Posts published by Dayne Shuda

Screening Survey Questions: How To Use and Analyze Them

General

Surveys may add diversity to data collection or collect feedback by targeting suitable participants, depending on the company’s purpose. To include an audience based on interests, characteristics, behaviors, or certain elements, you can use screening questions to pre-qualify and have only the suitable respondents. Read on to learn more about screening survey questions.

What Are Screening Questions?

Screening survey questions (or screeners) help identify potential research study or project participants. They help researchers determine the most suitable candidates to participate in the study.

The screening questions aim to collect accurate information about the respondent’s backgrounds to help determine their eligibility for the study. They help pre-qualify the suitable respondents from a large user pool and only collect their feedback for more accurate and concise results.

It’s essential to appropriately design these questions for quick and accurate assessments of whether an individual meets the study’s participation criteria.

Types of Screeners

The different types of screening survey questions or screeners are:

Behavioral: These are lifestyle queries to understand a person’s daily routine – behavior, attitudes, and decision-making process.
Industry-specific: To filter out those not tied to a particular business or eliminate participants who may be biased.
Demographics: Most common screeners include questions about age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, ethnicity or race, etc.
Product/service-specific: Eliminates participants who aren’t eligible for a product/service; addresses those who will be buying your products/services.

What Are the Benefits?

The use of screening questions includes the following benefits:

Reduces survey costs;
Helps you reach the relevant responders for a more reliable database;
Eliminates respondent bias;
Increases efficiency with faster response analysis;
Improves respondent experience.

How To Use Them

Based on the specific needs of the research project and target population, tailoring the screening survey question types helps capture the most relevant information about a respondent efficiently.

Here are some essential pointers to keep in mind when using screening questions:

Understand the survey’s purpose and the intended audience.
Use clear and concise questions relevant to the topic without any overlap.
Use simple language that’s easy to understand. Avoid jargon or overly complex language.
Avoid leading or biased questions that could result in inaccurate answers owing to leading language or phrasing.
Use open-ended and multiple-choice questions to better understand the respondents’ experiences and opinions.
Avoid ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response options.
Provide adequate response options for each question.
Test the survey questions with a small sample group before launching it widely.
Ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of respondents.

To get the best response from your audience, consider providing adequate instructions at the beginning of the survey. It lets the respondents know the sort of answers you’re looking for.

It’s equally important to order the questions and options appropriately when designing the survey since it impacts how the respondents answer them.

Questions must focus on relevant demographic information like age, gender, occupation, educational qualification, etc., and other factors that may influence participation in the study (like health status).

The use of skip logic helps reduce respondent fatigue, only asking those who meet specific criteria to proceed with follow-up questions.

Analyzing the Questions

Once your screening survey is ready, consider its incidence rate before you launch it, implying how many respondents you need to validate your survey.

Incidence Rate

The incidence rate is the percentage of respondents who will pass the screening questions and qualify for your survey.

Incidence rate = (Number of people who pass the screening test / Total number of respondents) * 100

For example, if 100 respondents take your survey, 70 people pass the screening test, and 30 get disqualified; this gives a 70% incidence rate.

It’s a crucial factor to help determine how many respondents will take your survey. For a high incidence rate, send your survey to fewer people for the number of responses you need. However, send your survey to more people for a low incidence rate to collect more responses.

Screening Survey Analysis

Analyzing a screening survey response is easier than a typical survey response. Just filter out the total survey responses of the screening questions from the total survey completion responses.

Exclude anyone who fails the screening process from the rest of the survey process. The final survey responses will only include the responses from those who pass the screening process.

Helpful tip: Keep an eye out for ‘maximizers’ who select several (or all) answer choices within screeners, seeking to maximize their chances of qualifying for a survey. Disqualify these maximizers to help reduce low-quality, fraudulent responses.

Conclusion

Whether you use open-ended, close-ended, multiple choice, or rating scale-type questions for a screening survey, the purpose must be to identify potential respondents.

A well-developed screener is beneficial to pre-qualify suitable survey respondents and improve your data analysis and the respondent experience. It only takes a short and simple survey to get relevant responses.

If you need any help creating a survey and collecting the data, don’t hesitate to turn to Survey Town!

How To Promote a Survey on Social Media & Get the Best Results!

