http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Surveys A listing of the most recently indexed works about Surveys in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Surveys http://tc.eserver.org/35301.html http://tc.eserver.org/35301.html I have no idea what our users want. I do know they want information, and I know they want that information to be kept up to date as our product evolves and as far as those basic needs are concerned, I’m happy that we are meeting them. Beyond that I admit I’m not really that sure. http://tc.eserver.org/34633.html http://tc.eserver.org/34633.html WebAIM conducted a survey of preferences of screen reader users. With over 1100 responses, this survey provides great insight into the demographics and preferences of screen reader users. http://tc.eserver.org/33712.html http://tc.eserver.org/33712.html Surveys have always been a great way to gauge users' opinions and reactions toward new and existing products and services. With SurveyMonkey, an online survey software program, creating a survey has become a quick and easy way to create useful surveys for a multitude of needs. In this reprint of David Farbey's article, originally published in the January 2006 edition of Forward, the newsletter of the UK Chapter, Farbey gives a step-by-step guide on creating a survey with SurveyMonkey. http://tc.eserver.org/33623.html http://tc.eserver.org/33623.html There is no question that the software development world offers a lot of excitement and challenging work. In the area of software user assistance we are particularly challenged by having to master a wide range of disciplines. From foundation skills like writing and editing—to the coding of content—to usability testing and user interface design, we find ourselves in a profession that is difficult to define. What is it that we really do? The objective of this survey is to take a snapshot of our collective professional life in an attempt to identify what we value in our daily work as user assistance professionals. http://tc.eserver.org/33496.html http://tc.eserver.org/33496.html This study examined the effect on survey results of having no neutral or mid-point on a Likert scale. Participants in a face-to-face omnibus survey were shown either a five point (with mid -point) or four point (no mid-point) Likert scale of importance on a card and asked to state their opinion about the importance of product labelling (additives, ingredients etc.) on packaged foods. This research provides some evidence that social desirability bias, arising from respondents' desires to please the interviewer or appear helpful or not be seen to give what they perceive to be a socially unacceptable answer, can be minimised by eliminating the mid-point ('neither... nor', uncertain etc.) category from Likert scales. There is also some evidence that the presence or absence of a mid-point on an importance scale produces distortions in the results obtained. http://tc.eserver.org/33343.html http://tc.eserver.org/33343.html Five questionnaires for assessing the usability of a website were compared in a study with 123 participants. The questionnaires studied were SUS, QUIS, CSUQ, a variant of Microsoft’s Product Reaction Cards, and one that we have used in our Usability Lab for several years. Each participant performed two tasks on each of two websites: finance.yahoo.com and kiplinger.com. All five questionnaires revealed that one site was significantly preferred over the other. The data were analyzed to determine what the results would have been at different sample sizes from 6 to 14. At a sample size of 6, only 30-40% of the samples would have identified that one of the sites was significantly preferred. Most of the data reach an apparent asymptote at a sample size of 12, where two of the questionnaires (SUS and CSUQ) yielded the same conclusion as the full dataset at least 90% of the time. http://tc.eserver.org/33344.html http://tc.eserver.org/33344.html Subjective evaluation is an important component in the evaluation of workstation usability. We have developed and standardized a general user evaluation instrument for interactive computer systems. The methods of psychological test construction were applied in order to ensure proper construct and empirical validity of the items and to assess their reliability. A hierarchical approach was taken in which overall usability was divided into subcomponents which constituted independent psychometric scales. For example, subcomponents include character readability, usefulness of online help, and meaningfulness of error messages. Evaluation on these scales is assessed by user ratings of specific system attributes such as character definition, contrast, font, and spacing for the scale of character readability. http://tc.eserver.org/32844.html http://tc.eserver.org/32844.html During the summer of 2003, we ran an online questionnaire, conducted interviews and carried out a literature review on Web accessibility. One hundred and seventeen respondents participated and they included designers, information officers and accessibility advocates. This initial set of results are intended to encourage debate on the subject. http://tc.eserver.org/32708.html http://tc.eserver.org/32708.html Sufficient response rates are important for surveys. A survey that collects very little data may not contain substantial information. In order