2. MEANING OF ONLINE SURVEY:
Online survey or internet survey, is one of the most popular data-
collection sources, where a set of survey questions is sent out to a target sample
and the members of this sample can respond to the questions over the world wide
web. Respondents receive online surveys via various mediums such as email,
embedded over website, social media etc.
3. DEFINITION OF ONLINE SURVEY:
An online survey is a questionnaire that the target audience can complete over the
Internet. Online surveys are usually created as Web forms with a database to store
the answers and statistical software to provide analytics. People are often
encouraged to complete online surveys by an incentive such as being entered to
win a prize.
4. ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SURVEY:
1. Faster
The time span needed to complete an online survey project is on average two-
thirds shorter than that of traditional research methods. Because information is
being gathered automatically, you don't have to wait for paper questionnaires to
come back to you - response time is almost instant. Online marketing experts say
that more than half of responses are received within the first three days of the
research project.
2. Cheaper
Using online questionnaires reduces your research costs. You will save money on
postage and you don't have to allocate time and resources to enter the information
into a database. Responses are processed automatically and the results are
accessible at any time.
5. 3. More accurate
The margin of error is greatly reduced with online surveys because participants
enter their responses directly into the system. Traditional methods rely on the
attentiveness of staff to enter all details correctly, and naturally human error can
creep in whenever a person has to perform a repetitive task.
4. Quick to analyse
The results of the online survey are ready to be analysed at any time. View results
in real-time so you can act quickly, create graphs for reporting, export data for
further analysis and share your results with anyone.
6. 5. Easy to use for participants
The majority of people that have access to the Internet prefer to answer surveys
online instead of using the telephone. With an online survey, participants can pick
a moment that suits them best and the time needed to complete the survey is
much shorter. Questions that are not relevant to a particular participant can be
skipped automatically using SmartSurvey’s Skip logic feature.
6. Easy to use for researchers
The main benefit of online surveys for researchers is that they increase
productivity by saving time. Data is instantly available and can easily be
transferred into specialised statistical software or spreadsheets when more
detailed analysis is needed.
7. 7. Easy to style
An online survey is an opportunity to imprint your brand in the user’s mind and remind them of
the benefits you provide. Your survey can be styled to match your business website with
customised backgrounds, images, logo, fonts, final re-direct page and even the URL of your
survey. Ensure that your online survey provider supports mobile responsive surveys, enabling you
to increase your reach, whilst maintaining your brand across all platforms.
8. More honest
Market researchers have found that participants overwhelmingly prefer to complete online
surveys rather than take part in written questionnaires or telephone interviews and usually provide
longer and more detailed answers. By designing and sending relevant and targeted surveys,
people are more likely to respond with honest answers.
8. 9. More selective
With an online survey you can pre-screen participants and allow only those who
match your target profile to complete the survey. SmartSurvey’s Live
Audience service can help you reach a specific target audience with relevant
questions that will apply to them.
10. More flexible
The order of the questions in an online survey can be changed, or questions can
be skipped altogether, depending on the answer to a previous question. This way,
a survey can be tailored to each participant as he or she proceeds.
9. DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SURVEY:
Survey Fraud
This is the biggest challenge. If your survey is long and/or confusing you might
get fake answers. Since there is less accountability, the chances for people just
hitting buttons to finish are high. Check the questions you use carefully.
People often take surveys because they're promised a reward at the end, resulting
in them not accurately contributing to your study.
Limited Sampling and Respondent Availability
Certain populations are less likely to have internet access and to respond to
online questionnaires. Drawing samples is harder based on email addresses or
website visitations.
10. Possible Cooperation Problems
Online surveys could be deleted and ignored. People hate feeling poked and if they get annoyed,
they just have to click delete.
No Interviewer
The lack of a trained interviewer to clarify and probe can lead to less reliable data.
11. CONCLUSION:
Online surveys for global user research are best used as a complementary
research method to other methods. These can be a relatively cheap and efficient
way to gain additional insight into your global user base. Online surveys can be
used during almost all phases of a development process, including after a Web
site has been launched. When used for an existing site, online surveys can be
presented when visitors enter the site, when they leave, or at some point during
the sessions. Web analytics tools can be used to ask specific questions to specific
groups of visitors rather than asking the same general questions to all visitors.
