Question

Topic: Research/Metrics

Can You Clearly Read And Then Use This Survey?

Posted by steven.alker on 2/9/2009 at 1:40 PM ET 500 Points
Dear fellow marketers

Could you help us to ascertain whether or not this survey, which is part of a project run by Juliet for the Forestry Commission Scotland is clear and easy to read.

We need to know whether or not it is meeting it’s primary objectives of being easy to understand and easy to read in the browsers you use.

This is one of those rare “Feel Good” pieces of market research where the outcome should genuinely provide a universal benefit to a wide range of Nursery and Pre-School children in Glasgow and the surrounding areas.

It concerns Forest Kindergarten Initiatives whereby pre-school children are provided with a safe outdoor learning environment which will benefit them educationally, physically and mentally. Various studies (Mainly in Scandinavia) have enumerated the benefits and what we are trying to do is to survey the reasons why past initiatives have failed to taken off and to ascertain exactly what facilities and services are needed to induce teachers to include visits to these sites as part of their weekly activities with pre-school children.

We are asking the opinions from about 650 teachers in this area in Scotland and we need to highlight and then analyse what these educators need to make this work and what they are worried about which might inhibit them.

We are using SurveyGizmo Pro and are happy with the features offered. I’m not casting a sleight on the teachers, but they are incredibly pressured and beset by rules and regulations, so we need to make this as easy as possible.

Here’s an example of how we need to facilitate the easiest way to do this. The survey and the proposed Forest Kindergartens have wide support amongst teachers, local authorities, children and parents, but despite this and despite wanting to help us, the authorities are not able to provide us with email addresses and contact details for these 650 teachers so that we can automate the emailing of the survey and track its completion via a web-link unique to each recipient. Instead we have to go through trusted intermediaries and as a consequence the respondents will need to identify themselves when filling in the survey.

That’s why it has to be a clear as possible from the layout and content from the moment the survey is opened.

You comments will be most useful as to our achievement of these goals. There are a couple of supporting documents (A guide to the Forest Kindergarten Initiative and an outline of the proposals) which I would like to make both available on the site and to include them in the emails sent to teachers but I’m not sure you need to read them to assess the clarity of the survey.

All the best and thanks in advance


Steve Alker, Xspirt
Juliet, Creative Star learning
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 2/9/2009 at 1:48 PM Member
    If you are hoping for truly reliable and valid data, which is the bottom line, I would suggest you conduct a pilot project and conduct psychometric testing of the instrument before sending to all prospective respondents.

    This is not self-serving exactly, but I do conduct psychometric analyses regularly.
  • Posted by michael on 2/9/2009 at 2:26 PM Accepted
    If they are "trusted" then there shouldn't be a problem with them giving correct information. Not certain of your concerns here.

    You could also have them complete it at school and use a separate sign in sheet. Unless, you're goal is to know who said what.

    Michael
  • Posted by telemoxie on 2/9/2009 at 3:07 PM Member
    Steve, am I missing something?

    Did you intend to provide a link to the survey?
  • Posted by koen.h.pauwels on 2/9/2009 at 3:18 PM Member
    Hi Steve,

    Would love to help out, but please guide us to where that survey is!

    Cheers

    Koen
  • Posted by steven.alker on 2/9/2009 at 3:59 PM Author
    Thanks for the early responses and a big whoops about missing out the URL of the survey. My intention was to put it in at the end, but I goofed.

    The site where you can view the survey is as follows:

    https://www.surveygizmo.com/s/100758/glasgow-and-clyde-valley-forest-kinder...

    Please open up a copy of the survey by clicking on the link – by all means try it out – we won’t start collecting responses until Juliet is ready to launch it.

    Thanks and sorry for this ignominious start!!

    Steve
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 2/9/2009 at 5:48 PM Accepted
    I agree guys...LOL. Stevea is probably got his hands full managing all of the details of this survey...so I'll take the blame for him not including the link. I've come out of retirement and put my tour planning for Canada on hold just to see this Survey.

    It better be a beauty!

    Is there anything I can do for you?

    Your Servant, (Because you deserve to be HaPpY!!!)

    Lovingly Deremiah *CPE
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 2/9/2009 at 5:59 PM Member
    After question # 23 that reads

    What support would you find most helpful to enable you integrate a forest kindergarten into your nursery provision?


    I would add after "you (to) integrate.
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 2/9/2009 at 6:01 PM Member
    25. Would you be willing to be contacted to be contacted to discuss the forest kindergarten study in more detail?


    should read:

    25. Would you be willing to be contacted to discuss the forest kindergarten study in more detail?
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 2/9/2009 at 6:16 PM Accepted
    29. What is your ethnic group?


    should come across with more concern and is probably the toughest to get people to help with. I'd risk wording it longer to get the greatest benefit. So I'd do this:


    29. Knowing your ethnic group will be greatly beneficial because we will be better able to survey a more diverse culture. Thank you so much.


    This a very advanced approach I'm using here that truly works. Use it and split test the survey to see if you get more people to provide this information or just take my word.

