NCompass Live: Conducting Surveys I: Introduction and Questionnaire Design

Conducting Surveys I
Introduction and
Questionnaire Design
NCompass Live – May 12, 2010

About the presenter
Research Analyst
Special Projects Associate
Grant writer
Evaluator
Kathryn.Brockmeier@Nebraska.gov
402.471.4002

About you
Your role
Library Director
Library Staff Member
Trustee
Friends/Foundation Board Member
Your credentials

About you, cont’d.

About this presentation
Reasons for conducting a survey
Questionnaire design, data collection and analysis, and reporting
Measurement, question content, and structure
Examples

1) Information needs for…
Strategic plan
Marketing plan
Budget justification
Return on investment
Grant writing, fundraising
Capacity building
Feasibility study
Needs assessment
Program planning
Program evaluation

What’s the goal?
Building customer/patron loyalty
Identifying attractive prospects
Focusing on high potential customers/patrons
Predicting future usage patterns
Improving return on investment
Identifying new products and services

What’s the question?
Opportunities, problems, challenges, barriers
Service, programming, accessibility needs
Satisfaction, performance
Expectations, reputation
Value, worth
Comparison to existing data
Usage patterns
Snapshot

Respondents
Users
Patrons
Visitors
One-time
Regulars
Age, Ethnicity, Gender, Disability, Geography, Income
Type of check-outs
Type of questions
Non-users
Potential users
Admirers, loyalty
Aware
Informed
Unaware
Uninformed
Computer owners
Book buyers

Pros and cons
Advantages
No interviewer bias
Inexpensive
Repeatable
Often gains thoughtful answers
More respondents
Candid responses if confidentiality is ensured
Easy to analyze
Disadvantages
Doesn’t ensure qualified respondents
Low response rate
Inability to gain further detail / probe
Poor turnaround time

2) Survey research
The study of attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of people and their settings through questionnaires administered by mail, e-mail, handouts, personal and telephone interviews, and the Internet

Surveys
Questionnaire
Mail, paper-and-pencil
Group-administered
Internet
E-mail
Interview
Personal
Telephone

Design
Ease of use
Length
Sensitivity
Layout
Language
Pretesting and revision

Data collection
Target audience
Sampling
Incentives
Confidentiality/anonymity

Method of administration
Paper-and-pencil (Self report, face-to-face, telephone)
Electronic (e-mail)
Online/Internet

Data analysis
Descriptive statistics
Qualitative vs. quantitative data
Coding

Reporting
Title page
Table of contents
Introduction and objectives
Executive summary or highlights
Conclusions and recommendations
Complete findings of the study
Supporting charts and graphs
Appendixes

3) Questionnaire design
Questionnaire:
A research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents

Measurement
Operational definition
Validity
Reliability

Measurement, cont’d.
Attitude
Behavior
Intention
Attributes
Other characteristics
Classification
(demographics)

Question content
Dichotomous
Multichotomous
Scales
Open-ended

Structure
General to specific
Question sequence
Filters
Skip patterns
Length

Structure, cont’d.
Introduction
Body
Encouragement
Note of thanks
Referral for questions

4) Examples
Disclaimer

Introduction (Ex. 1)
Happyplace Public Library would like to find out where we are now as a library. We would like to learn a little bit about your library experiences at Happyplace Public Library. The information gathered from the following survey may help us evaluate, plan, and shape some of our future thinking about our library and the various needs of our patrons.
Your opinions are very important to us, and your responses will remain confidential. Please take a moment to fill out this questionnaire, and return it to Happyplace Public Library in the accompanying envelope by February 29th. Thank you!

Introduction (Ex. 2)
The Nebraska Library Commission is in the process of gathering information from 21st Century Librarian Scholarship recipients to find out how the scholarship program worked for them and if they have completed their degree program.
Please take a few moments to complete this questionnaire about your experiences. This is for evaluation purposes and we will use some of the information in our federal grant report where we will discuss the outcomes of our recruitment activities and share the "stories" of how the scholarships have contributed to the developing library careers of scholarship recipients. When given the opportunity to comment, please do so in whatever detail you care to provide.

