September 04, 2013 // 2 min read
A Gentle (or Not so Gentle) Reminder
There comes a time when we need to be reminded. Sometimes a gentle reminder will do, other times we may need to be more forceful. Survey participants are no...
June 11, 2013 // 2 min read
Looking Beneath the Surface
Market research, and by association survey research in general, was not designed to be a random fishing trip. This is not to say that randomness isn’t important to our cause, but is not the key driver if you will. Yet, it seems as if so many projects occur at the whim of a CMO who
January 31, 2013 // 2 min read
5 Key Tips for Stakeholder Surveys
At some point throughout the year, you need to reach out to your stakeholders to increase your organizations’ understanding of their opinions, knowledge and attitudes in order to optimize success. “A survey is the natural way to go about this, but while the survey concept is straightforward, effective execution requires a bit of finesse,” according
January 19, 2012 // 3 min read
Data Types: Using Nominal Data in Survey Research
Earlier this week, I outlined four types of survey questions, one of which is nominal data. There is nothing marginal about nominal data. In fact the majority of survey questions are nominal in nature. That is they are categories with numbers assigned to them to facilitate analysis. In most research courses they are introduced as
July 06, 2011 // 2 min read
Unipolar Meets Bipolar
Market researchers may often be considered ‘mad’ by our colleagues in other departments, but when I speak of bipolar and unipolar I am not referring to a psychiatric disorder. Instead my thinking is on scales, those oft employed measurements of attitudes and perceptions that we as survey authors create to uncover what our customers, prospects,
February 25, 2010 // 3 min read
Online Survey Pitfalls: Double Barreled Survey Questions
This is our last post in this week’s series of online survey pitfalls as it refers to how to write a survey. Be sure to review the other four no-no’s for writing survey questions: • Complex questions • Ambiguous questions • Leading questions • Loaded questions Double barreled questions A double barreled question is when
February 22, 2010 // 2 min read
Online Survey Pitfalls: Ambiguous Survey Question Writing
Today we’ll look at how to spot and correct ambiguous questions when writing satisfaction questionnaires. Ambiguity Let’s use the following examples to show different ways a survey question can be ambiguous. Sample Market Research Survey Question Are you asking the survey respondent if they personally did care repairs or took it to a mechanic? You’re