Rock Research Blog » Online Market Research Tools http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog New Zealand's specialist market research blog Mon, 05 Sep 2011 05:15:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Easy Online Surveys for Simple Projects http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2010/03/23/easy-online-surveys-for-simple-projects/ http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2010/03/23/easy-online-surveys-for-simple-projects/#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:43:08 +0000 Jared Bothwell http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/?p=497 Stuff website published the article "Easy Online Surveys" which highlights a couple of key players in the DIY online survey tool market. They are surveymonkey.com and surveygizmo.com Having reviewed by tools before I prefer surveygizmo.com over surveymonkey.com. Both products offer free plans but I found surveygizmo.com to have more flexibility.  Be warned though the free plans are a bit of a tease and are more than likely to leave you thirsting for the features and benefits of the paid (professional) plans. Off course the real challenge with market research is not in selecting the research mode (i.e. the survey delivery mechanism) but the questions you ask. DIY surveys are great for small research projects i.e. polling your teammates on uniform design more complicated research projects are best left to the professionals.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2010/03/23/easy-online-surveys-for-simple-projects/feed/ 0 Google Makes Online Surveys Easier with Google Docs http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/09/04/google-makes-online-surveys-easier-with-google-docs/ http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/09/04/google-makes-online-surveys-easier-with-google-docs/#comments Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:40:51 +0000 Jared Bothwell http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/?p=455 Just saw in TechCrunch that Google have enhanced some of the Google form features which have improved Google Forms survey capabilities. Just last week I ran a quick tutorial on how to build a survey using 'Google Forms'.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/09/04/google-makes-online-surveys-easier-with-google-docs/feed/ 0 Using Google Forms for Online Market Research http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/09/01/using-google-forms-for-online-market-research/ http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/09/01/using-google-forms-for-online-market-research/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:59:49 +0000 Jared Bothwell http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/?p=425 wrote about using Google Apps for online surveys, I though I would take a closer look and find out just how easy it was. The first step is to setup up a Google account. I guess most folks for have one by now but if you don't it is a fairly easy process and can be done when you sign up for Google Docs. By the way if you haven't heard of Google Docs it is essentially a bunch of office tools that are available online. The great thing is that they are based on cloud computing so the software and data is not stored on your system but stored on severs somewhere in Google land meaning you can access your documents from anywhere. Being online means it makes document collaboration a cinch too. To demonstrate how Google forms can be used I have set up a basic survey in order to get a feel for it. Click here to have a look.

How to Set Up A Survey Using Google Forms

Once you have your set up your account you create your first survey.

1. Select form from under the 'New' tab

You can see that you can also select other documents including spreadsheets, word documents and presentations. Select form

2. Select Question Type

The question types available are fairly basic but should suit the requirements for most simple surveys. select_question_type

3. Design Your Survey Questions

From here on in building your survey is pretty straight forward. The interface is clean and straightforward making it possible for most people to build a fairly simple online survey.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/09/01/using-google-forms-for-online-market-research/feed/ 8 Excel 2007 + SP2 + PDF = Distorted Charts http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/07/09/excel-2007-sp2-pdf-distorted-charts/ http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/07/09/excel-2007-sp2-pdf-distorted-charts/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:13:56 +0000 Jared Bothwell http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/?p=382 http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/07/09/excel-2007-sp2-pdf-distorted-charts/feed/ 7 A LimeSurvey Survey http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/06/22/a-limesurvey-survey/ http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/06/22/a-limesurvey-survey/#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:08:07 +0000 Jared Bothwell http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/?p=353 review about the open source software tool called LimeSurvey. Part of the review included the ability for readers to complete a LimeSurvey survey in order to give it a try. The focus of the survey was to find out if respondents had heard of LimeSurvey and whether or not they would consider using open source software for their online survey requirements. Over this time 136 respondents completed the survey and have provided a useful insight into perceptions of the survey. The respondents to the survey are limited only to individuals who have visited the blog and opted to participate the survey. The survey is by no means scientific, still let's have a look at what people said.

Had you heard of LimeSurvey before answering this survey?

77% of respondents had heard of LimeSurvey before. Given that the survey was placed on a review for LimeSurvey this high level is not terribly surprising and not very telling. haveyouheardoflimesurvey

Have you ever used any open source survey software before?

Only 46% of respondents to the survey had used open source software before. So it would seem that LimeSurvey is not only attracting the attention of open source software junkies but also those that are interested in survey software first.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/06/22/a-limesurvey-survey/feed/ 3 Survey Questions – Mandatory or Optional http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/06/11/survey-questions-mandatory-or-optional/ http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/06/11/survey-questions-mandatory-or-optional/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:09:20 +0000 Jared Bothwell http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/?p=326 http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/06/11/survey-questions-mandatory-or-optional/feed/ 0 How to Spot a Fake Online Survey http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/04/29/how-to-spot-a-fake-online-survey/ http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/04/29/how-to-spot-a-fake-online-survey/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:25:49 +0000 Jared Bothwell http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/?p=328 A story came up recently regarding a survey scam which is doing the rounds. I was pleasantly surprised then when I also received the survey invitation supposedly from McDonald's. Below is the text from the email I received.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/04/29/how-to-spot-a-fake-online-survey/feed/ 0 Buzzdash Shuts its Doors due to Lack of Funding http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/04/13/buzzdash-shuts-its-doors-due-to-lack-of-funding/ http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/04/13/buzzdash-shuts-its-doors-due-to-lack-of-funding/#comments Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:09:58 +0000 Jared Bothwell http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/?p=306 Online polling website Buzzdash has had to shut its doors. I received this email this morning.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/04/13/buzzdash-shuts-its-doors-due-to-lack-of-funding/feed/ 0 Facebook Cripples New Homepage Poll http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/03/23/facebook-cripples-new-homepage-poll/ http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/03/23/facebook-cripples-new-homepage-poll/#comments Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:26:39 +0000 Jared Bothwell http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/?p=262 I saw this on that Facebook have moved to restrict the distribution of the ‘New Layout Vote.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/03/23/facebook-cripples-new-homepage-poll/feed/ 1 Use Google to create Free Online Surveys http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/03/17/use-google-to-create-free-online-surveys/ http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/03/17/use-google-to-create-free-online-surveys/#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:59:26 +0000 Jared Bothwell http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/?p=236 Online Tech Tips has an article titled How to create an online survey for free using Google Docs ]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/03/17/use-google-to-create-free-online-surveys/feed/ 3