Tackling the job of conducting a survey for your library can be daunting. A systematic and quality-driven approach will yield results which can provide valuable information to decision-makers and stakeholders. This first in a three-part series of workshops on conducting surveys will demystify the survey process, from beginning to end of your project. This first workshop of the three-part series addresses 1) the reasons for conducting a survey; 2) issues in effective questionnaire design, data collection and analysis, and reporting; and 3) questionnaire design, especially measurement, question content, and structure, including examples.

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

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

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

4. About you, cont’d.

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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

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

13. Design Ease of use Length Sensitivity Layout Language Pretesting and revision

14. Data collection Target audience Sampling Incentives Confidentiality/anonymity

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

16. Data analysis Descriptive statistics Qualitative vs. quantitative data Coding

17. 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

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

19. Measurement Operational definition Validity Reliability

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

21. Question content Dichotomous Multichotomous Scales Open-ended

22. Structure General to specific Question sequence Filters Skip patterns Length

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

24. 4) Examples Disclaimer

25. 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!

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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

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

30. 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 #)

31. 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

32. 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

33. Q5b. Scale Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your most recent library visit? Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

34. 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

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

36. 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: __________ ____________________________________________________________

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

38. 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: ________ ________________________________________________________________________

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

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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

44. 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 No children living at home

45. 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 Not at all important No children living at home

46. 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 Not at all important Comments: __________________________

47. 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 Not at all important No teens living at home

48. 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 Not at all important Comments: __________________________

49. 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 No children living at home

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

51. 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

52. 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 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied I’ve never visited the website Don’t recall

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

54. 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 _______________________________

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

56. 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…

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

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

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

60. 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

61. 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.

62. Q23. Demographics Gender: Male Female

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

64. 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 ___________________

65. 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

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

67. 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 ________________

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

69. 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+

70. 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):

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

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

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

74. Next steps Evaluation

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

76. 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

77. Questions? CE credit Evaluation

78. 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 http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/scripts/training/eventshow.asp?ProgID=9638 Archived: Surveys, Focus Groups & Observation, or How to find out stuff from people in your community – March 10, 2010 http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/scripts/training/eventshow.asp?ProgID=9552

79. Upcoming sessions Cataloging with RDA: An Overview – May 19 http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/scripts/training/eventshow.asp?ProgID=9522 Tech Talk with Michael Sauers – May 26 http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/scripts/training/eventshow.asp?ProgID=9475 Communication—Getting the Word Out: Does your audience hear what you mean? – June 23 http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/scripts/training/eventshow.asp?ProgID=9510