Welcome to The Launchpad, SoundRocket’s blog, where we share our insights and musings on the science of doing science (well), #soundscience.
Testing a web-based survey is one of the most detested activities to many in the survey research business. From a 2016 post, here are seven tips to better web-based survey testing practices for your next study. You’re welcome 🙂
Everyone has self-assessed at some point or another. Be it something formal with a Myers & Briggs inventory or a chat with a trusted friend or family member – we are driven to search for who we are. To some it comes easier than others. While I have always loved to self-assess, I have generally been shy…
In the Summer of 2004, I set out to carve a new path. I knew that I didn’t enjoy market research (or social science research within a market research firm). I missed academic social science research, but I wasn’t keen on returning to a purely academic environment. I took a leap of faith and quit my job with no plan. With two young kids, I would test out being a “full-time dad” for awhile, as I explored what options I had. I suspect I knew inside that I needed the urgency of not having a job to help me decide what was next.
I am grateful that…
Anyone who has been in the field of survey research knows how difficult it is to explain to friends and family what exactly it is we do. I have gotten so caught up with this question sometimes that I forget to consider why I do it – which in its own way helps answer the what question.
So here is why I do it:
When I think of innovation in survey research, I think of innovation in our “sister” field of land surveying. (A field I think of too often as I correct confused extended relatives about the type of surveys that I’m involved in.)
In 2600 B.C. Egypt, “rope stretchers” were some of the first land surveyors. They stretched rope to measure land distances. But rope had its flaws – it was often weak, stretched, expensive, and in large amounts could be very heavy. Small innovations took place…
Peer review is wonderful in theory. Scientists reviewing other scientists’ work to evaluate whether the science was applied thoroughly, implemented well, and interpreted effectively can be a wonderful way to allow the best science through. But the Reproducibility Project clearly demonstrated that something is broken – when over a quarter of the published studies reviewed could not be replicated.
It is not a surprise to most. Humans are involved. We make mistakes…
When Apple’s ResearchKit was announced, almost immediately some squawked about the ethical problems that may be raised by its use. One argument suggested that because teens use iPhones, and because teens “aren’t supposed to take part in medical studies without parental consent” this would be bad. The argument proceeds…
Use this as a checklist for your own studies – or as a tool to evaluate survey research collaborators. Researchers who do not consider each of these elements will make disastrous mistakes. A solid researcher is not one who is perfect – it is one who learns from past mistakes. Here are the final six (of twelve)…
Ready to Launch a Survey? It’s just a press of a button, right?
How I wish that were the case! As with any science, care must be taken to ensure there is a consistent application. Bias introduced by inconsistencies in the study implementation is not desirable. Survey researchers can minimize such bias by…