Working with surveys

Surveys. Love 'em or hate 'em, they are everywhere. In way of a disclaimer I previously worked for a very large multinational cooperation that was arguable the largest private industry collector of data in the country.

In schools, surveys seem to pop up frequently. Yet more frequently than not the survey represents a destination rather than a question. And therein lies the problem.

Surveys are a form of quantitative data collection. Even in their simplest form, they are a form of research. And research is be definition a process of three steps

1. Pose a question.
2. Collect data to answer the question
3. Present an answer to the question

Creswell, J. (2012), Plannning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Pearson: Boston

The issue is that so many surveys are about "getting support" or "receiving a mandate". Perhaps we should blame federal politics...

The point is, all research - even the information question to parents, students or staff - should start with a question.

Collecting the data is the easy bit. However, this is also an area where people struggle. For most schools they can use the paper format, but today I'd like to look at SurveyMonkey. Its a fairly simple tool to use, but does cost around $300AUD for its most useful plan.

Alternatively, things like Google Forms are available and offer a simplistic yet effective way of collecting data. And there are several free online survey tools available. You can even create forms in emails (difficult) or use the paper based option (simple!).

Just remember the the following:

• How will your data be collected? If it's only online, will that create a selection bias?
• How will your data be stored? How long for? How will you maintain confidentiality? 
• How will your data be used? Is data aggregated or will individual data be used (E.g. comment data)?
• To whom will the data be send? What is the intended audience?
• Who is responsible for the data?

All of this needs to be clearly communicated to participants before they commence a survey. 

Furthermore, when creating your survey consider:

• The wording of questions and how that impacts an audience's perception (referendums!)
• The pacing and order of questions (consistency and clarity)
• The scales used (consistency and clarity)

There are plenty of online resources to help you out!