"Ma'am, Would You Like To Participate In A Survey About Your Recently Closed Subscription?"

"Ma'am, would you like to participate in a survey about your recently closed subscription?" I am often asked this question in many variations on the way to work, home, shopping, by email, etc. Most people walk on or say no, but I don't. As long as it's not about sales but about surveys, I participate.

Surveys Or Polls

Survey is a method of obtaining information by asking questions, it is a kind of interview. A small survey is often referred to as a poll. Maurice de Hond often holds polls during the election period, after which the answers to these questions are analyzed. Analyzing the questions has been my job since 2005. I won't go into how to analyze in this blog, let's go back to my admission that I participate in surveys.

Take The Survey

Most people think it's a waste of time and run by quickly, but surveys are one of the methods for retailers, organizations, governments, or others to find out what their customers think about a particular topic. Civil duty isn't the main reason I'm taking part, because I'm curious how they built the survey. 

Do They Meet The Research Rules? 

There are 10 important rules when creating a survey:

1. Determine the purpose of the survey

2. Define the target group, so the population is know that will be researched

3. Choose the type of survey

4. When and over what period the survey will be held

5. Prepare honest and clear explanations about the purpose of the survey

6. Formulate the questions

7. Take a sample from the population

8. Conduct the survey, follow-up, follow-up and follow-up

9. Process and analyze the data

10. Draw conclusions

I go through these 10 rules in my head while filling out such a survey. The funny thing is I can always find something that I think I would have done better and differently. Also with my own surveys by the way.

Target Audience

I also always look around to see who is filling out the survey and if the questions define the group filling in the survey. These are control questions such as:

• What year were you born in

• What is your education

• What is your gender

• Where do you live

• etc.

Interview Types

In addition to the street interviews I am talking about, there are also the following types of interviews:

• Over the phone; I will be called to ask if I want to participate, and the interviewer will ask me the questions over the phone. Not my favorite

• Written; I will receive the questions on paper at home. Often with a reply envelope to return the survey free of charge. My favorite, because then I can study the survey in peace

• At home; The interviewer will come to my home. For example, CBS occasionally does this to collect population data

• Email; There are two types of email interviews:

  • I will receive a link where I can complete the survey

  • I can answer questions in the email itself

• Websites; Often when I visit a website, I will get a pop-up asking if I want to participate in a poll about the companies services or if I can find my answer on their website

• Address (aanspreken) random people; Companies often use these types of surveys in their stores to measure their service. The interviewer is often at the door of the store with a tablet or paper version.

Neutral Research

The biggest challenge in creating a survey is to ask questions as neutrally as possible, but in such a way that I get an answer to the question. Many survey authors go wrong here, creating bias in the surveys. These are often suggestive or targeted questions to obtain certain answers. An example of such a biased question is:

Do you think 3% is an acceptable tax increase?

The answer is already in the question. This question should actually be:

What do you think is an acceptable tax increase?

• 0%

• 3%

• 5%

The more neutral the question, the less likely my survey is biased.

Response Rate

There's another reason I'm in on it, which is the response rate. The response rate has become less and less over the years. I can calculate the response rate by dividing the number of people who responded by the total number of people selected to participate in the survey. Nowadays I should be happy with a response between 10-30 percent. The response can be stimulated by:

• Sending reminders to the respondent once or twice (by letter or email)

• Distribute written surveys with printed envelopes to a freepost number (antwoordnummer), because mailing to a freepost number is free for the respondent

• Handing out small gifts

• Raffle of certain prizes (Check the law, before using this option, loting)

Okay, I Must Confess There's Another Reason

I suffer from professional distortion when it comes to surveys. Occasionally I get myself hired to take surveys or to have people take the survey.