
11/3/08
In-flight surveys
A good indication that a survey is poorly designed is when it confuses two people who create surveys for a living.Such was the case on a recent flight from Atlanta to San Diego.Beth Mulligan, a fellow analyst, was sitting next to me on the plane and she asked me to take a survey because […]
By Joe FitzlerRead More
10/3/08
The importance of “other” both here and in Madagascar
This is the third in a series of posts on our recent trip to Africa. To see our first two posts, click here and here. We checked into a hotel in Antananarivo, and I was delighted to see that the Malagasy people embrace market research. Inside our room was a customer service survey asking about […]
By Kevin RainesRead More