to collect successful responses, researchers must take into consideration the audience, the quantity of online surveys in circulation, and the potential for surveys reported as spam. These factors may result in lower respondent interest and acceptance of survey invitations. But there are ways to increase response rates! http://tc.eserver.org/32709.html http://tc.eserver.org/32709.html This guide provides information on writing successful and effective survey questions, creating survey flow and layout, calculating response rates, tips for increasing response rates, and the pros and cons of online surveys. (Plus an appendix of links and works cited for additional help in survey design.) http://tc.eserver.org/32247.html http://tc.eserver.org/32247.html Survey respondents reveal the focus on change and growth. Almost every responding institution disclosed plans for improvement – new course designs, additional online options, or experimentation with various Learning Management Software. DETC schools are prepared to embrace the changes in technology and increased online delivery while continuing to provide superior education to the distance learning student. The results also demonstrate reluctance to abandon a synchronous, print-based method of learning. http://tc.eserver.org/31695.html http://tc.eserver.org/31695.html This article draws on channel expansion theory to explore the selection and use of communication media by organizational members. Channel expansion theory scholars posit that media richness perceptions are dependent on experiences with communication partners, the message topic, and the communication media utilized. This study tests channel expansion theory in the context of new and traditional communication media. Respondents (N = 269) completed questionnaires regarding their use and perceptions of face-to-face, telephone, e-mail, or instant-messaging interactions. Results indicate that experience with channel, topic, partner, and social influence are all significant predictors of richness perceptions, when controlling for age and media characteristics. Findings also suggest that the richness of a medium is not fixed and may be shaped by interpersonal factors, including one's relevant experiences. http://tc.eserver.org/31585.html http://tc.eserver.org/31585.html Interest in corporate culture has been on the increase ever since studies over a decade ago found a link between certain cultural aspects and successful business outcomes. Buthow can you measure the bottom-link impacts of culture in your own organization? http://tc.eserver.org/31586.html http://tc.eserver.org/31586.html Most communication surveys pose questions about how well messages have been understood and how effective different communication channels are. What surveys usually lack are questions that link the communications you manage to the effect they have on employee behaviors, which result in improvements in the bottom line. Here are two examples of communicators who used surveys to analyze behavior and build a business case for their budgets. http://tc.eserver.org/31587.html http://tc.eserver.org/31587.html While surveys aren't the only research tool available to HR managers, they are the most useful one when 'hard' numbers are needed on how many people see things a certain way and when it's important to track differences among subgroups or improvement over time. http://tc.eserver.org/31588.html http://tc.eserver.org/31588.html A downward trend in survey response rates is often blamed on the fact that people simply become tired of taking surveys. Butthere are ways to avoid the malaise setting in, says Angela Sinickas, a key one being making sure thatpeople feel their opinions are actually being listened to. Here she shares three common causes of survey fatigue and how to deal with them. http://tc.eserver.org/31589.html http://tc.eserver.org/31589.html This month's column is a quiz. I'll set up some scenarios, you choose which research approach you think is best. At the end, I'll defend why I think my own answers are right! http://tc.eserver.org/31592.html http://tc.eserver.org/31592.html The wonders of technology have opened up easy-to-use on-line survey creation and analysis. Yet if you take the numbers the surveys provide at face value, you may be under-representing your audience's true responses. The following examples demonstrate how to phrase questions for more accurate results. http://tc.eserver.org/31594.html http://tc.eserver.org/31594.html All too often companies conduct a survey and do nothing with the results. This problem can be minimized through developing a highly actionable survey in the first place (the topic of this month's column) and making sure that management is committed to acting on the findings (to be covered next month). Here are some suggestions for developing a survey that leads to highly actionable results. http://tc.eserver.org/31593.html http://tc.eserver.org/31593.html Who has time to do communication audits anymore? Only the lucky few. The author shows ways to find out everything you need to know, just as fast as you need to know it. http://tc.eserver.org/31595.html http://tc.eserver.org/31595.html The number of surveys to send out depends on how many employees you have and what rate of response you are likely to achieve. If you have a relatively small number of employees, you might need to send out