Survey Tips

Promoting a survey on the social media space shows that you value your audience’s opinions, providing them with an opportunity to share their thoughts. Social media surveys effectively engage the audience, drive traffic to your website, increase customer loyalty, and involve your customers in decision-making. Read on to learn how to promote a survey on social media effectively—discover the best platforms for promotion and a bunch of handy tips!

Social Media Channels To Promote Surveys

When it comes to promoting surveys, you can use several social media platforms:

Facebook: the most popular social media platform;
Twitter: a fast-paced network with to-the-point posts;
LinkedIn: the most professional one and ideal for B2B surveys;
Reddit: an online community with subreddits covering a bunch of different topics;
Instagram: a popular visual platform great for promoting surveys with eye-catching graphics.

We’ll cover the top three options and explain how and why to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.

_{^{Source: https://www.involve.me/assets/images/blog/social-media-survey/social-media-surveyM.png}}

1. Facebook

With 2.96 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular network and the largest online collection of socio-demographic information. You can either utilize its ad campaigns to reach a specific target group or post the survey invitation on your timeline.

Use Facebook in one of the following ways for the best survey promotion:

Promote your survey on your Facebook wall. Place a link to the questionnaire and a short and catchy post to grab the audience’s attention and interest.
Create a page for your survey research. Send the information to your friends to share further.
Use Facebook ads to target an audience with a particular profile (like a specific age, gender, city, country, interests, etc.)

Helpful tip: Encourage the respondents to share the survey link. Ensure your questionnaire is optimized for mobile since many social media users only browse using their smartphones.

2. Twitter

After Facebook, the next most popular social media platform is Twitter, a micro-blogging platform with over 368 million monthly active users.

If you’d like to post short messages about your activities or latest events, it’s an ideal communication channel. It’s the so-called “SMS service of the Internet.” Most tweets can contain a maximum of 280 characters.

All you need to do is create a post on your profile along with the survey link in the ‘compose new tweet’ field and press the tweet button.

Helpful tip: Encourage respondents to retweet your study link so that you can reach even more people.

3. LinkedIn

LinkedIn, the social network for business people, has over 875 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

It’s ideal for communicating and promoting professional services, products, engagement, and opinion exchange of people looking for professional development.

Create a short but engaging post and add your survey link. Explain what the survey is about and why it’s important before sharing it on your profile. Additionally, you can send it to particular individuals or groups and ask them to support you by sharing it.

Helpful tip: Use LinkedIn’s advertising platform to reach a larger audience.

Tips for Promoting Surveys on Social Media

Here are some helpful tips when promoting questionnaires on social media platforms:

Identify the target audience you want to reach with your survey and tailor it accordingly.
Create a compelling message to grab the attention of your target audience and encourage them to participate.
Use visuals like images, videos, and infographics to make your survey more engaging.
Leverage influencers with a large social media following in your niche to help spread the word about your survey.
Use hashtags relevant to the topic when posting on platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
Paid advertising options available on social media networks allow maximum reach.
Offer incentives or rewards like discounts, giveaways, raffles, sweepstakes, deals, or coupons to motivate participants to complete the survey.
Monitor the responses closely and adjust the survey accordingly during the campaign, if needed.

Conclusion

Survey promotion allows marketers to improve their market presence and gather important data for their research study. By advertising through social media ads, you can reach a wider audience and gather more statistics.

It can also help improve your marketing techniques by providing insights into what works best for attracting participants. Use the results of the surveys to understand your target audience better and try to meet all their needs.

Product Feedback Survey: Get Started With Surveys Now!

General

Whether you’re planning new products, growing your business, or succeeding in today’s competitive marketplace, product feedback surveys are the way to go. This type of market research helps measure customer satisfaction and identify areas of improvement before or after launching a new product. Keep reading to learn the nitty-gritty about product feedback surveys.

What Is a Product Feedback Survey?

A product feedback survey is essential for businesses to gain insight into customer satisfaction and product performance. It’s a comprehensive survey covering all aspects of the product—from design to usability—and providing data needed to improve products, services, and overall customer experience.

A product feedback survey comprises the following.

Questions about customer satisfaction and how well the product meets their needs
Insight into what features customers like or dislike about the product
An understanding of how the customers use the product in different contexts and scenarios
Feedback on potential improvements or changes that can enhance user experience
Suggestions for new features to make the product more valuable and enjoyable for users

These provide valuable data to help make informed decisions about product design, pricing, marketing strategies, etc.