Assurance of confidentiality
Your responses will remain confidential.
No identifying information will be attached to your answers.
Your responses will be combined with like responses.

Q1. Scale
Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the services the library provides to the community?
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied

Q2. Dichotomous
Do you have a library card?
Yes
No
(Don’t know)

Q3. Multichotomous & skip
When was the last time you visited the library?
Today
In the last week
In the last two weeks
In the last month
In the last six months
In the last year
It’s been over a year since I visited the library
I’ve never visited the library (Skip to Question #)

Q4. Multichotomous
If you recall, what was the purpose of your most recent visit to the library? You may include today’s visit. (Check all that apply)
Use the computer lab
Browse books, DVDs, CDs or other items
Read magazines or newspapers
Attend a program
Use the copy machine
Check out an item for myself
Check out an item for my child
Return items
Browse books
Other ________________________________
Don’t recall

Q5a. Scale
To what extent was the result of your most recent visit what you expected? / How did your most recent visit to the library meet your expectations?
Better than I expected
Just as I expected
Worse than I expected
Don’t recall
I’ve never visited the library

Q5b. Scale
Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your most recent library visit?
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Very dissatisfied

Q5c. Scale
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very dissatisfied and 10 being very satisfied, how would you rate your most recent library visit? (Circle one)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Q6. Scale
Please rate the following services offered by Happyplace Public Library:
Cont’d.

Q6. Scale, cont’d.
Bookmobile service
Assistance with finding a book or other materials
Catalog system
Assistance with using the catalog system
Check-out process
Notifications about fines
Customer service
Interlibrary loan service
Programming for adults
Programming for children
Programming for teens
Assessment of fines
Website
Comments: __________ ____________________________________________________________

Q7. Scale
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the variety of the following items?
Cont’d.

Q7. Scale, cont’d. & open-ended
Adult fiction books
Adult non-fiction/ self-help books
DVDs
Children’s books
Teen books
Books on tape
Books on CD
Magazines
Newspapers
Comments: ________ ________________________________________________________________________

Transition
We’d like to know some details about your experience with programming at Happyplace Public Library.

Q8. Scale
How likely are you to participate in adult programming in the next year/six months?
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Somewhat unlikely
Very unlikely

Q9. Scale
How important is it to you that adult programming be offered to the community, through the library?
Very important
Somewhat important
Not very important
Not at all important

Q10. Scale
If you have children under the age of 18 living at home, how likely are they to participate in children’s/teen programming in the next year/six months?
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Somewhat unlikely
Very unlikely
No children living at home

Q11a. Dichotomous/filter
Do you have children under the age of 18 living at home?
Yes
No (Skip to Question 16)
If you have children under the age of 18 living at home, have they participated in the summer reading program in the past?
Yes
No

Q11b. Dichotomous
If you have children under the age of 18 living at home, have they participated in the summer reading program in the past?
Yes
No

Q12. Scale
How important is it to you that programming be offered to your children, through the library?
Very important
Somewhat important
Not very important

Q12. Scale/open-ended
How important is it to you that programming be offered to children in the community, through the library?
Very important
Somewhat important
Not very important
Comments: __________________________

Q13. Scale
How important is it to you that programming be offered to your teen(s), through the library?
Very important
Somewhat important
Not very important
No teens living at home

Q14. Scale/open-ended
How important is it to you that programming be offered to teens in the community, through the library?
Very important
Somewhat important
Not very important
Comments: __________________________

Q15. Scale
If you have children under the age of 18 living at home, how likely are they to participate in the upcoming summer reading program?
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not very likely
Not at all likely

Transition
Now we have some questions about Happyplace Public Library’s website…

Q16. Multichotomous
When was the last time you visited Happyplace Library’s website, www.happyplace.com?
Today
In the last week
In the last two weeks
In the last month
In the last six months
In the last year
It’s been over a year since I visited the website
I’ve never visited the website
Don’t recall