surveys to everyone. If you have over several thousand employees, you would need only 500-600 completed surveys to have fairly reliable results for your population as a whole, assuming the respondents accurately reflect the demographics of the entire group. So, if you expect to have a 100% response rate, you would mail out surveys to a random sample of 600. More realistically, if you typically have a response rate of 50%, you'd need to survey 1,200 people (600 divided by 0.5). http://tc.eserver.org/31542.html http://tc.eserver.org/31542.html You can't wait for the employee survey each year to see if you're making improvements in your change communication - you need to measure now. Polls are the pulse takers that give snapshots of perceptions. They describe how people are coping with change, what they are thinking, how they are feeling and the extent to which they are supportive of organizational goals. Tudor Williams, ABC, outlines the critical factors in ensuring your polls are accurate, usable and result in valid sets of data. http://tc.eserver.org/31455.html http://tc.eserver.org/31455.html With technology improving rapidly and costs continuing to drop, businesses are conducting more sophisticated online surveys. No longer confined to traditional paper-based surveys, companies are reaching out more than ever for employee feedback. These surveys include employee satisfaction, upward or "360" evaluations and the performance review process. Online surveys now contain open-ended questions, multiple formats and complex branching tools, giving businesses the potential to gather more insight about employees, corporate culture and business processes than ever before. http://tc.eserver.org/31142.html http://tc.eserver.org/31142.html What is the current scenario for applications and systems in the area of technical communication? Who is using which editor? And how many companies are using a Content-Management-System? To answer these and other questions, tekom conducted a survey from July to November 2006, which was conceived as an online questionnaire and made available via the tekom web site. 547 participants took part in the survey. http://tc.eserver.org/30709.html http://tc.eserver.org/30709.html This study analyzed individual perceptions of various situations involving actions likely to be considered unethical by most people. It explored perceptions of the acceptability of parallel technology-based and non-technology-based vignettes, self-rated behavior regarding the survey scenarios and consistency between self-rated behavior and the level of acceptance of the vignettes. The responses from 453 participants were analyzed by age, gender, ethnicity and amount of weekly access to computers at home.The participants were more accepting of the technology-based survey items and were also more likely to engage in those behaviors than the non-technology items; however, the participant responses indicated a low level of acceptance for the scenarios and only a minimal likelihood that they would participate in them. Additional findings across the comparison groups are reported and discussed. http://tc.eserver.org/30591.html http://tc.eserver.org/30591.html It is important for us to gain knowledge about our audiences before we start developing our information packages. It is equally important for us to get feedback after we have produced our information so that we know how well it was received by our audiences. http://tc.eserver.org/30477.html http://tc.eserver.org/30477.html With this survey, I sought to address the question, 'To what extent are practicing technical communicators involved in writing white papers?' http://tc.eserver.org/30435.html http://tc.eserver.org/30435.html A comparative usability evaluation was performed using various subjective evaluation methods, including Mobile Phone Usability Questionnaire (MPUQ). Further, decision-making models using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and multiple linear regression were developed and applied. Although the mean rankings of the four phones were not significantly different across the evaluation methods, there were variations across the methods in terms of the number of rank orderings, preference proportions, and methods to select their initial preference. Thus, this study provided a useful insight into how users make different decisions through different evaluation methods. Also, the result showed that answering a usability questionnaire affected a user's decision-making process for comparative evaluation. http://tc.eserver.org/30399.html http://tc.eserver.org/30399.html There is no question that feedback from customers is a vital input to any information-development process. To try to develop good and useful information without knowing how customers use (or intend to use) it is to work in a vacuum. To produce and deliver information and to ignore the follow-up activity of checking customers use of and satisfaction with the information is nothing less than gross negligence. http://tc.eserver.org/30376.html http://tc.eserver.org/30376.html The Documentation Development Department (DDD) of Hitachi has been improving its software manuals by analyzing inquiries from its customers to the Hitachi Computers Customer Answer (HCA) center. In order to improve inquiry application procedure the DDD isolated and studied inquiries about Hitachi’s workstation, OA