Online surveys are a tool that researchers use to collect information through a series of questions using the Internet as a means of dissemination. Like a traditional survey, these questions are addressed to a representative sample of the population to find out trends and opinions.
The popularity of online surveys is increasing every day because they offer many opportunities, such as reaching thousands of people instantly and viewing their comments in real-time.
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Characteristics of Online Surveys
To ensure their effectiveness, online surveys must have the following characteristics for their application to be practical:
Meet a goal
Researchers must decide on the goal of conducting online surveys so that the measured results can improve products/services, customer service, or some other predetermined purpose.
Accurate research design
It is crucial to conduct a thorough research design for online surveys to yield efficient results. It will help organizations decide how to use surveys to collect information during their market research.
Precisely Structured Survey Questions
An effective online survey must have a balance of open and closed questions. There are different types of questions that may be sufficient depending on the objective of the investigation.
Clearly defined target sample
A sample is a cross-section of target respondents who represent the characteristics required for the research. And whose insights can be generalized and applied to the entire target market.
The sample size can be formed based on various aspects such as demographics. Profession or any other factor depending on the experience and knowledge of the researcher. It can obtain through the following methods:
- Probability Sampling: In this sampling method, each individual in a target population has an equal chance of being part of a selected sample.
- Non-probabilistic sampling is a technique in which the sample is chosen based on judgment, experience, and knowledge and not by random selection.
Data Collection and Analysis
Including the right questions and sending the online surveys to the desired sample can lead to productive results only if the data is analyze well to make inform decisions for the organization.
With Question Pro, researchers can obtain real-time information presented in a graphical dashboard to facilitate statistical analysis for research.
Transparent reporting of survey responses
The survey report is create with the data obtained, and also, must be shared with all stakeholders in the organization to be aware.
All respondents must understand that the organization uses their input; they will trust the process and provide truthful information.
How to do Online Surveys?
To take an online survey, follow these simple steps:
Establish the objective of your research
Before starting your study, you must define the results you expect. Whether it is collecting comments about a product or service. Obtaining general or very specific information, surveying a particular audience, etc. Establishing these points will help you decide how to target your survey.
Write the questions
Knowing how to do an online survey also involves selecting the different types of questions that you can use. When writing them, keep the language simple and avoid ambiguity.
One of the benefits of designing an online survey is survey logic that speeds up the collection process and increases response rates.
With Question Pro, you can design your survey in the following way:
- Create a survey from scratch: We have more than 40 types of questions. Each section is customizable. For example, you can create custom surveys and add brand colours and logos.
- Import from a Word document: Researchers can create online surveys by importing a Word document to the platform.
- Templates: Question Pro offers over 300 online survey templates that can be implement in seconds. In addition, they are categorize so that they are easy to find.
Distribute the survey
There are many ways to invite people to take your survey online. You can send an email, post it on social networks, send it by SMS, embed it on your website or share it through a QR code.
If you require a specific audience, you can purchase survey responses with Question Pro.
Analyze the results
Visualize the data through tables and graphs. In addition, Question Pro has tools for data analysis such as Conjoint Analysis, TURF Analysis, among others.
When doing online surveys, the collected data is automatically store, so you can start analyzing the results immediately since you will have the effects in real-time.
Write a survey report
The last step in doing an online survey is to write a report of the results and take action based on the data. If done correctly, you can effectively measure customer satisfaction, gain feedback on your products or services. And uncover insights for your organization.
Tips for Conducting Online Surveys
If you want to ensure a high response rate in your online surveys, we have some tips to help you achieve it.
- Be quick: The shorter a survey is, the more likely you are to receive faster responses, as it increases the chances of respondents completing it.
- Offer gift coupons and other incentives: A gift card or other incentives will motivate respondents to complete online surveys.
- Get reliable answers: With our Question Pro Audience service, which has more than 22 million panellists, an organization can be sure of receiving accurate solutions that meet their research objectives.
Conclusion
An online survey is one of the most standard data-collection sources, where a set of survey questions is sent out to a target sample. And the members of this example can react to the questions over the world wide web.