Custom Surveys Within Your Budget by Brian Cooper and Maria Phillips

A Comprehensive Guide for DIY Research

by Brian Cooper and Maria Philips

Researchers and marketers who use this book will find many different benefits. A marketer may ask how to properly display a scale on a screen. Others will ask about the technology survey engines being used today. Professional researchers might be challenged by the impact of using colors in scales in different countries. Most readers will benefit by searching for a specific research topic to address the matter at hand. A critical feature is an evaluation of the various survey tools available in the market.

Custom Surveys acts as a comprehensive guide to cost effectively managing a survey and covers everything from the evaluation of a research program to the actual output and analytics of the research. It can be used as a reference for specific market research needs as well as an instructional tool to educate readers interested in doing market research. Marketers or researchers who read through this entire book will become familiar with the requirements of conducting research on a minimal budget.

(212 pp., paperback, ISBN 978-0-9819869-3-7; May 2010)

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1    The Background of Internet Research

New developments in Internet research

Comparisons with phone and mail survey technology

Chapter 2    How to Determine if Your Study Should be Conducted Online

Business needs

Sound methodology

Technology efficiency

Cost efficiency

Types of studies conducted online

Chapter 3    Setting Up Your Online Survey

Review the objectives of your study

Determine who will conduct your survey (for non-researchers)

Set up the analysis

Determine the survey tool

Design the questionnaire

Type of questionnaire • Create the foundation of your
questionnaire • Use a word-processing document to build your questionnaire • Questionnaire flow: Broad to specific • Now, compose a question • Should you add color? • Building specific question types

Establish survey programming rules

Field the survey

Upload the respondent list • Remove duplicate records

Sampling plan

Acquire potential respondents

Response rate versus completion rate

Bouncebacks • Calculating response rates with bouncebacks
• Completion rates

Common incentives

Close the survey

Conduct the analysis

Reporting the data

Chapter 4    Selecting a Survey Tool

Web-hosted versus server-based Methodology

Technical considerations

Survey Types • Questionnaire design with templates •
Graphics capabilities • Streaming video capabilities • Skip logic
• Auto-fill or piping • Required questions • Error messages • Help link • Pause or bookmark • Back button • Survey integration • Visual customization • Contact record management • List management

Survey invitations

Tabs • Filters • Scorecard results view

Analytical toolsets

Chapter 5    Common Internet Survey Issues

The time to complete a survey

Number of questions in an online survey

Type of questions in a survey

Respondent target base (demographics)

Survey attrition

The effect of visual displays

Dependence on survey type

spam

Sidebar: CAN-SPAM Act of 2003

Disclose the sponsor and sender of the survey

The “From” address • Email “spoofing” and why to avoid it • ISPs and blacklists • Dealing with the customer’s company • Dealing with irate customers or respondents who have
already opted-out

Sidebar: Common words or phrases that get caught in SPAM filters

Mixed mode methodology

Online population: cultural and behavioral factors

Differences in interviewing environment • Programming rules
• Survey administration • Visual cues

Changing survey modality in successive waves

Evaluating trade-offs when changing survey
modalities

Length of time for conducting a parallel test • Analyzing data for parallel test • Adjusting the data for the parallel test • Using parallel tests to switch vendors • Updating the survey while in the field

Survey frequency fatigue

Fatigue and customer lists • Setting the frequency fatigue rule • Frequency fatigue and complete versus incomplete surveys

Panel-supplied respondents

Frequency fatigue and types of surveys

Incentives affect frequency fatigue • Number of days for frequency fatigue rules

Random sampling error and non-sampling error

Survey response error • Survey programming error •
Data processing error

Chapter 6    Designing Survey Invitations

Developments in survey invitations

Crafting an email invitation

Email invitation examples

Text-based survey invitations • HMTL-based survey invitations • Pop-up/overlay-based survey invitations • Other types of survey invitations

Chapter 7    Sample Sources and Response Rates

Third-party provided sample

Overview of panels

Pricing the panels • Panel incidence • Panel recruitment approaches • Contacting a panel provider • Compensating panelists • Personally identifiable information from panel providers

Sidebar: ESOMAR’s 25 Panel Questions

Professional survey takers

Sidebar: Beyond Professional Survey Takers:
Persuasion from the Sponsoring Company

Custom panels

What are the recruitment methods for the custom panel? • What maintenance methods are provided? • Custom panel incentives • Survey frequency for custom panels • Response rates

River sample

Chapter 8    Questionnaire Layout and General Formatting Requirements

Structure: From general to specific questions

First Step: Instructions at the beginning of a survey

Second Step: Body of the survey

Third Step: Finalizing the survey

Consumer-oriented surveys • Business-oriented surveys

Survey formatting

Using a banner to brand a survey • Using color elements • Background colors • Text styles • Common font styles •  Page breaks

Referencing outside information

Chapter 9    Survey Programming Rules

Autofills

Branching rules

Branching rules with data fill

Order rotations

Chapter 10    Single-Punch and Multi-Punch Questions

Creating a question

Single-punch guidelines

Multi-punch guidelines

Long answer lists

Chapter 11    Using Grid/Matrix Questions

Advantage of grid questions in a web survey

Listing ratings and attributes in columns and rows

Length of attribute lists

Grid: Scale questions • Grid: Single-punch questions • Grid: Check lists

Rotation of the attribute list in grids

Chapter 12  Open-Ended Questions

Follow-up to scale questions

Obtain respondent feedback in their own words

Analysis of open ends

Chapter 13    Using Scales in Online Internet Research

Types of scales

Categorical scales • Ordinal scales • Interval scales

Scale considerations

Balanced, unbalanced, and anchored scales • Scale length (4-, 5-, 6-point or more)

Visual layout

Scale consistency • Cultural influences • Historical approaches • Technology limitations • Intervals between points on a scale • Shading, colors, lines, visual cues, smiley faces • Displaying values for each point • Displaying anchors and mid-points

Horizontal versus vertical orientation

Validation questions

Finding the preferred approach

Chapter 14    Use of Multimedia in Online Research

Risks and concerns

Security • Image/video formats • Download times

Implementing applications into research

Advertising testing • Concept testing • Tracking • Package design • Programming content evaluation • Measurement of brand variants • Product placement/retail display

Chapter 15    Online Qualitative Tools

Advantages and disadvantages

Using forums

Important functions of online qualitative tools

The “Observer” view: A patent dispute

Costs to conduct online message boards

Costs to conduct online focus groups

Video diaries and one-on-one interviews

Tools vendors

Chapter 16    Privacy and Security

Respondent Security

Company Security

Preventing respondents from gaming the survey • Protecting confidentiality • Ensuring high-quality data with unique survey links

Chapter 17    Research with Children

Appendix     Online Survey Research Directory

Introductory survey tools

Mid-tier survey tools

Enterprise scalability

Alternative qualitative support tools

Video streaming technology

Full-service vendors

Index

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