software products, from October, 1991 until March 1992. http://tc.eserver.org/30098.html http://tc.eserver.org/30098.html Between April 24th and May 22nd, 2007, A List Apart conducted the first survey of 'people who make websites'; 32,831 web professionals participated. Straightforward survey responses are summarized. Detailed findings, derived by cross-referencing various data, make up the remainder and bulk of this report, and constitute its chief claim to significance. http://tc.eserver.org/30047.html http://tc.eserver.org/30047.html This study was a follow-up to determine the psychometric quality of the usability questionnaire items derived from a previous study (Ryu and Smith-Jackson, 2005), and to find a subset of items that represents a higher measure of reliability and validity. To evaluate the items, the questionnaire was administered to a representative sample involving approximately 300 participants. The findings revealed a six-factor structure, including (1) Ease of learning and use, (2) Assistance with operation and problem solving, (3) Emotional aspect and multimedia capabilities, (4) Commands and minimal memory load, (5) Efficiency and control, and (6) Typical tasks for mobile phones. The appropriate 72 items constituted the Mobile Phone Usability Questionnaire (MPUQ), which evaluates the usability of mobile phones for the purpose of making decisions among competing variations in the end-user market, determining alternatives of prototypes during the development process, and evolving versions during an iterative design process. http://tc.eserver.org/29869.html http://tc.eserver.org/29869.html This paper discusses the processes used to develop two online STC surveys: the 'Employment and Salary Survey' conducted by the STC Carolina Chapter, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and the 'Member Survey' conducted by the STC Usability SIG. Both surveys were available during the winter of 2003. This paper also highlights results from these surveys to demonstrate findings that online surveys can provide. Throughout this paper, we offer suggestions that other groups can apply to their survey efforts, including working methods to employ, types of questions to ask, ways to increase response rates, and approaches to verify and describe the respondent sample. http://tc.eserver.org/29209.html http://tc.eserver.org/29209.html This article presents the results of an April 2003 electronic survey of ATTW members. Results and interpretations are categorized as follows: a professional profile of respondents; member observations about ATTW and its activities (member participation, appraisal of benefits, and preferred topics for TCQ); and current issues and views of the field's future. http://tc.eserver.org/28726.html http://tc.eserver.org/28726.html When we set out to survey members of the AccessAbility SIG of Society for Technical Communication (STC), we needed an accessible tool to live up to the SIG's name and charter. Free was also a nice price tag. http://tc.eserver.org/28075.html http://tc.eserver.org/28075.html What are the best ways to measure customer satisfaction? Wiley shares some of her ideas. http://tc.eserver.org/26834.html http://tc.eserver.org/26834.html User surveys are a means of finding out how the software or web site is likely to be used by a specific set of users, and who these users are likely to be. The answers user surveys provide must be relevant to the issues that are important to the design team. User surveys are traditionally carried out by post, but increasingly, the internet is used for this purpose. http://tc.eserver.org/26759.html http://tc.eserver.org/26759.html This article examines some advantages and disadvantages of conducting online survey research. It explores current features, issues, pricing, and limitations associated with products and services, such as online questionnaire features and services to facilitate the online survey process, such as those offered by web survey businesses. The review shows that current online survey products and services can vary considerably in terms of available features, consumer costs, and limitations. It is concluded that online survey researchers should conduct a careful assessment of their research goals, research timeline, and financial situation before choosing a specific product or service. http://tc.eserver.org/26211.html http://tc.eserver.org/26211.html More than 90% of <em>Technical Communication</em> readers are informed practitioners--writers, editors, illustrators, designers, trainers, and project managers. About 10% are teachers and students. They come from diverse backgrounds as well as from technical communication programs. http://tc.eserver.org/25931.html http://tc.eserver.org/25931.html Well-designed customer surveys can yield valuable information for your business. Unfortunately, though, a poorly worded survey can set you marching off in exactly the wrong direction. Below are some tips on designing surveys to get reliable, useful data. http://tc.eserver.org/25857.html http://tc.eserver.org/25857.html This article describes how snowball sampling was applied in two different cases to evaluate digital collections. The first digital library was evaluated by conducting in–person interviews with survey participants. For the second digital library, an e–mail survey was mailed to site users. The results are compared