Research Tips

Proof Reading Web Surveys

It’s amazing how many Web surveys are fielded with obvious errors such as spelling mistakes. For example, a department store chain, which prides itself on high quality service, recently fielded a survey intended to gauge customer perceptions of its Web site. Unfortunately, the response categories given for one question (about the breadth of their product selection) had simply been duplicated from those used for another question (about the depth of their product selection) without the modifications needed for them to make sense for the second question. Errors such as these can lead to problems interpreting survey results, but more importantly, they can be damaging to the reputation of the sponsoring organization. Proof reading is just as important for a Web survey as for a paper survey, and it should be done before pre-testing the survey, and again once any modifications resulting from the pre-test have been implemented.