Surveying Surveys
8/30/10
External forces impacting research
When you conduct a singular research study you’re measuring a snapshot of attitudes, awareness, and actions. However, research doesn’t happen in a vacuum and it is important to remember how outside factors may be impacting your results (yes, control groups can help, but if the external force is great enough, it will be tough to […]
By David KennedyRead More
5/4/10
Asking questions in a vacuum
Think polls make things a little too simple sometimes? Ever wonder why reality didn’t measure up to expectations (that came from a poll or survey question)? The Economist summed it up nicely in an article from last week’s edition. When asked whether they supported a variety of issues, most people showed strong support. However, when […]
By David KennedyRead More
4/5/10
Opt-in panels vs. probability samples
At Corona Insights we never use opt-in panels for online survey research. (Opt-in panels are those where the members have sought out the panel and signed up to take surveys, usually in order to earn cash or rewards.) Many opt-in panels exist and they are widely used in some circles of market research (primarily because […]
By Beth MulliganRead More
11/29/09
Research gone wrong
When conducting surveys, I often say that the best survey is one where 80 percent of the figures match your guess and 20 percent of the figures surprise you. Why? Well, you hope to learn something new, hence the 20 percent. But you also hope that a good proportion of the survey matches your view […]
By Kevin RainesRead More
8/10/09
LinkedIn Survey
Last fall we blogged about LinkedIn’s entrance into research. While one might think this means LinkedIn understands research, a recent survey I received from them makes me think otherwise. I took their survey, which was done on survey monkey (with all of their partners, they couldn’t find a better service?); skip patterns didn’t work (or […]
By David KennedyRead More
8/3/09
Research gone wrong – online polls
We’ve all seen quick online polls on news sites, in our email, and on social networking sites. While the purpose of these polls is often for entertainment the way they are executed is often too similar to that of real surveys – anyone can take it and can take it as many times as they […]
By David KennedyRead More
4/27/09
How to rank – Four tips for smarter ranking questions
Have you ever taken a survey that asked you to rank a list? Maybe it was just a few items. Maybe it was many more. I was recently asked to rank a LONG list of attributes on a survey which quickly became an exercise in futility. When ranking nearly 20 items, can you really decipher […]
By David KennedyRead More
3/30/09
Timeliness of surveys
I was going through my mail last night and discovered a survey from the manufacturer of my car. Since survey research is a major part of my work, I figured it would be good Karma to take it. I happily started the survey and realized it was supposed to be about my most recent visit […]
By David KennedyRead More
2/18/09
Seth’s five tips for better online surveys
How to improve online surveys? Ask anyone that creates or takes surveys and you’ll probably get an opinion. We’ve even chimed in on the topic in the past. (And on another Seth post.) Seth Godin recently posted Five tips for better online surveys, and, as usual, we have our own two cents to contribute. 1. Every […]
By David KennedyRead More
2/10/09
Ski surveys
We’ve talked plenty about good survey methodology, sampling, and making sure you’re getting the right information, and here is another excellent example: I was up in the mountains this past week skiing and decided to demo (i.e. try out) some new skis. So, I went to the shop at the resort and tried several different […]
By David KennedyRead More