Volume 3, Issue 2 | |
March/April 2005 |
Inside this Issue
How to Use User-defined Fields in Your Respondent List |
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Editor's LetterGreetings! In each issue of Hostedwire, we bring you resources, tips and techniques designed to help you maximize your survey and test results. If you've ever wondered how to integrate your custom data into your respondent database, keep reading for a tutorial. Meet Frank GutierrezFrank likes how Hostedware's system can be used to make life easier for customers. "My most fulfilling experience was being able to build a custom report for a customer," he said. "We were able to automate the report so that it prints and emails itself to a list of individuals, instead of giving our customer the burden of running hundreds of reports manually." He's been surprised by how much flexibility the Hostedware system allows. "I used to think of myself as a computer expert" he said. "Working at Hostedware has shown me how much there is left to learn. The knowledge I've gained is very broad and I know it will just keep increasing." If you have questions about the Hostedware system, give Frank a call and find out just how easy he can make your Hostedware experience. Enjoy today's issue!
Sincerely, |
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Contact HostedwareHostedware Corporation | 16 Technology Drive, Suite 116 | Irvine, CA 92618 USA & Canada: 800-211-6967 | Local & Int'l: 949-585-1500 | UK: 0800-032-2342 customerservice@hostedware.com www.hostedware.com | www.hostedsurvey.com | www.hostedtest.com | |||||||||
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FAQ: Respondents and User-defined FieldsQ: How do I create a respondent list in my survey? How can I incorporate user-defined fields with my respondent list?
RespondentsRespondents are the people who will take your survey. Your respondents could be employees, customers, subscribers, panelists, or any other target group you wish to bring to your survey. Respondents could be unknown to you, and your survey could be posted on a Web site or presented on a public kiosk. This document though focuses only on known respondents. That is, a list of people that you can pre-establish and invite to your survey. Creating respondents allows the survey administrator to:
Steps for Creating RespondentsCreating a Respondent List is accomplished by entering each respondent one-by-one, or uploading your whole list at once using Microsoft Excel. The steps for doing both are outlined below. Adding New Respondents Individually
On the next screen you will see fields of respondent information to enter. By default these fields will be:
The Respondent ID is required and must be unique; all other fields are optional. If you are sending email invitations, be sure to enter a valid email address. Once you have entered the respondent information, press [OK]. You can repeat this process until all respondents have been entered. You may also add new respondents after your survey has gone live if necessary.
Creating a Respondent File in Microsoft Excel Respondent lists commonly originate from an employee or customer database and are electronically stored. For purposes of creating a Respondent File for your survey, your database must be imported or copied into Microsoft Excel.
You can either use an Excel worksheet of your own, or download a ready-made template with column headings already inputted. To use the Respondent File template, log in to your survey and go to DESIGN SURVEY, Respondents, Upload Respondent File.
Scroll down on the next page until you see an Excel icon labeled Get Excel Worksheet. Clicking on this icon will open a Respondent File Template. Save the template to your computer first. Once saved, you can begin importing, copying, or typing in your respondents. There are 6 columns of respondent information to enter:
Once you have all your respondent information entered, save the Excel file to your computer. Once saved, you may then upload the respondent file to your survey. Below is an example of a completed respondent list:
User-defined Fields User-defined Fields are pieces of information about your respondents that are not included in the standard fields. If you would like to add more information about your respondents such as their division, department, business unit, region, supervisor, start year, and other demographic or personal information, you may do so with User-defined Fields. First, create the User-defined Fields in your survey. To do this, log in to your survey and select DESIGN SURVEY, Respondents, User-defined Fields.
You will see a list of the default respondent fields. Below this are sixteen additional text fields - this is where you will create all User-defined Fields for your survey. Begin by typing in each User-defined field in the text boxes provided; one per text box. Press [Save] when you are finished.
Creating an Excel Respondent File with User-defined Fields IMPORTANT: The User-defined Fields you entered in your survey (above) must be entered in the same exact order as the User-defined Fields in your Excel File (compare below).
Notice that the first 6 columns (in black text) are the default fields, and the next 7 columns (in blue text) are User-defined Fields. Once you have all your respondent information entered, save the Excel file to your computer. Once saved, you may then upload the respondent file to your survey.
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What if your data goes all haywire in your presentation?Have you had this nightmare? You've put together all the data from your survey. You've formatted it into a pretty PowerPoint presentation. There are sound effects and great graphics. And there you stand, in front of the board of an international Fortune 500. You flip to the first slide. And you realize: you've made a huge mistake with the data. Stop tossing and turning. Hire Hostedware to handle all your data from collecting it straight through to compiling it. Get started today. Email customerservice@hostedware.com or call toll-free at (800) 211-6967, or (949) 585-1500. | |||||||||
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FAQ: Survey Response RateQ: What survey response rate can I expect?
Response rates can be influenced by factors such as customer loyalty, brand recognition, incentives (ranging from honorarium monetary payments and prizes to published survey results), invitation wording (how well you pitch your survey to potential participants), marketing of survey, perceived benefit from participating in survey, customer demographics, how actively customers or employees are engaged in the improvement process, and other things. An important incentive to survey respondents is that their opinions will be heard and action will be taken based on their feedback. If respondents believe that participating in a survey will result in real improvements, response rates may increase, as will the quality of the feedback. Response rates can soar past 85% (about 43 responses for every 50 invitations sent) when the respondent population is motivated and the survey is well-executed. Response rates can also fall below 2% (about 1 response for every 50 invitations sent) when the respondent population is less-targeted, when contact information is unreliable, or where there is less incentive or little motivation to respond. Internal Survey Response RatesInternal surveys (i.e. a company surveying its employees) generally have a much higher response rate than external surveys (e.g. surveys aimed at customers or people outside of an organization). Internal surveys will generally receive a 30-40% response rate or more on average, compared to an average 10-15% response rate for external surveys. Response rates may be even higher if employees feel comfortable with the survey environment and feel that their anonymity is protected. | |||||||||
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Streamline your survey dataTry out the Matrix Question Set in your next survey--contact Hostedware for details. Email us or call us at (949) 585-1500. | |||||||||
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Want to create a spreadsheet-style table in your survey?The new Matrix Question Set (Open-ended text) is Hosted Survey's newest question type. You can use this question type to create a grid of open-ended text fields as large as sixteen columns and with as many rows as your survey requires. The text fields can capture any type of data that is needed including alpha, numeric, and special characters. You specify the headings for the rows and columns so that you can make multiple inquiries across the same categories. There is also the option to divide the row headings into unique categories by placing labels in-between the queries or items listed. Use this question type to condense a large number of queries and data points into a small space, which may be less intimidating to your respondents and displayed in an easy to read format that makes taking the survey faster. | |||||||||
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Copyright 2005 Hostedware Corporation. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. | |||||||||
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Depending on the type of survey you're creating, you may want to specify a group of respondents. With a specific list of respondents, you'll also often want to set up user-defined fields so that you can keep track of your data in a variety of customized ways.