  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 2/9/2009 at 6:19 PM Member
    you have:

    31. Any other comments or opinions you wish to submit?



    I'd use this approach to give it more warmth and human graciousness:


    31. Please share any other comments or opinions you wish to submit. Thank you so much for completing our survey.
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 2/9/2009 at 6:28 PM Accepted
    You express yourselves this way in the beginning introduction. I write a lot and had a little trouble getting the point upon the first read...you said:

    The contact details you are asked to provide, are needed to ensure Forestry Commission Scotland can best respond to the suggestions, issues and concerns you raise. This information will not be shared with, or passed onto, other organisations.



    I would word it this way for better clarity:

    The contact details you are asked to provide here, are needed to ensure that Forestry Commission Scotland can give you the best response to the suggestions, issues and concerns you raise. This information will not be shared with, or passed onto, other organisations. Thank you for your time.


    Most surveys lose the human warmth necessary to provoke me or any other human to take action. Using the words "Thank you" more often gains you unbeliveable access to human participation. If I tell you any more I'll have to...well you know what I'll have to do---I'll have to love you to death...LOL.

    Thanks for allowing me to help Stevea and Juliet. It is always a pleasure to do this. I'm sure If I didn't have to get back to my busy speaking and writing task I could strengthen the entire document for maximum human consumption. I Love you all and keep up the great work.

    Lovingly loving you Deremiah *CPE
    The MindSet Expert that NEVER Fails

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/10/2009 at 8:18 AM Accepted
    Give an estimate for how long it takes to complete the survey (time a few people doing it).

    Place the confidentiality information in bold at the beginning to highlight the promise.

    For Q1 & Q2 - provide a link to the documents (online) to avoid the back-and-forth looking.

    Q3 & Q4 are tricky - since you're stating your belief upfront. For example, you could specify: Nursery students should be:
    o Inside 100% o Inside 25%/Outside 75% ... o Outside 100%

    Q4 uses the word "greenspace" but defines it in Q7.

    Why redefine the word greenspace in Q8 (and Q17 and Q18). I wasn't sure initially if you're being redundant or introducing a new definition.

    Combine Q10/Q11, Q12/Q13, Q14/Q15: When travelling by ... how long would it take:
    o Can't reach
    o 10 mins
    ...
    o Not sure
  • Posted by koen.h.pauwels on 2/11/2009 at 3:44 AM Accepted
    Hi Steve and Juliet,

    Great cause, which I fully support having a pre-school son!

    The problem I have with the survey is that it is as much a selling tool as a survey. You focus the respondent straight away on the importance of greenspace. Even if I would not find this matter that important, I would at least indicate it is very important to my child (the same answer I would give to 100 other concerns if asked for seperately in their own survey). While this raises awareness for your cause, the respondent responses are unlikely to reflect how much they will lobby for this particular cause after the survey.

    Instead, I would first ask the respondents for their satisfaction and their opinion on a host of possible pre-school issues. This will give you a good idea about how important your particular cause is and how it fits in with other top-of-mind concerns. If you are quantitatively inclined, you may even want to have them divide 100 points among possible issues.

    Only then would I introduce the green area concept and ask the questions in your survey.

    Specific comments:
    1) why define greenspace up front if you are defining it again (as you should) for question 3?
    2) why confront the respondents up front with yes/no questions (1-2) on whether they have read specific information? This goes better at the end.

    Good luck!
  • Posted by steven.alker on 3/2/2009 at 6:22 PM Author
    Hi Everyone

    I must apologise for the late closure of this survey and thank everyone for their contributions.

    We had around 40 people viewing the survey and the comments left here were extremely useful.

    The key points of clarity and comprehensibility have been addressed and as a result of your input, the survey is now performing rather better than expected, with a considerable number of teachers yet to be contact.

    One of the most useful aspects we gained from the advice and ideas was how to overcome the inherent contradictions posed when good survey techniques meet bureaucracy tempered with a rather political agenda. Your help in these areas has ensured that we were made aware of potential weaknesses well before we have to crunch the numbers. As a consequence, we actually formulated a “Plan B” should we need to bulk up the numbers.

    One point might be of interest to you. This survey was not anonymous by design. This means that the survey data becomes both a statistical interpretation and a mini CRM data-set for when the client rolls out the facilities and needs to “sell” them to teachers to ensure a good uptake. “Plan B” is also not anonymous, but it need not include the provision of an email address from the participant. We already have the email addresses and the contact details of all the teachers involved, so matching a reply to a given record is performed automatically by the mail-out software hosted by SurveyGizmo.

    This might give us a useful insight as to how off-putting the need to enter your email address can be. It also could provide the model for survey, product development and roll out for other education authorities in Scotland.

    As I said at the beginning – this a piece of marketing research with a pretty good feel-good factor. If we can help with a further roll-out, then every under 5 child in Scotland can benefit from the work. Thanks again for all your help.

    Steve Alker, Xspirt
    Juliet Creative STAR Learning
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