Why Is It Important?

Firstly, asking customers for feedback on their experience makes them feel important. Customers want to know that their opinions matter and that companies are interested in their feedback. When a company values its customers’ opinions, it shows that they care about their needs and wants, which builds customer loyalty.

Secondly, product feedback surveys help companies get ideas and insights for future product development. Customers can provide valuable information on what they would like to see in future products or services. This information can help businesses make informed decisions about what to add or remove from their product line. They can also take corrective measures and improve the overall quality of their products.

Lastly, surveys help you retain customers by focusing on the positive aspects and improving the shortcomings. By acknowledging the positive aspects of a product and addressing its shortcomings, companies can show customers that they are committed to providing the best products and services. This, in turn, can help companies retain existing customers and attract new ones.

How To Conduct the Survey

It’s crucial to keep user experience in mind when designing surveys, ensuring they’re easy to understand and complete quickly.

The questions should focus on specific aspects of the product or service being evaluated for the responses to be actionable and meaningful. Opt for open-ended questions toward the end of the survey.

When creating a product feedback survey questionnaire, thoughtfully craft it to ensure an unbiased response for accuracy and verifiability. Also, you must carefully analyze the responses to uncover trends or patterns indicating areas for improvement or growth opportunities.

Here are a few vital things to remember:

Identify the target audience for the survey.
Determine the type of feedback you need (like feature requests, usability, customer satisfaction, etc.).
Design clear and concise questions (to avoid confusing respondents or yielding irrelevant answers).
Offer incentives to encourage participation.
Ensure the data collection methods are secure and compliant with privacy regulations.
Keep the responses anonymous so that customers feel more comfortable providing sincere feedback without fear of repercussions.
Analyze results promptly to make informed product decisions.
Allow users to include additional comments or suggestions.
Use SurveyTown to design, conduct, and analyze your survey.

Helpful tip: Consider gamification of the survey to engage your customers and improve response rates. Use leaderboards, badges, or rewards, or even add a progress bar or a 1-10 indicator to show the customer’s progress.

Top Methods for Collecting Product Feedback

Among the various methods of collecting feedback, here are the most effective ones:

Method	Explanation
In-product survey	Survey pop-ups, feedback buttons, or slideouts appear on the users’ screens while using your product.
SMS survey	Send a survey link and a message (inviting them to take the survey) to the users via SMS.
Email survey	Short or detailed questionnaires are sent via email to collect feature-specific feedback or measure users’ brand loyalty.
Website survey	Use feedback buttons, exit-intent surveys, slideouts, or survey pop-ups on your web pages.
Offline survey	No need for an active internet connection; use Android or iOS devices.

Templates come in different forms, and any business can create its own template or use pre-designed ones and customize them. Examples of templates include star ratings, Likert scales, multiple-choice questions, and open-ended questions.

Sample Questions

Product feedback survey questions must be simple to understand and answer. Here are some example questions you can ask:

How likely are you to recommend our product to a friend or colleague? (1-10)
How likely are you to use our product instead of similar platforms? (1-10)
How easy is it to use our product? (1-10)
Using this product helps you accomplish your goal (Agree/Disagree)
Did our product meet your expectations? (Yes/No)
Which features of this product are most valuable to you?
How could we improve our product to meet your needs better?
What essential features are we missing?
What issues could you solve by using our product?
How frequently do you use this product?

The best product feedback surveys are those that are well-designed and easy to complete. Individuals should be able to provide their opinions quickly and easily without having to navigate through a complicated or confusing survey. Additionally, items should be clearly defined and explained so that customers can accurately rate their experiences.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, product feedback surveys are immensely valuable for businesses trying to gather insights about their products and services from their customers.

By creating well-designed surveys with clear questions and a user-friendly format, you can collect meaningful data and use it to improve your products and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

So, it’s crucial to analyze the survey results thoroughly and take action based on the feedback. By consistently conducting feedback surveys and acting on the insights gained, businesses can build stronger customer relationships and achieve long-term success.

Also, don’t forget to try out our features and templates and make the best surveys in no time!

Find & Compare Free Online Survey Tools To Make Surveying Easier!

