Survey research is an essential tool for social scientists, allowing them to collect data and insights from many people. To conduct a successful survey, there are several vital considerations regarding survey methodology that researchers must take into account. These...
What is a DEI Survey?
Simply put, the purpose of a diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI study is to examine the lived experiences, perceptions, and attitudes of students, faculty, and staff on a university or college campus. DEI surveys may ask about personal experiences with...
Interview with Dr. Bill Axinn, Survey Expert & SoundRocket Collaborator (Part 2)
Soundrocket conducted an interview with University of Michigan professor Bill Axinn. Bill is a valued client and collaborator, and this post outlines Dr. Axinn's new paper and explores the importance of responsive survey design in campus surveys. This is Part 2 of a...
Interview with Dr. Bill Axinn, Survey Expert & SoundRocket Collaborator (Part 1)
Photo by Michael Barera (CC BY-SA 4.0) Soundrocket conducted an interview with University of Michigan professor Bill Axinn. Bill is a valued client and collaborator, and this post outlines Dr. Axinn's research, how he first came to find Scott Crawford, eventually...
Satisficing: Why Survey Participants Give Quick, Inaccurate Answers
In a previous post we discussed how to minimize survey breakoff. Surveys are a great way to collect data but when designing a survey it’s important to consider how much is too much. Today we are going to discuss satisficing, how to keep respondents engaged, and in...
Good Surveys Come With Subtraction, Not Addition: How Questionnaire Length Leads to Breakoffs
We often hear—so how long can our questionnaire be? While we love surveys, the reality is most respondents don’t share our enthusiasm, which means long questionnaires can be bad for data quality. Today we are going to look at how long surveys can lead to breakoff, and...
Graduate Student Collaborates with SoundRocket on Survey Creation and Data Collection for Thesis Paper
"The piece that has made my thesis and my study unique is being able to survey a representative sample of the U.S. population. This was made possible because of SoundRocket,” says Gabi. Gabriela (Gabi) Wen Hsuan Chen is currently a graduate student at the University...
Introducing Error Through Use of Web Survey Progress Indicators
In 1998, fascinated with the potential for the web to serve as a data collection platform, I wondered what sources of error may crop up with this new technology. Not surprisingly, we noticed early on that if participants did not finish a web-based survey in one...
What Led Us to Live Televideo Interviews (LTIs), and Why We Won’t be Turning Back
This post was written in collaboration with Jesus Arrue Why develop live televideo interview methods? In simpler times, pre-pandemic, we conducted user comprehension and other cognitive interview studies through in-person interviews. We would meet with research...