and a cost–benefit analysis is provided. The author concludes that the convenience of an e–mail survey is not necessarily the most effective way to survey users. http://tc.eserver.org/24381.html http://tc.eserver.org/24381.html If you’re looking for a quick, simple, and cost-efficient way to survey your members, you may want to try a Web-based survey service such as Zoomerang. Zoomerang offers users the ability to create and design their own surveys, send the surveys to targeted groups, and download the results, which Zoomerang tabulates. http://tc.eserver.org/24225.html http://tc.eserver.org/24225.html In this paper we will report on the development and implementation of the first part of a two-part web-based survey distributed to a university population of over 20,000 faculty, staff and students. This large-scale project presented multiple operational, technical and design challenges. User-centered design was crucial to the successful development and deployment of the survey. This survey tool was used to explore the richness and potential value of web surveys motivated by a combination of a desire to improve both the survey-taking process and results-computing process. The objective of this research is to design and implement an effective Web survey tool, record user participation, determine the value of implementing a two-part survey over time (longitudinal), and to identify improvements for future web-based surveys. The benefit to the organization will be the identification of service areas in need of improvements and the ability to match satisfaction level with actual product/service costs. http://tc.eserver.org/24213.html http://tc.eserver.org/24213.html We think about them every day. We try to anticipate their every need, predict their every question. They are our readers, our audience, the users and consumers of our documentation. http://tc.eserver.org/23878.html http://tc.eserver.org/23878.html Although I had extensive experience creating surveys and analyzing survey results, working on a Usability SIG and an Employment and Salary Survey taught me a lot about a new survey tool. http://tc.eserver.org/22109.html http://tc.eserver.org/22109.html If you're planning to conduct a survey, invest $70 USD in Dillman's book. It provides some of the finest methodological guidance available for conducting surveys. http://tc.eserver.org/20750.html http://tc.eserver.org/20750.html While surveys appear surprisingly easy to plan and conduct, they are fraught with pitfalls for the unwary. That said, technical communicators can use surveys as a tool to enhance their understanding of audiences, assess the effectiveness of their communication products, and determine the value of technical communication to their company--if they follow well-established social science and communication science methodologies. This workshop will provide you with the foundations you need for developing, conducting, and managing surveys; analyzing the data, interpreting surveys and reporting your results. http://tc.eserver.org/20291.html http://tc.eserver.org/20291.html While surveys appear surprisingly easy to plan and conduct, they are fraught with pitfalls for the unwary. That said, technical communicators can use surveys as a tool to enhance their understanding of audiences, assess the effectiveness of their communication products, and determine the value of technical communications to their company--if they follow wellestablished social science and communication science methodologies. This workshop will provide you with the foundations you need for developing, conducting, and managing surveys; analyzing the data, interpreting surveys and reporting your results. http://tc.eserver.org/19194.html http://tc.eserver.org/19194.html Over the years, I’ve often heard colleagues say 'let’s throw a questionnaire together and find out what our users think about our product.' Implicit in this statement is the assumption that questionnaires are easy to design, administer, and analyze. This assumption is far from the truth. http://tc.eserver.org/19193.html http://tc.eserver.org/19193.html I have attended several conferences at which I witnessed a growing debate over the role of survey work in the field of usability. Some practitioners are of the opinion that 'usability is usability' and 'surveys are surveys', and only rarely do the two meet in a harmonious exchange. The more I have considered this viewpoint, the more convinced I am that it is probably valid, unless the usability specialist takes the lead in assimilating survey output into the process of evaluating the overall effectiveness of Web sites and online applications. http://tc.eserver.org/18593.html http://tc.eserver.org/18593.html We were asked recently if we knew of any research on 'standard' ratios between developers and technical authors. We decided to carry out some research and this article covers our preliminary findings. http://tc.eserver.org/15080.html http://tc.eserver.org/15080.html Questionnaires are the most frequently used tools for usability evaluation. This page is a list of usability questionnaire resources, extending the information presented on the questionnaires page of Usabilitynet. http://tc.eserver.org/13994.html http://tc.eserver.org/13994.html The TECHWR-L website periodically polls users' opinions about the current state of the field. Review the recent findings.