Is our two way communication a one way street?

Gillian Byrne & Louise McGillisMemorial University of Newfoundland Libraries

Informal Surveys & Polls

Benefits Easy to create/disseminate Often high return rate Targeted feedback Provides operational feedback

Disadvantages Unscientific results Can be difficult to interpret results Uncontrolled access Easy to compose badly!

Choosing A Software

Think about... Price Software / hardware requirements Ease of use Features

Web-based (hosted) Survey Software

Requires no hardware / software to run Often extremely easy to use Many free options available Little control over the look & feel No control over the data No control over the server speed Limited features Examples:

SurveyMonkey QuestionPro WebSurveyor

Install (product) Survey Software

Control over look & feel Control over the data Often have more features Range from open source to very $$ Hardware requirements Software requirements Expertise needed to install Need to store / backup data Examples:

VT Survey (Open Source) Perseus SurveySolutions

Memorial Quick Poll Experience

Wanted focused feedback from patrons on a wide variety of aspects

Created the “Quick Poll” - an ongoing series of basic online polls for the MUN community No more than 2 questions (besides basic

demographic questions) Linked of the Library news Live for 2 weeks at a time Quick polls always end with a comment box

Results tabulated & disseminated internally on staff website

Results Screen Cap

Thus far...

Topics covered Physical space Study/ Research habits RSS feeds Reasons for visiting

Response Rate Ranging from 237 (study space poll) to 62

(RSS feeds poll) Average response rate ~100

Comments Great comments response rate, both related

&unrelated to the poll topic

Sample Comments

Either get blinds/curtains for the 5th/4th floor carrels by the windows, or set up a larger carrel section that is away from the windows, though I'm not sure where that would be, as the two or three near the silent area are not many and its usually fairly noisy with people talking on the cushioned seat area. Thanks for listening(Space Survey)

provide a map indicating study areas and their level of privacy. (Space Survey)

Sample Comments

The off campus login feature is great. It really is a time saver. Instead of having to go to the library, I can do a lot of work from home, and know exactly what I need to get when I get to the library. (Why are you here? Survey)

I use the online system majority of the time. had looking for the physical book and it is more expensive to photocopy than print. I also use a lot of resources in formatting my report/assignment. (Research Habits Survey)

Difficulties Encountered

Not enough data for branches to work with

Contradictory data Multiple responses Hastily designed questions Difficulty in creating / tabulating surveys Acting on results!!

Tips for Success

Have a clear idea of what you’re asking and why you want to know

Keep polls simple and brief Take the time to design questions well Have a plan for disseminating and acting

on results Make poll results and the actions that

happened public Try not to ask questions about things you

cannot (or will not) act on