Survey Tips

Online surveys are a practical way to gather customer feedback and gauge satisfaction. Manually designing an extensive survey is a tedious process, but with the vast number of tools available, creating an online questionnaire and sending it out takes merely a few minutes. However, selecting the proper one can be challenging and get overwhelming. So, our team compiled a list of the top-tier free online survey tools to help you pick the right one. Let’s dive in!

Why Should You Use Online Survey Tools?

You can use online survey tools for market research, customer feedback, employee satisfaction surveys, and more. For instance, customer and employee satisfaction are vital for the longevity and success of businesses.

Free online survey tools allow users to create surveys and polls quickly and easily, as well as conduct and analyze them. They provide features like question types (open-ended, multiple choice), customizable templates, data analysis tools, branching logic (skip questions based on previous answers), reporting capabilities, etc.

You may also find additional features like the option to embed surveys into your blog or website or custom branding options.

Note that a number of tools have a limited number of responses you can receive or questions you can ask per survey. So, ensure you thoroughly read all the details before signing up for any service to know what you’re getting into.

What To Consider During Your Search

If you’re opting for online survey tools, here are some things you need to look out for:

Cost: Is the tool free or paid?
Features: What features does it offer (like custom branding, branching, etc.)?
Ease of use: How user-friendly is the interface?
Support and documentation: Is a help center or customer support available if needed?
Data security and privacy: Does the tool have sufficient security measures to protect the data?
Integrations and exports: Is it possible to integrate the survey results with other tools and export them into different formats (like Excel, CSV, etc.)?

Top Online Survey Tools Available at No Cost

Our team did extensive research and carefully selected the ten most reliable survey tools available on the web. Check them out below!

1. SurveyTown – The Best Choice

Keeping track of customer satisfaction is easy with SurveyTown’s customizable CSAT, NPS, and CES surveys.

You can send a completely customized survey via email, share the link on your website, and send real-time alerts to customer service personnel for any negative feedback. Graphs and reports make it simple to view feedback responses. You can also export or retrieve response data from the API. The survey organization part is easy, with tags for categories or keywords.

The free plan includes unlimited surveys with 10 questions per survey, and you can survey up to 100 contacts per month.

2. SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey is a free survey tool that offers many features and customization options.

You can conduct surveys for employees, customers, or target markets and polls. Whether you’re looking at event planning, patient surveys, or education and academia surveys, this is a valuable tool.

The free plan includes the basic features, and you can send unlimited surveys with up to 10 questions and 40 responses per survey.

3. Google Forms

With an easy-to-use interface, Google Forms is a good option for creating and sharing online surveys and forms and analyzing real-time responses.

Creating an online survey form is as easy as creating a document. You can select from different question types, customize values, drag-and-drop, and re-order questions.

Reflect your organization’s branding with your choice of images, fonts, and colors in completely customized surveys.

Automatic summaries (charts with real-time response data updates) help analyze responses. You can build questions and analyze results together as a team by adding collaborators, just like Google Sheets, Docs, and Slides.

4. Typeform

To create forms, surveys, and quizzes that people will enjoy answering, Typeform offers a modern design and intuitive user experience, making it easy to create engaging surveys.

Use built-in photo and video libraries for breathing life into your questions and reflecting your brand’s best with custom themes and layouts. You’ll be able to monitor the responses and completion rates, share the reports, and even do an in-depth analysis with a data transfer to your preferred tools.

5. Zoho Survey

Designing an excellent survey is easy with Zoho Survey, featuring powerful analytic capabilities, allowing users to customize their surveys with images, videos, and more.

The customizable themes help adapt the look and feel of your survey to suit your brand and style. On the other hand, customizable reports allow you to monitor the response trends to make informed decisions. You can create surveys to fit every screen size and choose your demographic preference to buy responses if you lack an audience.

With the free plan, you’ll have an unlimited number of surveys, each with 10 questions and 100 responses.

6. Sogolytics

This online survey tool (earlier known as SoGoSurvey) helps create professional surveys in minutes.

A range of tools is available for every business purpose – branching logic, custom branding, skip logic, and more, with the support of a team of design, research, and analytics experts.

You can opt for solutions by function (like HR, market research, event planning, etc.) or by industry (like healthcare, government, technology, etc.)

7. QuestionPro

A comprehensive survey platform with real-time reporting capabilities and data export options, QuestionPro has survey software for all – from beginners to enterprises and market research tools for professionals.

