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Conduct your next survey online! Online surveys are an easy and
effective way to assess your project. They provide opportunities for
dialogue between your project and volunteers, funders, and the
communities you serve. The information you receive from an online
survey can sharpen your organization's goals and help you respond to
challenges.
Why Should I Conduct an Online Survey?
Instead of mailing, collecting, and tabulating paper data, all you
have to do is build your survey online. Most online survey tools offer
easy methods to send your survey and provide easy-to-read reports of
your results. An online survey also provides a safe and convenient
place for participants to share their ideas and opinions.
Use online surveys to:
- Determine interest for project funding
- To gauge participant satisfaction
- Collect information about project outcomes
- Gather and update contact data from funders and volunteers
Choose an Online Survey Tool
There are many online survey tools available, and many of them
offer free basic subscriptions. To decide on a tool and subscription
type, consider features such as the number of surveys you can create,
the amount of questions you can ask within each survey, and the method
by which results are analyzed and reported.
The four tools below offer free basic subscriptions. For a
list of additional plans and features, visit each website's pricing
page.
Survey Monkey
Zoomerang
SuperSurvey
Advanced Survey
Steps for Conducting an Online Survey
1. Define your objective. What do you hope to learn from those you
are surveying? What do you expect the survey to do for your
organization?
2. Select an online survey tool. Select a program that meets your needs and budget, and delivers the type of reporting you need
3. Determine the participants. Survey potential funders, volunteers,
project participants, program employees, and sponsoring agency
contacts.
4. Develop questions for your survey. Be sure to keep each question
relevant to your objective, and avoid asking for extraneous
information.
5. Create your survey. Choose question types and layouts that are most appropriate for the information you are soliciting.
6. Test the survey. Have others in your organization check for errors and confusing questions. Make changes as necessary.
7. Distribute the survey. Choose the best means of distribution from the methods offered by your online survey tool.
8. Collect and analyze the responses!
Ensure a Good Turnout for Your Survey
The following are some simple tips to follow when creating your
survey. Keep them in mind to increase responses and improve the quality
of the feedback you receive.
- Provide an incentive: Make sure the participants understand
you appreciate their efforts. Offer an incentive, even if it is just
sharing the results of the survey.
- Introduction: Let your participants know the purpose of
your survey, any specific instructions, an estimate of how much time it
will take, and how the results will be used.
- Length of the Survey: To ensure an adequate amount of
participation, the survey should not take longer than ten minutes to
complete. The shorter the survey, the more participation you will have.
- Order of questions: Place important questions at the
beginning of the survey, and demographic questions (such as age,
gender, location, etc.) at the end. Lead with more interesting
questions. Break up more complicated questions with simpler questions.
- Types of Questions: Use a question type that is appropriate
for the topic. Make sure not to overwhelm respondents by offering too
many choices. For matrix type questions (questions with a scale), offer
small, meaningful rating scales and keep them consistent throughout the
survey. For multiple choice questions, keep possible answers to a
minimum, and offer meaningful choices.
- Wording of questions: Avoid acronyms, double-negatives, and
other misleading language. Try to maintain a neutral tone in all
questions.Use consistent phrasing, such as starting all questions with
a verb. Keep questions as simple and to the point as possible, and make
sure that you discuss only one topic per question.
- Edit and test the survey: Review each question, and
consider how the answer will be useful to your organization. If the
question is not relevant to the purpose of the survey, delete it.
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