Copyright 2009 National Student Loan Program

Creating Surveys that Work!Creating Surveys that Work!

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Why should I survey?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

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Six key areasSix 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?

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What do I want to learn from the survey?What do I want to learn from the survey?

• Purpose

• Plan

• Brainstorm

• Be efficient

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Selecting the audienceSelecting the audience

• Target audience

• How to choose a sample to survey

• How many respondents

• Everyone invited might not respond

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What method should I use?What method should I use?

• Web-based surveys

• E-mail surveys

• Telephone surveys

• Mail surveys

• Personal interviews

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Web-based surveysWeb-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

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E-mail surveysE-mail surveys

• Economical and fast

• Current/correct e-mail addresses

• Less control of survey

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From: MeTo: YouSubject: A sample email survey. Please click the REPLY BUTTON of your email programto 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 Y[   ] Brand Z      [   ] 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!

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Telephone surveysTelephone 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

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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].

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Mail surveysMail surveys

• Traditional method

• Takes longer for results

• Increase response with follow-up

• Offer incentives

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Public Library Districts: An Introduction; Creating Public Library Districts in New York State: A “How-to” 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: ___

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Personal interviewsPersonal interviews

• Can be more expensive and time consuming

• Can provide more in-depth data

• Intimidating

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Designing the surveyDesigning 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

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How to designHow 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

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Administer the surveyAdminister 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

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Interpret the resultsInterpret the results

• How do you want to tabulate your results

• Trends in responses

• Overall average/relative scores

• Survey comments

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Sample resultsSample results

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Implementing what we learnedImplementing what we learned

• It’s not over!

• Focus groups

• Discuss the results

• How to use the results

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Surveys can make a difference!

Surveys can make a difference!

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To find out moreTo find out more• Customer Service for Dummies, by Karen Leland

and Keith Bailey• Knowledge Base Tutorials. Online Survey

Glossary. http://www.knowledge-base.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

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More informationMore information

National Student Loan Program1300 O St., PO Box 82507Lincoln, NE 68501-2507 www.nslp.org

800-735-8778

Shelley Sutton785-224-8069ssutton8@cox.net