LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Andrew Pullin <andrew@hotspurbgc.com.au>
  To  : ilox <ilox@telstra.com>
        <linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au>
  Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 17:11:54 +1000

Re: [OT] Community IT Survey help

Hi All,
    This is not as straight forward as you might think to
do, it will depend on what you want to know as to how you go
about gathering the information. Knowing what you want to
know isn't that straight forward either, there are many
surveys out there that mean absolutely nothing, sure they
collect some data, but if the data isn't useful. I am not an
expert at this, but first year Uni Psychology and Statistics
indicate that surveys are very useful, but need careful
thought to implement. Here are some tips that might help.

    What is your target audience?
        It is pointless to ask a low income population if
they own expensive high
        tech gear (most of them will not).

    What do you want to do with the results?
        Do you want to open a Community Centre and provide
computers based
        on what the Survey says?

    Are Computer illiterate people going to be interested in
getting involved?
        If not, why are you doing this?

    How many people will you survey?
        7 out of 10 Six year olds surveyed at a birthday
party like vegemite on toast
        doesn't prove that 70% of the World's population
does. The more people
        you survey from more widespread population samples
gives more accurate
        results.

    You must also structure your survey to include General
information, ie Age, sex, Post code, education level etc.
This gives some sort of baseline to compare your sample.

    You must group your questions, ie Dou you own a
Computer? if yes, then have 5 questions about computers, if
no, then skip them.Question Groups can cross check some data
for you and make your survey more accurate.

    Ask your questions in an unambiguous way. If you want a
yes/no answer, then ask a clear, concise yes/no question. If
you leave any doubt in the person's mind, then they will
usually tell you what you want to hear after questioning the
survey taker. Question groups come in handy here, 5 short
concise questions are better than 1 ambiguous question. A
survey taker should NEVER influence a survey by explaining a
question.

    Pick questions that give a measure, ie How many people
in your family that live in your house? a.less than 3,
b.3-5, c.6 or more. Group them with questions like - Does
the family own a computer? a.No, b.Yes - One, c.Yes - two,
Yes - 3 or More. This kind of data can give a result that
families with more members own more computers because they
have more people to use them, or that families with more
people are less likely to have a computer because they
cannot afford one. You must also pick questions that give
unambiguous results.

    Finally, you must pick enough questions to get what you
want, but not enough so that the person being surveyed gets
bored and answers anything just to get away.

    This list isn't exhaustive by any means, but it does
show that surveys are a lot of work. After you collect the
data, you must then do a statistical analysis on it, and
this also takes time and effort. In a nutshell, what you
need is this:

    1. Decide EXACTLY what you want to know.
    2. Decide your Target audience.
    3. Ask questions that target  1 and 2.
    4. Ask questions that are unambiguous.
    5.Ask questions that are measurable.
    6. Group questions to support each other.
    7. Select a large enough sample to be meaningful.
    8. Balance the survey length.
    9. Ask for common basic information to group answers.
    10. Complete a thorough Statistical Analysis when Survey
is complete.

    I hope I haven't scared you off, but if you don't take
this kind of thing into account, then the survey isn't worth
the paper it is written on and all of it will be wasted.
Hope this helps.
    Cheers!
        Andrew.

----- Original Message -----
From: ilox <ilox@telstra.com>
To: <linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au>
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2001 1:47 PM
Subject: [OT] Community IT Survey help


> As part of the community IT project that I support I have
been asked to
> develop a simple survey. We would like to be able to ask
our community
> what their awareness of IT is and how best we might be
able to assist
> them to provide access and skills.
>
> I have never done anything like this before but I have
completed loads
> of surveys, mostly poorly done and confusing to complete.
>
> I would like to have your help to build this survey. Here
is a starter
> set of questions;
>
> ------------------------------
> Do you use the Internet
> 1)  Yes, regularly
> 2)  Yes, sometimes
> 3)  Hardly ever
> 4)  Don't ever use it
>
> Do you have a computer connected to the internet where you
usually live
> (Yes or No)
>
> If you don't have the Internet at home, is there somewhere
you can go
> where you can use it for free (Yes or No)
>
> Would you be interested in using a 'free access internet
computer' if
> available in your Neighbourhood?
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> How should I word the survey?
>
> What questions should I be asking?
>
> Should they be completing the survey themselves or should
volunteers be
> asking the questions?
>
> Any software around that might help us collate the
responses
> meaningfully?
>
> Any help is appreciated. Please respond offline.
>
>  Ian,
>  from Adelaide, South Australia
>  on Tue, 20 Nov 2001 14:01 (Aust. Central Summer Time, GMT
+10:30)
>
>
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>
>
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