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WebsiteWatch: Have you considered running your next survey on the web?

Anyone who spends any amount of time surfing the web these days will be well aware of the constant requests to participate in some form of survey, questionnaire or poll. As an internet user this can (and does!) become tiresome, but when used appropriately the web still provides an excellent vehicle for delivering surveys to your target audience.

There are many reasons why you would, and would not, use the web to deliver a survey. The following article published by First Monday gives an excellent overview of the ins and outs of web based surveys;
Web: www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_12/gunn/

If you think the web is for you, the next question is going to revolve around technology - how do you get your questions on the web and delivered to your audience? To do this you can go one of two ways; Utilise a third party to build and host your survey, or implement the survey yourself on your own website.

The first option is usually the simplest as it requires little technical knowledge to get up and running and there are many excellent resources on the web that allow you to build and run your own survey for little or no cost. Most of these sites require some form of account creation or registration to allow access to the survey creation tool, which is then implemented as a kind of Wizard in which the survey is built by supplying your questions and any related information.

A few of the sites that we have looked at include:

Survey Monkey is a long-standing web-based survey provider from the USA that allows you to build simple, cost effective surveys. Responses can be viewed on-line in real time as graphs and charts or downloaded to your computer.
Web: www.surveymonkey.com/

Hosted Survey is another well established web-based provider from the USA. Their survey builder provides a host of configuration options that support more complex surveys. Responses are presented in detailed reports on-line or can be downloaded.
Web: www.hostedsurvey.com/

Case Sensitive Solutions (a consultant for PHC RIS) is an Australian-based provider that offers a simple do-it-yourself survey manager. Their survey builder is quite flexible and produces a professional looking survey. Results are viewed on-line or can be downloaded to your computer.
Web: www.casesensitive.com.au/prod/esm.php

To implement a survey on your own web site requires significant technical knowledge, and is beyond the scope of this article. Depending on the complexity of your survey and your hosting platform you may require server-side programming and/or the installation of third party software. If you are keen, then it is worthwhile speaking to your ISP or web hosting company as they will be able to help you directly or at least point you in the right direction.