The robust analytics and shareable real-time dashboards help simplify and refine your survey response data. Other features include multi-lingual surveys, shareable reports, professional templates, and 24/7 global support.

Their free plan includes unlimited surveys with 100 questions and 300 responses per survey.

8. Alchemer

Suitable for organizations of any size, Alchemer (SurveyGizmo) helps create surveys and manage customer feedback effectively to transform the market-, customer-, and employee engagement.

Finding suitable customers, convincing them to join you, and maintaining customer loyalty is made easy with Alchemer. You can opt for solutions based on use cases or industries and create polls or questionnaires with the many survey tools.

9. SurveyPlanet

With SurveyPlanet, you can create a survey for almost anything and use great templates and themes for hundreds of applications.

From market research, customer satisfaction, and brand development to exit interviews and teacher evaluations, this platform helps create a survey for all. It offers unlimited surveys with unlimited questions and responses per survey for free, with additional features included in the paid plans.

10. Crowdsignal

Crowdsignal is all about finding the signals in the noise with simple and fast surveys and polls.

You can select from the pre-made themes or completely customize one from scratch and share your questions on Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, or via email. It’s easy to export your survey and poll results to apps like Excel and Google Sheets.

The free plan includes unlimited questions, surveys, polls, and ratings and collects up to 2,500 responses.

Final Thoughts & Tips

In conclusion, free online survey tools offer a great opportunity for anyone to engage in surveying and data collection. With these tools, users can create and distribute questionnaires with ease while also having the ability to collect and analyze the resulting data.

One of the most significant benefits of these tools is the opportunity to learn and develop skills in surveying and data analysis. Individuals can take advantage of various training programs and resources provided by the tool creators to help them learn how to use software effectively.

In summary, free online survey tools are perfect for anyone looking to conduct a study, collect data, or learn about surveying and data analysis. While there are many options, SurveyTown has features and resources that make for easy and efficient online surveys.

Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire: Assess Your Patients’ Satisfaction With Our Survey Form!

General

Patient experience is a vital part of success for healthcare providers, and a patient satisfaction questionnaire allows the institutions to understand the level of care they provide and address any shortcomings.

From the comfort of hospitalized patients to your practice, these questionnaires help discover any hidden issues that need addressing. Read on to learn more about patient satisfaction survey questionnaires.

What Is a Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire?

A patient satisfaction survey is designed to collect patient feedback, measuring how well a healthcare provider or facility meets their needs. These can identify the areas of improvement and track progress over time.

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is the most widely used patient satisfaction form in the United States. HCAHPS scores are publicly reported and used to compare hospitals.

How To Conduct It

Take the following steps to conduct a successful patient satisfaction questionnaire:

Identify your objectives, including potential problem areas in your practice.
Create your survey—refer to the tips in the following section.
Select an appropriate data collection method. It could be in-person, online, over the phone, or through the mail.
Evaluate the results and gather all the stakeholders. Brainstorm for possible changes to address the concerns.
Implement the changes in consultation with the staff. Create a list of intended changes with a realistic timeline.

Tips on Creating a Good Patient Satisfaction Survey

For drafting a good patient satisfaction questionnaire, it’s essential to keep it short and simple. Here are other things to consider:

Avoid questions requiring a yes or no response. It’s challenging to obtain accurate statistical data from such questions.
Use consistent scales (a four-point scale, Likert scale, ten-point scale, etc.)
Include an open-ended question and a general comments section at the end of the questionnaire.
Keep the survey process anonymous. Patients will likely answer the survey honestly if their identity remains protected.
Collect demographic data at the end of the survey (like the patient’s health plan) to track how satisfaction scores vary among certain groups of patients.
Avoid vague, biased, or leading questions and ones that incorporate two or more queries.

Ensure the context of the patient satisfaction survey is patient-centric, and embrace quality improvement as the primary goal.

Example Questions

Here are some example questions that can be a part of a well-developed patient satisfaction survey:

How did you find the experience of booking an appointment?
How likely are you to recommend our medical facility to your friends and family?
How long did you have to wait to meet the doctor?
How would you rate the overall care provided by our medical personnel?
Was our staff empathetic to your needs?
Were you informed about the side effects and symptoms of the prescribed medicines?

