Saturday, September 1, 2012

Maximizing Free Survey Software Programs

Free survey software programs are being offered by many web-based companies today. These programs give you multiple design options, templates and questions about a wide range of topics and industries - customer service, education, hospitality and restaurants, trainings, human resources, and many more.

Most of these tools, even though free-of-charge, can be customized. You also have the option to upgrade to a paid package, which, of course, will give you additional set of features. But before signing up for anything or purchasing any package, here are some suggestions on how to make an effective survey questionnaire. This will also guide you in checking out the features of the program that you wish to register for or buy.

Human Resource Software

Choose a questionnaire software that phrases questions in a concise and direct manner. This way you wouldn't need to do considerable revisions, because it is important that your questions and instructions use clear and simple words. Avoid using words whose meaning you need to search for in the dictionary. Sometimes, one word, sentence or question could carry different meanings to different people and in different contexts. Make sure each of your questions carry only one meaning to any reader. The easier the respondents would understand your survey, the more accurate their answers would be. This will also minimize the dropout rate of respondents.

You also need to check if the program you will get, whether a free survey software or a paid program, would enable you to provide an opt-out function, if necessary. For instance, in certain cases, there are respondents who have not encountered what the question was referring to. You need to provide at least a "Not applicable" choice in your survey material.

Skewed results in research are often brought about by confusing choices for answers. Whether you are presenting a ranking or a multiple choice type of question, always have a moderate number of options. Having too few options often leave the respondents without having any honest choice and eventually force them to choose anything, even if the answer is not true or realistic. Having too much, on the other hand, would confuse your respondents and would have a similar result of untrue replies.

These are just some major points that you should think about if you want to produce effective questionnaires for your research. If you are considering using a free online survey creator tool, keep these suggestions in mind so you can maximize the program's functions and features.

Maximizing Free Survey Software Programs

1 comment:

  1. Nice Blog!!! It looks like you've spent a fair amount of time setting it up and keeping the content fresh. I'll be sure to come back.

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    ReplyDelete