Surveys That Work: A Practical Guide for Designing and Running Better Surveys

by Caroline Jarrett, Steve Krug (Foreword by)

Overview

Surveys That Work explains a seven–step process for designing, running, and reporting on a survey that gets accurate results. In a no–nonsense style with plenty of examples about real–world compromises, the book focuses on reducing the errors that make up Total Survey Error—a key concept in survey methodology. If you are conducting a survey, this book is a must–have.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933820538
Publisher:	Rosenfeld Media
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	219,268
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Caroline Jarrett is the forms specialist, advising organizations on how to make forms easier to fill in and how to improve websites and business processes that include forms. Her research on topics like 'How do people answer questions?' led her to explore the literature on survey methodology, the concept of Total Survey Error, and advising her clients on how to improve their surveys, as well as their forms.
Caroline has an MA in Mathematics from Oxford University, an MBA and a Diploma in Statistics from the Open University, and is a Chartered Engineer. Caroline is co–author of Forms that Work: Designing Web Forms for Usability (Morgan Kaufmann/Elsevier) and of User Interface Design and Evaluation (The Open University/Elsevier).
Caroline's website is Effortmark.co.uk. Find her on Twitter as @cjforms.

Table of Contents

How to Use This Book vi

Frequently Asked Questions vii

Foreword xiii

Introduction xvii

Definitions What is a Survey? And the Survey Octopus 1

A survey is a process 2

Total Survey Error focuses on reducing problems overall 4

Meet the Survey Octopus 5

We'll aim for Light Touch Surveys 8

Spotlight A Four Different Types of Surveys 13

Chapter 1 Goals: Establish Your Goals for the Survey 19

Write down all your questions 21

Choose the Most Crucial Question (MCQ) 24

Check that a survey is the right thing to do 26

Determine the time you have and the help you need 33

What could possibly go wrong with the goals? 35

At this point, you will know 36

Spotlight B The Net Promoter Score® and Correlation 37

Spotlight C Satisfaction 43

Chapter 2 Sample: Find People Who Will Answer 51

Some of the people you ask will decide not to answer 52

Response rates vary by the way you deliver your questionnaire 53

Response depends on trust, effort, and reward 54

Decide how many answers you need 62

Find the people who you want to ask 67

The right response is better than a big response 76

What can possibly go wrong with sampling? 83

At this point, you will know 86

Spotlight D Statistical Significance 87

Chapter 3 Questions: Write and Test the Questions 97

Understand the four steps to answer a question 98

Good questions are easy to understand 100

Good questions ask for answers that are easy to find 103

Good questions are comfortable to answer 110

Good questionnaires make it easy to respond 117

Test your questions in cognitive interviews 118

What could possibly go wrong with the questions? 120

At this point, you will know 122

Spotlight E Privacy 123

Spotlight F Question to Ask When You Choose a Survey Tool 129

Spotlight G Choose Your Mode: Web, Paper, or Something Else? 141

Chapter 4 Questionnaire: Build and Test the Questionnaire 153

What could possibly go wrong with your questionnaire? 154

Good questions are easy to respond to 155

Choose your images carefully 170

Consider the order of your questions 179

Test your questionnaire 187

Take screenshots of your final questionnaire 191

At this point, you will know 192

Spotlight H "On a Scale from 1 to 5" (Likert and Rating Scales) 193

Chapter 5 Decide on your invitation, thank-you, and follow-up 218

Do a pilot test 227

Launch your fieldwork and look after it 229

What could possibly go wrong with fieldwork? 231

At this point, you will know 231

Chapter 6 Clean your data 239

Decide whose responses you will use 247

Get to know your numeric data 251

Look for themes in your open answers: Coding 261

What could possibly go wrong with responses? 272

At this point, you will know 273

Spotlight I A Good Chart IS Easy to Read and Honest 275

Chapter 7 Reports: Show the Results to Decision-Makers 285

Think about what you learned, numerically 286

Decide what news to deliver and when 288

Decide what format to use for delivery 291

Choose "inverted pyramid" for most presentations 294

There are many ways of showing the same results 295

The best insights come from using surveys alongside other methods 301

What could possibly go wrong with reports? 304

At this point, you will know 306

Chapter 8 The Least You Can Do™ 309

The survey process has seven steps 310

What to do when you've only got an hour 311

What to do when you've got a day 312

What to do when you've got a whole week 313

The checklist for everything 315

The final word is "iterate" 319

Index 321

Reference 338

Acknowledgments 343

About the Author 348

Editorial Reviews

"This is crucial reading for those who want to deepen their user–centered practice with quantitative research. A thorough exploration of all dimensions of the thinking process behind good surveys, this book will make you a better questioner!"
—Misaki Hata, Service Designer, NHS Digital

"In an easy–to–read, conversational style, Caroline takes you through the entire process with wonderful examples, helpful stories, and tons of good advice."
—Janice (Ginny) Redish, author of Letting Go of the Words

"If you have avoided using surveys as a tool for understanding the needs of the people who use your products, shy away no more. This book is a delight to read and use."
—Dana Chisnell, Policy Designer, U.S. Digital Service

"Caroline has created a must-–read 'one-stop source' for those looking to conduct a survey. Read this book—and learn from one of the best."
—Laura Wilson, Data Quality Hub Lead, UK Office for National Statistics

From the Publisher