How To Use the Survey Results

Health insurance companies and the government rely on patient satisfaction measures to evaluate healthcare provider performance. So, the results of patient surveys play a crucial role in this purpose.

You don’t have to act on every suggestion your patients give you; instead, prioritize the key issues causing dissatisfaction and work out effective solutions.

For example, a common concern of patients is the waiting time for consultation. Consider the “time-analysis worksheet” to track a patient’s visit, time of entering the examination room, and so on. It allows physicians and staff to identify any possible sources of delays.

Tip: Remember to follow up with customers with negative experiences to discover the areas that need the most improvement. Surveying without any follow-up may intensify users’ dissatisfaction and worsen frustration among healthcare providers.

Conclusion

Patient satisfaction is a crucial metric for hospitals and other healthcare organizations. With a well-developed questionnaire, it’s easy to measure patient satisfaction and solve potential issues.

Every patient’s opinion is a significant source of information to help improve healthcare services, whether a private consultation, a clinic, a medical center, or a health and beauty center.

So, don’t hesitate to use SuveyTown to create, conduct, and present surveys easily!

How To Present Survey Results—Analyze and Visualize Data Easily!

Survey Tips

The best way to understand survey data is to visualize it. So, after collecting and analyzing results, it’s crucial to present them in a clear, concise, and visually appealing way. In this article, we’ll discuss the best practices for creating a successful visualization of research data.

Keep reading to discover the top ways to present survey results, helpful tips on doing it right, and the best online tool that can present all the data for you.

Presenting Survey Results

The best way to present survey results to help explain your data is to use visuals (graphs, charts, etc.) You should organize the presentation in a way that’s easy to follow and understand, with unbiased and objective results. Find your options below.

1. Graphs and Charts

If you’re looking for the most visually appealing ways to present survey results, graphs and charts are good options. These make a quick and easy-to-understand graphic.

Here are some of the commonly used types of graphs and charts:

Pie chart: A popular chart type, it shows the breakup into sections, with the sum of all slices being 100%.
Venn diagram: Uses overlapping shapes (often circles) to illustrate the logical relationships between different sets.
Line graph: Displays how one or more variables or results change over time by tracking the ups and downs of the data.
Bar graph: Simple to create and easy to interpret, it’s the most commonly used type to track changes over time or compare things between different groups.

2. Infographics

Using infographics alongside graphs and charts adds a creative twist and enhances the message instead of distracting from the data.

The eye-catching graphic visual representations will make survey results more impactful and visually pleasing, which will leave an unforgettable impression on the audience.

3. Data Table

Tables are an efficient way to display numerical data easily. Software like Excel or SPSS helps create tables, and you can even remove unnecessary information to focus on the data intended to be shared with a specific audience.

Similarly, spreadsheets like Excel might not be visually appealing, but they are an excellent option for organizing large amounts of data for a survey results report.

4. Video Infographics

Using animation for an informational video, like in videos or animated infographics, is an excellent strategy for presenting survey results.

With sound, animation, and colorfully displayed statistics, you’re bound to keep your audience engaged. It’s an effective communication tool to convey complex and concrete information effortlessly.

5. Presentations

Combining visuals with the text through a presentation is a practical way to present survey results in an understandable way.

Not only does a presentation allow you to present the early stages of your survey, but it’s also good for showing your questions, hypotheses, and analysis methods.

What To Keep in Mind When Presenting Results

When presenting survey results, be sure to do the following.

Explain technical terms your audience might not be familiar with.
Put the results in context, comparing them to other surveys or data sets.
Highlight the most critical findings from the survey.
Be clear about the meaning of the results and the way you obtained them.

The most important thing to remember when presenting survey results is that correlation doesn’t equal causation. It implies that just because two things are related doesn’t mean that one caused the other.

You must also be aware of potential biases in your sample when presenting survey results. For example, self-selection bias occurs when people who feel strongly about a topic are more likely to respond to a survey related to it.

Visualize Your Data With SurveyTown

SurveyTown is your one-stop solution for surveys. Not only does it help create any survey (even completely custom ones), but it also creates real-time survey reports to help see your ratings.

The software will collect all the responses to your survey and present the results in beautiful charts and graphs. From seeing the number of responses to viewing your aggregated statistics on responses in charts, SurveyTown simplifies the process of analyzing and presenting the survey results.

