Q. What are the benefits of doing on-line testing and surveys?

A. On-line is a great methodology for some types of research, but to conduct a successful project, you need to pay special attention to certain aspects of the project:

Benefits

Immediacy of Response — It is usually possible to do the “field” part of an on-line study more quickly than a study of similar size done by telephone or mail.

Product Demonstration — You can “show” respondents a new product, concept, etc. in order to get their reactions. This can be a big advantage, impossible in telephone interviewing.

Price — Using e-mail to reach respondents may be less expensive than telephone or mail surveys.

Keys to Success

Sample — You must know respondent e-mail addresses and it is very important that all members of the respondent group have “opted in” to receive surveys via e-mail. I frequently use the pre-recruited e-mail panels put together by large field operations like Harris On-Line and NPD. These consist of groups of people who have been screened for demographics and behaviors and who have agreed to receive and respond to e-mailed surveys.

Simple — In e-mail studies more than any other, it is imperative that the questions be logical and easy to answer (correct choices, blanks, etc.). Design of the survey, including getting and keeping the attention of the respondent, is very important. That “delete” key is very handy for a frustrated survey-taker. They can easily just make the whole thing go away!

Do you have a comment or research-related question? Send it to me for future FAQs!