Online survey tools

 

Online survey tools include software to create, analyze and manage the online survey. Each research may require a different set of tools but the easiest way to gather informal data quickly is through online surveys.

 

Online survey tools are best defined by certain characteristics. They should be essentially flexible so that the organization can update basics such as font, colors, and graphics to suit the company’s image. The skip logic feature enables the user to skip sets of questions which may be irrelevant to them. Piping feature enables the use of answers from one survey and applies it to another.

 

SurveyMonkey is a popular online survey tool for conducting basic surveys. A free version is available which can be used for informal and small surveys. The free version is limited to 100 responses for a survey, with no scope for downloading any data or reports, besides there is little scope to customize the survey. The Pro version can perform high functions such as skip logic feature and creating multi pages survey.  The cost works out to be $ 200 for a year or $ 20 per month.

 

Zoomerang is an online survey tool having similar features of SurveyMonkey but has advanced features such as more scope for reporting extensively with the feature for cross tabulation allowing the data trends to be seen across different sets of questions.

 

Constant Contact, FormSite and Moodle are inexpensive and offer integrated solutions for surveys that are related to other functions like sending emails. However the other features are quite basic and may not be helpful for advanced analysis.  

 

Advanced Survey packages are available for complex research and marketing projects. These packages involve advanced data analysis, survey logic and complex question formats. Some of the advanced online survey tools include SurveyZ, QuestionPro, LimeSurvey and Key Survey.

 

It is important to choose the right online survey tool. Basic tools may suffice for a quick survey as the more sophisticated tools require more expertise to use them. But if the requirement is for more accurate research details then the advanced packages would be more helpful. Free versions are available for most of the packages which can be used for a trial test.