13 August 2008

Online Survey Software

No product endorsements implied...these are the online survey options that have popped up in listservs in recent months as well as some "old regulars" that have served schools well for years. I've kept my comments down to a few key words.

Inquisite - offers 30-day trial, price quotes via web form, names higher education as a leading market, founded 1997.

Limesurvey - free, open source software; currently accepting applications for beta version of limeservice (hosted version).

Psychdata - online sign-up for free account for a free survey and access to manual; does not require naming your institution for the trial; features IRB aspects of surveys; founded 2001.

SPSS Dimensions ASP - hosted online survey services, with tools such as mrinterview and different levels of consulting help; founded 1968.

StudentVoice - campus members can collect data via web-based surveys or handheld devices (PDAs to record responses to in-person polling); this About page includes a link to a list of member institutions; founded 1999.

Surveymonkey - transparent in terms of options and pricing (which includes a limited but free level of service); extremely user-friendly with short learning curve; founded 1999.

Vovici - (voh-VEE-see) - offers a free trial; based on WebSurveyor software tools.

Zoomerang - options and prices are similar to Surveymonkey's; founded 1999.

As noted, these survey services have all received high marks on forums. I have used only 3 of them: Psychdata, Surveymonkey, and Zoomerang. I have applied to the limeservice beta group. The prominent theme for my usage is clear: free or low-cost service. (My Psychdata account was "free" only in the sense that I did not pay for it personally; my university held a site license.) The free or very low cost Surveymonkey and Zoomerang are user-friendly hosted services. Survey writing procedures are pretty intuitive and the creation screens have embedded instructions.

© 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mary, thanks for the great post. I'm also a teacher, and you might like to add pollograph.com to your list. Keep up the good work and stay joyful! Teaching can be so taxing on us at times.