Consulting
Michael E. Sikes, Ph.D.
Online Surveys
Online surveys have lots of advantages. They’re inexpensive to administer and easy to complete. Perhaps best of all, the analysis of data is streamlined. For users and evaluators alike, SurveyMonkey and similar tools remove much of the time-consuming work from a survey project.
But online surveys cannot do everything: They cannot develop the questions for you, and they cannot interpret the results. Think of an online survey utility as similar to a page layout program. While the latter can automate many tasks, you still need a designer who understands information flow and the aesthetics of the printed page.
The following table lists the stages in completing an online survey project. The stages in blue are relatively automatic, and the client may be able to complete them—or an evaluation consultant should be able to include them at very low cost. The stages in red probably need a consultant.
1. Understanding of program goals and outcomes |
2. Formulation of questions |
3. Design and publication of survey to Web |
4. Administration of survey and collection of data |
5. Analysis of data |
6. Interpretation of data |
7. Reporting of results |
An effective consultant can take advantage of the time and cost savings that an online survey offers in stages 3–5 while applying his or her expertise in completing stages 1–2 and 6–7, and then pass these savings on to the client.
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