You can also use the APIs to export data, retrieve response data, or integrate your survey data into other applications.

Final Thoughts

As is evident, your work doesn’t stop at merely collecting and analyzing survey data. It’s equally important to present it the right way so that your audience understands the outcome of your survey clearly.

While you can try to create graphs, charts, infographics, tables, or presentations, SurveyTown can help simplify your work by doing all the visualization for you. Check out our pricing plans here!

Types of Market Research: Discover How Each Type Can Help You

General

Market research is a key process for businesses looking for a way to better understand their customers, competitors, or market trends. However, with so many different types of market research, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, it may be challenging to select the appropriate one for your business.

In this article, we’ll explore the main types, list their advantages and disadvantages, and help you choose the right one. All the info and tips will undoubtedly help you conduct your research and design an effective marketing strategy.

The 4 Main Market Research Types

There are four main types of market research: primary, secondary, qualitative, and quantitative. Let’s learn the essentials of each.

1. Primary Research

The primary market research approach refers to data collected firsthand (directly or through a third party) from customers, competitors, or other stakeholders.

It’s also known as field research.

Examples of primary research methods include surveys, focus groups, interviews, experiments, and ethnographic or observational research.

The collected data can be qualitative (non-numerical) or quantitative (numerical) for experimental results (for a problem that isn’t clearly defined yet) or conclusive results (to solve a problem identified through exploratory research).

Benefits:

The information/data is relevant and up-to-date.
The data collector retains the data ownership.
Most primary research methods address the individual market instead of the mass market.

Drawbacks:

Most of these methods are time-consuming.
It involves the possibility of bias.

2. Secondary Research

This research involves second-hand data that someone else has already collected and published, like in a report, journal article, government statistics, industry reports, or company data.

It’s also known as desk research or desktop research.

The three main domains for data for secondary research are commercial sources, educational institutions, and public sources. Since most of the information is freely available, this research is less expensive than primary research. It’s ideal for small businesses and start-ups.

Benefits:

The data is easily available.
It’s cost-effective and time-saving.
Initial findings help shape further research.
It gives a fast and broad understanding of the topic.
No professional training is required; anybody can do it.

Drawbacks:

Since already available data is used, you don’t own it.
Manual management of large volumes of information can be tricky.

3. Qualitative Research

It is a type of primary research that involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data through methods like focus groups, in-depth interviews, and observations.

Qualitative research aims to understand people’s attitudes, experiences, beliefs, opinions, and interactions. Researchers collect exploratory and open-ended data directly from an individual or a group and then interpret it.

Such research helps businesses refocus their brand based on the market’s specific needs by understanding consumers’ behaviors.

Benefits:

The research flexibility is greater.
Smaller groups suffice, so it’s more affordable.
Research is more targeted.
It uncovers key insights numbers alone can’t reveal.

Drawbacks:

Since the data is non-numerical, measuring it can be tricky.

4. Quantitative Research

Another type of primary research, quantitative research, involves collecting numerical data through surveys or experiments.

It’s perfect for testing hypotheses or measuring customer satisfaction levels since it gathers data about people’s behavior from the target market and consumers.

The different data collection methods for quantitative research include financial records, web statistics, desk research, surveys, and polls.

The five different types of quantitative research are:

Correlational, which determines the relationship between two related entities;
Survey research, which collects feedback about services, products, or companies;
Descriptive, which analyzes a population sample by gathering quantifiable info;
Experimental research, which (dis)proves a theory with experimentation;
Quasi-experimental, which evaluates cause-and-effect relationships among variables.

Some of these may not be accurate enough, but they are the foundation for further investigation of any hypotheses with qualitative market research.

Benefits:

It involves fewer variables due to closed-ended data.
Large sample sizes can be used for a broader study.
It allows for reliable and consistent analysis of data.
It’s less expensive than qualitative research.

Drawbacks:

Results may be artificial and different from real-world findings.
Limitations of options (pre-set answers) mask the actual answers.
You get a less detailed picture of the motivations and thoughts of a group.

The Most Common Types of Market Research

The SurveyTown team singled out the most common methods for data collection—check out the brief explanations below.

