Survey Tips and Ideas

Online-Survey Service

Advantages of Web Surveys

Savings in printing, postage, data entry.
No data entry errors from hand-entry.
Shortened timeframe to administer surveys (3 weeks with web surveys, vs. 6 or more weeks with paper surveys).
Easier to provide skip patterns or survey sections customized to different respondent populations.
Immediate access to data for analysis.
Can easily link to background data (i.e. gender, grades, and rank).

Background Questions to Ask Yourself

What is the PURPOSE of the survey, and how will we use the survey data?
WHO are we surveying?
Who are the AUDIENCES for the survey results?
What kind of SUPPORT do we need for the survey effort?
What survey METHODOLOGY will we use?
What is the project BUDGET? Are funds available to pay incentives to potential respondents?
What is the TIME FRAME for this survey project (i.e. administration, time for responses, analysis, etc.)

Identify themes that are of importance to the sponsor/department and other internal decision-makers. Obtain early and timely confirmation/approval from University Administration and Institutional Research.
Write questions using the assistance of experts (Institutional Research) to be sure that questions will yield meaningful results that will inform policy setting, changes to programs, etc. Avoid using jargon, shorthand, and technical terms unless you are certain this language will make sense to all survey participants.
Have other individuals review survey questions to ensure they represent the target audience, and to make certain the survey questions are appropriate for the times and the culture.
Revise questions as needed. Eliminate redundant or unnecessary words/questions to meet goals for survey length. Surveys with 30 or fewer questions (about 25-30 minutes) are most likely to receive a larger response rate.

The Office of Institutional Research at EKU will gladly assist you in all parts of your survey research project. For more information please contact IR Staff at 859-622-2015.

Source: AIR Professional File, No. 102, Winter 2006.