Online survey and polling tools
Online survey builders collect questionnaire responses for analysis, while simpler polling tools help groups choose dates or options.
Questionnaire or scheduling poll
Online survey tools can poll chapter members, schedule meetings, collect presentation feedback, set group goals and identify priorities. In 2009, SurveyMonkey offered a full questionnaire builder, while Doodle provided a simpler option for scheduling and straightforward choices. A quick scheduling poll can avoid the effort of a full survey and the many email replies involved in arranging a meeting.
Questionnaire design
In 2009, SurveyMonkey offered these question types:
- Multiple choice, allowing one response or several.
- A matrix of choices, allowing one answer per row or several.
- Rating scales.
- Single or multiple text boxes.
- Comment or essay boxes for longer answers.
- Preformatted demographic information collection.
SurveyMonkey then offered more than 50 templates and customisation of fonts, background colours, type size and styles. Answer choices could be randomised to reduce ordering bias, surveys could be created in any language, and surveys contained no advertisements. Setup was described as straightforward, with video tutorials and email support.
Its 2009 subscription options differed in capacity and features.
| Plan | Questions and pages | Responses | Additional features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Up to 10 questions | 100 per survey | Basic survey creation |
| Professional, month-to-month | Unlimited questions and pages | 1,000 per month | Logo upload, spreadsheet download and PDF results |
| Professional, annual | Unlimited questions and pages | Unlimited | Logo upload, spreadsheet download and PDF results |
The professional subscription cost $19.95 per month in 2009, with month-to-month and annual options. The free version was considered sufficient for many users, while paid plans were suggested for complex, large or repeated surveys.
Distribution and results
SurveyMonkey's 2009 collection options included links in email or on websites, password protection, email lists, respondent tracking, reminders to people who had not completed the survey and closing dates. Multiple responses from one computer could be permitted for workplaces with shared computers. Responses could be inspected during collection, including individual answers and text comments.
In 2009, Mayo Clinic Proceedings combined SurveyMonkey with the broadcast email function of its ScholarOne manuscript system to distribute a user survey. Numerical results were transferred from SurveyMonkey's Analyze Results feature to Excel.
Scheduling and options polls
In 2009, Doodle was free, registration was optional and creators did not have to provide an email address. Its date-poll setup followed this sequence:
- Select Schedule Event.
- Enter the event title, description and creator's name.
- Select possible dates in the calendar and add times if needed.
- Select Finish.
An options poll followed a separate sequence:
- Select Make choice.
- Enter the poll title, creator's name and an optional description.
- Enter the choices for respondents to vote on.
- Select Finish.
Both poll types generated a respondent link and an administrator link for editing, exporting or deleting the poll. Providing an email address caused these to arrive in two emails; otherwise they appeared only on a web page and needed to be saved because Doodle would not resend them.
Doodle then offered no font or colour customisation and displayed some Google advertisements. It was available in more than 25 languages, supported mobile access through m.doodle.com and had modules for Facebook, iGoogle and Microsoft Outlook. A free MyDoodle account let frequent users manage their polls in one place.