Recent Additions

Automatic Summaries vs. Answer Piping in Apian SurveyPro: Someone on the Apian discussion list had a question about the SurveyPro 5 Answer Summaries feature, which is essentially: You marked these responses, are you sure? Print your replies for your records. This got me to playing around with it...; Read Article; BY: Ann Ray on March 18, 2010 | Last updated March 18, 2010; COMMENTS: 0; CATEGORIES: Apian SurveyPro; TAGS: Apian Software | Piping | SurveyPro | Web surveys
How can we best reward you for making the planet a greener place?: http://www.maark.com/greensurvey/ Normally I don't promote my clients' surveys, especially not bugging my own network, but this one is kind of like asking "What do you want for your birthday?" It's all about an upcoming eco idea contest, and asking...; Read Article; BY: Ann Ray on October 29, 2009 | Last updated October 29, 2009; COMMENTS: 0; CATEGORIES: Announcements
Rule #2: Wear the respondent's shoes—it's a big payback: As much as I'm a general advocate for respondents, I know it can be a challenge when they're an amorphous group and your manager or client is an immediate voice. But, there are two very pragmatic reasons for putting yourself...; Read Article; BY: Ann Ray on October 5, 2009 | Last updated October 5, 2009; COMMENTS: 0; CATEGORIES: Management | Questionnaires | Respondents; TAGS: Ann's Rules | Response rates | Risk | Scales | Writing questions
IP Addresses and Surveys: Because we're not binary beings, we have text domain names such as: practicalsurveys.com to reach Websites, but what really directs traffic around the Internet are the corresponding numeric identities, IP (Internet Protocol) addresses: 209.197.67.60 In addition entering IP addresses as...; Read Article; BY: Ann Ray on October 3, 2009 | Last updated October 3, 2009; COMMENTS: 0; CATEGORIES: Questionnaires | Technology; TAGS: Web surveys
Can usability be worth $4/form submission?: Recently I decided it was. People generally agree investing in usability for Websites and Web applications is a “good idea” when it comes to retaining visitors and users—or in my specialty, survey respondents. The challenge is assigning a value to...; Read Article; BY: Ann Ray on March 11, 2009 | Last updated March 11, 2009; COMMENTS: 0; CATEGORIES: Management | Questionnaires; TAGS: Usability | Web surveys
Running a solid correlation: This article isn’t about how to crunch the statistic—any stat book or Excel help can tell you how to do that. Instead, it’s my usual theme: understanding what you’re working with and making sure you’ve got something you can count...; Read Article; BY: Ann Ray on January 28, 2009 | Last updated February 5, 2009; COMMENTS: 0; CATEGORIES: Reporting; TAGS: Market research | Risk | Statistics
Rule #1: Surveys are about information, not justification: There are three possibilities when you have a theory (or better yet, your boss or client has a theory) about survey results and start reviewing it in the data: You were right! All is well in the universe, the sun...; Read Article; BY: Ann Ray on January 20, 2009 | Last updated October 5, 2009; COMMENTS: 0; CATEGORIES: Management | Reporting; TAGS: Ann's Rules | Biased research | Ethics
Consistency is never foolish in a survey: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do." Apart from the common misquote which drops "foolish," most people are unaware of...; Read Article; BY: Ann Ray on October 24, 2008 | Last updated October 24, 2008; COMMENTS: 0; CATEGORIES: Questionnaires | Respondents; TAGS: Scales
Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists: by Joel Best

While a fascinating read for all of us, this is most applicable if you're combining secondary research with your surveys. You'll never look at "facts" the same way again.

Amazon; COMMENTS: 0; CATEGORIES: Books | Management | Reporting; TAGS: Biased research | Market research | Public opinion polls | Secondary research | Statistics
How to Lie With Statistics: by Darrell Huff

There’s a reason this is still in print after 50 years, and that’s because we still fall for the same creative charting tricks.

Amazon; COMMENTS: 1; CATEGORIES: Books | Reporting; TAGS: Biased research | Charts | Statistics