Users Guide to Online Surveys

Process Overview

1. Start with a series of questions or statements. For each statement you want the user to indicate how they feel about that statement.
2. For each statement indicate what choices a user should have and assign a value to that choice. In my surveys the values range from 1 to 5 with 5 being the best.
3. For each statement also indicate if the statment must have an answer selected. For example, on my surveys I require that the user select which team their child is on.
4. Once you have tested the survey, inform the webmasterand he will make it public.
5. Inform your users that the survey is available and specifiy how long they have to complete it.
6. At any time you may download the results from the Program Director Download Page.
7. Notify the webmaster when the survey period has ended and the page will be removed.

Survey Configuration

The survey data file is a text file that contains a series of statements and questions.

# This file consists of text images. Any line that starts with a # sign
# comments. They can be left or deleted, your choice. You should probably
# leave them so you can change the file next year.
#
# Each line, excluding comments, begin with an identifier that tells the
# web site what purpose it serves. The identifier is separated from other
# information by two colons (::). Each line may consist of multiple pieces
# of information otherwise known as tokens.
#
#
# Change the address on the following to point to the email address that
# should receive the survey notice. The notice just tells you that a survey
# has been completed. You should use an address from the eastview-evaa.org
# domain.

Email::addr@domain

#
# Change the text after the :: on the following line to be the instructions
# that you want to appear at the top of the survey page. 

INST::Responsible feedback, both positive and negative, is essential for 
the continued improvement of our EVAA programs.  Please help the Traveling 
Baseball Board by completing this evaluation promptly.  Please get input 
from your child when completing this form.

#
# Change the text after the :: on the following line to be what you want
# to appear on the page after the survey is completed.

ACKMessage::Thank you for taking the time to complete this evaluation form.  
Your feedback is important and will assist us in making improvements to our 
program.  We look forward to seeing you and your child(ren) again next Spring.

#
# The text after the :: on the following line will appear on the subject
# line of the mail sent to the address configured above.

ACKSubject::Traveling Baseball Evaluation Form

#
# The lines that follow are all of the questions that actually appear on
# survey. Each "question" line has up to 5 parts separated by two colons (::).
# Part 1 - Always 'Question'
# Part 2 - Question identifier. This string will appear on the survey and
#          as the column heading of the download file.
# Part 3 - Opinion field. By putting 'R' as an option indicates that the 
#          question must be answered. By putting a 'T' as a option causes
#          a text box to be opened.
# Part 4 - Value=Text pairs separated by slashes. The text will appear 
#          next to a radio button. If the user selects that button the 
#          value will be stored in the data file.
#	Note: If the 'T' option is used, part 4 is not used. See examples.
# Part 5 - The text of the question.
# 
# This is an example of a question that uses radio buttons. Notice that the
# 'R' option is set which means that the question must be answered.
#

Question::Team::R::10AAA=10AAA/10Blue=10Blue/10Black=10Black/11A=11A/
11B=11B/12A=12A/12B=12B/13A=13A/13B=13B/14A=14A/14B=14B/15A=15A/15B=15B/
16=16::Which team did your child play on?
#
# This is an example of a question that opens a text box.
Question::HeadCoach::RT::::Head Coach's Name?
#
Question::Contact::::Yes=Yes (Please include name and number below)/
No=No::Check here if you wish to be contacted by an EVAA Traveling 
Baseball Board Member to discuss these comments
#
Question::Your Name::T::::(Opinional)?
#
Question::Your Phone::T::::(Opinional)?
#
Question::Registration::::School=School/Newspaper=Newspaper/
WebSite=Web Site/Friend=Friend::Where did you learn of our registration?
#
Question::Information::::5=Strongly Agree/4=Agree/3=No Opinion/2=Disagree/
1=Strongly Disagree::Information provided at registration was informative 
and helpful.::T::::
#

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a user complete the survey more then once?

Yes but there is a way that we can limit this. The Survey code supports special code that can be used to custom build an access control scheme. This has already been done for a client so the code can be reused.

 

How should I intrepret the results?

This really depends on how you construct your statements. What I generally look for is an average value that indicates how the group feels about a statement. Be careful to craft statements that are not ambiguous.

 

What do the results look like?

The results are stored in a tab delimited file that looks like a spreadsheet. The first row contains headings. Each question is assigned a name and a column in the table. Each row after the heading row is a survey and its values. You can download this file to your PC and then load it into a spreadsheet programs or database program.

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