Q17. Scale
If you recall, overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your most recent visit to the library website?
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Very dissatisfied
I’ve never visited the website
Don’t recall

Q18a. Open-ended
What was the purpose of your most recent visit to the library website?
____________________________________

Q18b. Multichotomous
What was the purpose of your most recent visit to the library website? (Check all that apply)
To access a database
To learn about programs offered
To learn about services offered
To access the online catalog
To reserve a book
To get library contact information
To find out how to get a library card
Other _______________________________

Q19. Scale
Please rate the ease of use of the library website to find/access information:
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor

Encouragement
Almost done…one more page!
We’re almost done. Just a few last questions…
Thank you for your time. Just a few more questions…

Q20. Dichotomous/filter
Are you a fan of Happyplace Library on Facebook?
Yes
No
Don’t know
I don’t have a Facebook account

Q21. Scale
What would you say is the library’s reputation in the community?
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor

Q22. Scale
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements:

Q22. Scale, cont’d.
The library provides valuable services to the community
The library has a good reputation in the community
The library has provided valuable services to me
I would recommend using the library to my friends and family
There’s room for improvement in the services the library provides

Transition
We’d like to learn a little bit more about you…
Reminder about confidentiality
The following information will be used for demographic purposes only.

Q23. Demographics
Gender:
Male
Female

Q24. Demographics
Age:
Under 18
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75 or over

Q25. Demographics
Do you live… (Check all that apply)
Within city limits / In Happyplace
In Happy County
In BBB County
In CCC County
Other county ___________________

Q26. Demographics
Length of time living in Happyplace:
I don’t live in Happyplace
Less than 1 year
1-5 years
6-10 years
11-20 years
21+ years

Q27. Demographics
Highest level of education attained:
Less than high school
High school diploma/GED
Some college
Associate degree
Bachelor degree
Graduate degree

Q28. Demographics
Race (check all that apply):
White
Black or African-American
American Indian and Alaska Native
Asian
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
Some other race ________________

Q29. Demographics
Ethnicity:
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Not Hispanic or Latino

Q30. Demographics
Household Income:
Less than $20,000
$20,000 to $29,999
$30,000 to $49,999
$50,000 to $74,999
$75,000+

Open-ended questions
Comments:
Other (please specify):
If you have other comments for us about your experience with Happyplace Public Library, please provide it below:
Your name (optional):

Note of thanks
Thank you for completing this questionnaire/survey. We appreciate your feedback!

Referral for questions
If you have any questions regarding this survey, please contact Jane Smith at 402-555-0000 or jane.smith@happylib.org

Next steps
Evaluation

Print resources
Survey Research Methods by Floyd Fowler (Sage Publications)
Internet, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method by Don Dillman (Wiley)

Online resources
Research Methods Knowledge Base
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/survey.php
Writing Guide: Survey Research
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/survey/
LRS Library User Surveys on the Web by Type of Library
http://www.lrs.org/usersurveys.php
Montana State Library Guidelines for Designing a Library Survey
http://msl.state.mt.us/For_Librarians/For_Public_Librarians/standards/PatronSurveys.doc

Questions?
CE credit
Evaluation

Related topics
Conducting Surveys II: Data Collection – June 9, 2010
http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/scripts/training/eventshow.asp?ProgID=9637
Conducting Surveys III: Analyzing Data and Reporting Methods – July 14, 2010
Archived: Surveys, Focus Groups & Observation, or How to find out stuff from people in your community – March 10, 2010

Upcoming sessions
Cataloging with RDA: An Overview – May 19
Tech Talk with Michael Sauers – May 26
Communication—Getting the Word Out: Does your audience hear what you mean? – June 23

NCompass Live: Conducting Surveys I: Introduction and Questionnaire Design

by Nebraska Library Commission

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NCompass Live: Conducting Surveys I: Introduction and Questionnaire Design Presentation Transcript