• Mail surveys are generally low cost, but take a long time, and provide a very low response rate.
• Telephone surveys have a relatively high response rate, but staffing the phone lines is very expensive, and refusal rates are increasing.
• Internet surveys have cost advantages, and data can often be collected quickly, however, the specific sample you need may not be available online.

• Call and tell us about your project. We will discuss your survey needs, and we'll put together a proposal with costs, research methodology, and a project schedule.
• Send us additional details of the project, any questionnaire drafts, and examples of outputs you are used to, if available.
• Questionnaire design is generally the most crucial task at the beginning; it involves a back-and-forth process of fine tuning.
• When the survey 'goes live,' either by mail, telephone, or using an online survey, we keep you informed of the number of responses and the status of the project. When completed, we send a printout of preliminary frequencies. From the preliminary data we can plan cross-tabs, recoding, collapsing of categories, and if necessary the banner layout.
• When the cross-tab plan is finalized, we run statistical reports and begin the analysis or turn the data over to your own analysts.
• Once the research findings are written, we provide either a written copy or a slide presentation or both, all with appendixes for the cross-tabs and open-ended responses.

Question types:

• Radio button (single select)
• Check-box (multiple response)
• Combo-box (drop-down single select)
• Numeric
• Open-end
• Matrix (grid)
• Ranking
• Constant Sum
• Free Format
• Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC)

• Randomization of pages, questions, and response options
• Data piping
• Constructed (dynamic) lists
• Automatic question response verification
• Powerful skip logic (pre-skip and post-skip logic)
• Quota control
• Foreign language character support
• Progress bar
• Custom questions with HTML
• Custom look and feel
• Insert HTML, JavaScript, or Perl
• Respondent re-start (without cookies)
• Similar look across different browsers, including Mac and legacy browsers
• Insert images or video
• Password protection
• Embed passwords in customized, individual URLs
• Link to/from other online interviewing systems and websites
• Online administrative module for real-time reports

Panels? Lists? Email? Website? Phone? Mail? The realm of sample selection, procurement, and recruitment can be complex, but we help you through it.

We have partnerships with a variety of sample providers. Here are some of things that we make sure they do, before we consider using them for sample for your study:

• Sample is their core business – that’s what they do; it’s all they do
• Enrollment is by invitation only – thereby diminishing self-selection bias
• No banner ad or other open recruitment
• Avoid professional survey takers
• Enroll via both offline and online methods
• Removal methods for professional survey takers
• Look for inconsistent answers, taking surveys too quickly, unusual response patterns
• Clean panelist database
• Regular removal of bad address, opt-outs, inactives
• Detailed profiles of panelists
• And regular updating of information
• Balanced panel demographics
• Be able to provide estimated incidence rates when given a spec
• Track panelist activity
• Do not “over-survey” panelists
• Reasonable response rates
• We look for 15-25% for consumer studies and 25-35% for b-to-b studies
• Respect and protect the privacy of panelists
• Maintain an incentive program that maintains loyalty and avoids professional survey taking
• Per-complete pricing, up-front, locked-in

• Business
• Occupation
• Title
• Functional role
• Number of employees
• Industry
• Annual revenue
• Years in business
• Decision-making ability for a variety of business items

Note: Using screening questions, we can obtain very specific respondents, meeting your exact needs.

• Consumer
• Gender
• Zip code
• Age
• Marital status
• Children and their ages
• Household income
• Education
• Ethnicity
• Interest areas
• Medical conditions
• Major purchases
• Life events
• Vehicle information
• Travel and leisure
• Item ownership

Statistics and Analysis

1. What is statistical significance testing? When do I need to use it?
On a rating question, if group A rates a product an average of 4.5 on a 5-point scale, and group B rates the same product 4.0, is that difference real, or due simply to random variation? Statistical significance testing will tell you whether or not the difference represents a legitimate difference in perceptions by men versus women, and will tell at what level of confidence the differences are valid. We supply all the standard statistical tests needed to effectively interpret research results.

2. Do you conduct Segmentation Modeling?
Yes. Segmentation modeling allows you do answer a number of questions, including: Which mailing list to buy to accomplish targetted advertising; How to break up customers into actionable segments; How to model likelihood to respond to different messaging. We offer complete services for answering these questions and more.

3. Are "advanced" statistical methods available?
Yes. Often, standard tests, such as mean differences and Chi-square tests are all that is needed for analysis and reporting. However, our staff members are fully versed in a number of advanced tests and procedures that are sometimes required for effective analysis. These include Factor Analysis, Conjoint Analysis, Cluster Analysis, Gap Analysis, Latent Class Analysis, Regression Analyses, and other specialized tests. Feel free to ask when and how such tests apply to your project.

Reporting

1. What kind of report can I expect? Do you have a standard output format?
There is no set format for reporting, as we will supply reports suited exactly to your needs. Generally, most reports include a detailed analysis of findings, summary tables explaining significant trends, plus an appendix showing the frequency counts and percentages for all questions on the survey. Cross-tabs are executed as necessary. For reports with extensive cross-tabs, we supply banner tables (banner tabs).

2. What are "Banner Tabs?"
Cross-tab tables need lots of page space. The technique of squeezing multiple cross-tabs on a single page results in a Banner Table report. Such banner reports range from about 6 to a maximum of 18 columns of data (on a single page). The last column shows total survey results, and all other columns represent the segmented cross-tab subgroups. For instance Gender (male and female) would appear in columns 2 and 3. You will also see statistical significance testing between different columns.

3. Can you just provide tables and charts and let us write our own report?
Yes, of course. We are committed to helping with only those services you need. We can also simply provide an Excel or SPSS dataset for your use.

Database Work

1. Do you have a preferred method of sending and receiving spreadsheet data?
Most current software packages are compatible and able to read or transfer data between different systems. We use delimited files such as that found in Microsoft Excel, though we are able to read data from multiple sources.

2. Can you link data from our database to respondents in the survey?
Yes. If your listings contain PINs or any other data, such as past purchase information or sales data, this can be readily matched back to the survey respondents.

3. Can the data be weighted?
Yes, weighting can be applied, and is used to help balance the survey results.

Cost

1. How much does a typical project cost?
Please contact us to discuss you're requirements and we will provide a preliminary quote within 24 hours. The factors that affect cost are: 1) The length and complexity of the survey instrument, 2) The sample (will you provide it, use a panel, or a list, or gets respondents from your website, or via a phone or mail recuit?) 3) The deliverables you would like (analyses, reports, etc.). Our rates are competitive due in part to our efficient business processes. If you only need help with a piece of your project, you would of course only pay for the services you need.

2. Are you open to creative methods to help reduce our out-of-pocket costs?
Yes. Our policy is to be your partner in research. We are eager to help you contain costs for your project. In the past we've entertained a number of creative financing scenarios where all parties benefit

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