Surveys: An excellent way to collect quantitative data from a large number of people, and it’s cheaper if you do it online.
Focus groups: Help to get qualitative data from a small group of people, but it can be time-consuming and expensive to organize.
Interviews: An excellent way to get qualitative data from an individual but takes the most time to conduct.
Observations: Help to get qualitative data from real-world settings, but it can be challenging to control for all variables.

Final Thoughts: How To Choose the Right Type

The type of market research you choose will influence critical decisions in your business. However, not all methods will be suitable for your business.

Consider what you want to achieve, what type of data you need, the advantages and disadvantages of each research type, and the costs of conducting and analyzing the results.

Also, no single type of market research will give a complete picture. It’s best to use a mixed approach, and we suggest starting with one of the SurveyTown plans.

Pilot Testing in Research: A Crucial Step in Survey Design

Survey Tips

The survey design process involves several crucial steps, and conducting a pilot test is one of them. If you’re looking for its explanation and benefits, we’ll give them to you. Discover how pilot testing in research allows researchers to identify potential problems and fine-tune questions before launching their survey to a larger sample. You’ll explore the pros and cons of pilot studies, key steps in conducting a successful one, and valuable tips that will help you plan your research project to a tee.

What Is Pilot Testing in a Survey Research?

Pilot testing is small-scale study researchers conduct before administering the actual survey to test the validity of questions and data collection method. Therefore, a researcher uses it to examine the questions’ effectiveness and determine whether the survey is likely to succeed.

TL;DR: Pilot testing ensures that the survey is easy to understand and free of biases or errors.

Pilot Testing vs. Pretesting

People often confuse pilot testing with pretesting. Although both are important for ensuring the study’s effectiveness, there’s one key distinction between them. A pilot calls for conducting the survey in its entirety, while pretesting involves examining certain components only. For instance, you can use the latter to identify issues in the questionnaire’s tone, structure, or design.

How To Conduct a Pilot Test

You must carry out the pilot test under standard survey conditions and pay close attention to each step of the process. Follow these instructions to perform a successful test.

Choose each participant carefully, and make sure they fit your research’s target population. Pay attention to the following factors: their age, gender, education, income, and location.
Get your respondents together, if possible, and observe their behavior. It’s a very helpful method that allows you to see how comfortable they are throughout the survey and when they pause or hesitate.
Test the average time respondents take to complete each question and the entire survey. If the survey takes more time than expected, it means that it’s probably too lengthy or complex for your audience; find a way to simplify it.
Test the question flow, order, and type to ensure the survey is clear and easy to understand. If respondents need clarification, provide inaccurate answers, or repeat information, you should change the order of questions, rephrase them, or include an explanation.
Seek feedback from the respondents, supervisors, and observers. Make sure everyone contributes and shares their opinions or concerns so that you discover the areas that require improvements.
Collect all the data for analysis, and use it to make necessary changes and improvements. The data refers to participants’ answers, everyone’s feedback, and your notes (remember to take them during the survey).
Repeat the process if necessary. Feel free to conduct another pilot test after revisions to ensure the survey is ready for a larger audience.

Be sure to complete all the steps; each point is essential for an effective test that will lead to a successful survey.

Pros & Cons

Here are the three key benefits of survey pilot testing in research:

Identifying potential issues with your study design or methodology;
Avoiding any ethical problems that could occur from conducting a flawed study;
Getting valuable feedback and using it to improve the final research.

On the negative side, the entire process takes a lot of time and resources. Plus, a successful pilot test doesn’t guarantee that issues won’t arise again, so you may have to repeat the process down the line and delay the start of your project.

Is It Always Necessary?

Pilot testing is not necessary for every survey; it depends on the sample size and type of questions.

For instance, smaller and less complex surveys usually don’t require such testing. On the other hand, if you’re conducting a study that’s supposed to reach a larger audience, we recommend doing a pilot test. That way, you’ll determine an appropriate number or structure of your questions and avoid biased answers.

Final Thoughts

Although some researchers find pilot testing unnecessary, it’s undoubtedly an excellent way to ensure the validity of your data and the effectiveness of your research. It may seem pricey and time-consuming, but it actually saves money in the long run since it prevents problems later down the line.

Don’t hesitate to conduct a pilot study and ensure your research yields positive results. We also suggest you start your free trial with us, create a perfect survey after the pilot test, and organize your data quickly and effectively.

Fill out this form if you have any questions or concerns, and one of our support team members will get back to you as soon as possible.