Interactive Survey Tips
Read these 5 Interactive Survey Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Survey tips and hundreds of other topics.
Close With Open Ended Questions
Surveys are made for a variety of people, not one specific person. Because of this, you should make sure that the questions won't be too taxing on the participants brain. If the answer portion of the survey is too involved then you have a good chance of losing a customer.
A good way to guarantee this doesn't happen is to cut down on the open ended questions. These are questions that ask the person to give their opinion by writing their own thoughts. While open-ended questions provide great insight to the individual's perspective of the survey question, too many of these types of questions can be cumbersome for the survey taker.
Ask questions that can offer extra information to the survey like … “Are there any other comments you'd like to add?” The answers you get could be a big help in the report part of your research study.
Dial For Data
Another medium for conducting surveys is through the phone. On average these surveys tend to be a lot shorter than their online counterparts. Keep in mind that most people aren't as alert or willing to take a survey outside of the workplace, so the phone survey is usually quite short and to the point.
If you need to do phone surveys (or polling) go to a company that specializes in this service, otherwise you could be facing a lot of hangups. Aside from conducting the surveys, many of these companies will also provide:
- Status reports
- Bilingual callers
- Follow up calls
- Data collection
These features are not standard practices so make sure you find out if the phone survey company you choose offers this type of package before signing up.
Not Wanting Unwanted Calls
It can ruin any night at the dinner table: The solicitor who calls right when you sit down for dinner, or to watch your favorite TV program. Many people started taking their phone off the hook to avoid these calls, but thanks to the government, those days are over.
The government enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to offer consumers protection from solicitors or marketers. In 2003, the government revised the act to include the “National Do Not Call” registry. If your number is on this list, it's against the law for these telemarketers to bug you. To sign up you can call 1-888-382-1222 or surf to www.donotcall.gov
Don't Pay To Get Paid
Taking surveys online can be a good diversion for the hard-working student or stay-at-home seeking a break from the day-to-day routine - especially if you can earn some extra cash while taking them. If you surf the net you will find tons of survey host sites that connect you up with companies that are willing to pay people to take their surveys.
Some companies will also do a “points for prizes” system. The more legitimate ones won't charge you a fee. However, there are a few that might charge an intro fee for joining the club. Make sure you read the fine print carefully before signing up for any of these "pay to join" sites.
Designing The “Q” And The “A”
Close ended questions are preferable in some situations. These are questions that offer definite choices for your answer.
- True or False.
- Yes/No.
- A,B,C or D.
They take a bit longer to create since you have to design both the Q and the A, and coming up with the answers can be tricky. You need to make sure the format you use relates to all the questions you are asking. You should also make sure you have covered all of your bases when it comes to the answers and that there are no other possible other answers for your question.
