SurveyMonkey The Quest For Meaning In A World Gone Mad Created by Elizabeth Maloney, CCA District C Director Michael Smith, CCA Communication Director

What’s Up To Survey or Not to Survey… Writing effective questions 6 mistakes w/ questions Results & What’s next Using the CCA SurveyMonkey Have Fun and get a little crazy!!

Getting to the Core Topic and purpose of survey Brainstorm ideas and streamline topic Have a definite purpose or goal for data Surveys guide the actions of chapter – not determine actions

Question Basics Be Brief Be Objective Be Simple Be Specific Be Brief Be Objective Be Simple Be Specific Be Brief Be Objective Be Simple Be Specific

Questions Matter? Really? 1.Leading Questions 2.Bias Questions 3.Loaded Questions 4.Built in Assumptions 5.Jargon - Use Simple Language 6.Double-Barreled Questions 1.

Leading Questions Example: – We have recently been negotiating and upgrading our contract. What are your thoughts on the wonderful upgrades and bonus we got for you? Better Question: – What are your thoughts on the changes to the contract?

Bias Questions Example: Don't you agree that campus parking is a problem? Yes/No Revised question: Is parking on campus a problem? Yes/No

Loaded Questions These types of questions work through emotionally charged items like words, stereotypes, etc. Example: – How important are health benefits  unimportant  somewhat important  very important  extremely important Better: – How important are health plans compared to other employee benefits Least importantNeutral Most important 

Assumptions Don’t Assume We all know what ASSUME means Include details or additional information if necessary. Avoid abbreviations. Identify even commonly used abbreviations.

Jargon No jargon or technical concepts Use simple language Use words that are direct and familiar to the respondents.

Double Barreled Example: – How useful do you find the new SLOAs guidelines and the union's new lists service ? Replace With: – Q1: How useful do you find the new SLOAs guidelines ? – Q2: How useful do you find the union's new lists service ?

Tone/Voice Talk in conversational language Third person less threatening For example – "How do your colleagues feel about management?" – rather than "How do you feel about management?"

Rules – Who Needs Stinking Rules? Question Guidelines Times Conditions

Too Much???? Ideal questions For each increment of 15 – drop by 15% or more = failure of completion. Good Rule of Thumb – never have more than 20 questions max.

Types of Questions Open Ended Closed Ended Dichotomous Multi-chotomous

Open Ended Seek a free response Allow respondents to answer in their own words Textboxes are provided w/ the question prompt

More Questions?? Dichotomous – Allows to choose one of two answer choices (Yes or No/ True or False/ Agree or Disagree) Multi-chotomous – Allows to choose one of many answer choices

Sample Have you ever used SurveyMonkey? ____Yes _____ No How many times in the last year have you used SurveyMonkey to answer a survey? _____ Zero ______ Once _____ Twice _____More than 3 times If you had to estimate, how many times have you used SurveyMonkey to respond to a survey? (Please write in an estimate number) __________

How Much Monkey Stuff??? Ranked or Ordinal Questions – Can set “forced ranking” option Matrix & Rating Type Questions – Likert Scales – Semantic Differential Scales

Sample Please answer the following about SurveyMonkey 1 - Strongly 5 - Strongly Agree Disagree It is easy to use.  It is fun. 

Sample Please answer the following about SurveyMonkey 1 – Strongly 2 - Disagree 3 – Neutral 4 – Agree 5 -Strongly Disagree Agree It is easy to use.  It is fun. 

Flow & Order Easy questions first Sensitive questions in the middle Easy at the end Geared towards the respondents abilities

Order Issues in one question can influence subsequent questions. Start w/ general question –move to specific questions For example, you should avoid asking a series of questions about raises and working conditions and then ask question about the most important factors in the work place.

Try It – You’ll Like It Beta Testing Send a test to a small number of people Get feedback Adjust questions

What’s in a Name? Naming the survey subject lines Follow up s

Working for Bananas We need incentives Clearly state what they are Use in intro

Reeling Them In Introduction should be short and include: Purpose of the survey Why it is important to participate What may be done with the results What impacts Person to contact for questions Due date for response

Results? Now What? Types of Results –Pie –Bar –Area –Line –Column

How to Connect Sending out the survey A hyperlink can be created or Requestor provides an list individual invites reminders (if requested)

Need Help?? Contact your regional CCA staff person

Why CCA?? CCA has a professional version Access via Communication Committee Advantages: - Assistance -Unlimited number of questions -Graphics and colors

Access Service Complete form and send it to It’s that simple

SurveyMonkey Process 1.Submit completed form with attached draft of question (at least 30 days prior to preferred start date of survey) to 2.Chapter will receive a confirmation upon receipt of survey; a member of CCA Communication Committee will then follow up with a brief review of the submitted questions.

SurveyMonkey Process 3. Submitted questions may undergo some collaborative revision; a test version of the survey will then be made available to the survey requestor for approval. 4.Chapter will need to provide addresses for survey recipients. 5.Once the survey and options have been approved, the survey will go live on the agreed upon date. 6.After the conclusion of the survey period, results will be disseminated to chapter president and requestor.

References Driscoll, Dana Lynn (2006). "Creating Good Interview and Survey Questions." Retrieved January 2011, from The Owl at Purdue: Iraossi, G. (2006). The Power of Survey Design: A User's Guide for Managing Surveys, Interpreting Results, and Influencing Respondents. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. ammar ammar survey-pitfalls-avoid-loaded-survey-questions survey-pitfalls-avoid-loaded-survey-questions