TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I used do this (seems like a hundred years ago) under the guise of
market research.
There are plenty of books out there about writing surveys, so I'll
just offer a few general thoughts...
If you do this right, you'll probably spend twice as much time
designing the survey than you had planned. Then you'll spend twice as
much time than planned training those making the actual calls. The
wording of each question and the _emphasis_ given by the voice asking
the question is incredibly important.
Tell your victims (oops, I mean respondents) up front how much time
it's gonna take. Half-answered surveys will skew your numbers and be a
huge waste of time.
If you're going to invest the time in a survey, make sure you have a
large enough pool of clients to make it worthwhile. Remember the old
saw about lies, damned lies, and statistics...
Kimberly
>>>>>Have any of you had experience creating phone surveys? If so, do
you have any suggestions for development?
What should we look for in a company that will be asking the questions
and processing the info?>>>>>