Written by: Larry Goodfellow
Are all surveys equal in value? Quite simply: no. While using online surveys to gather data is effective, efficient and flexible, there are some data gathered through surveys that turn out to be more practical than others when managing an online community or panel.
When setting up an online community, it is important that administrators are able to gather appropriate demographic information that they can later use. Demographic information collected in a profile survey helps to:
1. keep participant representation in check.
2. accurately target research activities.
3. tie the data gathered from subsequent surveys and discussions to the corresponding demographic points.
4. make sure the info that you have collected from your online community members is accurate and up to date.
First Things First
Profile surveys are the gateway to community membership in our platform; once an individual is invited or registers to become part of the community, they are redirected to the profile survey where they enter their initial demographic information. Once complete, the other activities they qualify for are available to them for participation.
Always Open
Profile surveys are left open so that community members can continuously update their information. Things are always changing: people move, people get married, people get older- this way they can keep their profile data up to date, and the data points connected to the information gathered in the community stay up to date as well.
Multiple Profile Surveys
Insightrix Communities Online Community Software allows admins to create more than one profile survey if they choose. If more demographic data points are desired in addition to the ones collected in the initial profile survey, another profile survey can be created and will remain open as well.
Profile surveys are usually the most used survey when targeting research activities, as well as comparing and contrasting data. Careful thought should go into the data points that are asked for in these surveys.
Insightrix Communities is a subdivision of Insightrix Research, a full-service market research company. If you would like help designing your profile survey, or would like advice of the appropriate data points to collect, we are able to help you in every step of the way.
Please let us know if we can help with your research needs. Feel free to contact us for a consultation and free demo.