A quick search of the WWW
produces a number of websites offering assistance with online surveys.
While some products and services are free for educational and academic
use, there are a number of online services providing assistance for reasonable
fees. Many of these would require only a limited research budget
or even offer free trial periods for academics. While they might
have increased expense, they usually relieve the researcher of many burdens
in data collection. Some of these services allow you to create your
survey and then they host it for you, while others offer a more complete
line of services (i.e., survey creation, hosting, disimination, analysis).
Note: a) The listing
of a company is not an endorsement. I have not used them nor do I
claim knowledge of the quality of their services. b) This is not
a comprehensive list; a little exploration on the web will turn up additional
services. Considering the goals of this project, I didn't feel a
comprehensive review was warrented.
1) SurveyPro
- Survey Professionals
Provides the creation, hosting,
and data collection of online surveys. They offer assistance in the
construction of the survey (custom formating, multiple question types),
a variety of survey formats (webpage or email survey), and a variety of
survey delivery options (e.g., email invitations, simple hosting of the
site, password protection, multiple submission control).
There is special academic
pricing, which could include FREE use of SurveyPro.com if certain conditions
are met. They include a list of institutions currently using SurveyPro.
2) Free Assessment
Summary Tool (FAST) - "Seeing students assessment in a brand new light."
FAST is an online survey
tool allowing teachers to get timely feedback from students about course
information. Rather than wait till the beginning of the next semester
to get the results from instructor/course evaluations, FAST allows a safe
and anonymous outlet for students to provide feedback. A simple user
interface allows for easy creation and maintenance by the instructor.
The source code is available for
purchase so the user (e.g., host institution) can modify and personalize
the surveys.
3) Survey Tool - Creates surveys online. Offers survey creation and hosting options, along with a free 30-day trial period. Offers a variety of hosting and survey creation options.
4) WebSurveyor - Offering a free trial version, allows you to create surveys online as they host the site. This site offers a wizard-driven interface, question banks, and several pricing options.
5) Time-Sharing
Experiments for the Social Sciences (TESS)
An NSF-funded project, this
service allows researchers to conduct experiments with a large-scale, representative
sample via the web or phone surveys. Researchers add their questions/materials
to a national, ongoing data collection project. A proposal
is submitted and evaluated by a team associate PI's. Short of any
special considerations, TESS is free to the researcher.
This is a good resource
for researchers needing a large and diverse sample. Studies from
a wide array of disciplines (e.g., psychology, sociology, pol science,
economics, communicatins) and topics are encouraged.
6) Web Experimental
Psychology Lab (WEPL; Reips, 2001) - A storehouse for on-line experiments
WEPL is not a design tool, but
rather a place to post your experiment on-line. It offers a site
for posting your experiment for visitors to find. The site is organized
like a research lab, with each room containing a different experiment.
7) PsychData.net - Offers survey creation and hosting, with fees determined by how many surveys you need, how many questions you ask, and how many participants you need. More of a pay-for-what-you-use than some other services which involve a flat fee for a specific period of time.
8) StudentResearcher.com - A simple-to-use and cost effective service providing survey/questionnaire construction and hosting. A variety of pricing options are available, depending on the services needed (e.g., personalized survey, data emailed to you or stored in a database, use a participant list).
9) Study19.com
- Web-based data collection and research
Offering full-service production
and collection of web-based surveys. Your survey is hosted
at a unique URL and your data can be provided to you in a variety of formats
(e.g., MS Excel, MS Access, SPSS, text file). Consultation is available
on a variety of topics, such as subject recruitment, attrition, response
options, and other web-based research issues.
10) Apian - Offers a survey development tool, SurveyPro (not to be confused with Survey Professionals), and hosting of web surveys.
11) Perseus Development - Offers a variety of tools and hosting options. For example, several products can be used to construct paper or web surveys, while they also offer the Perseus WebResearcher specifically for designing, managing, and analyzing web surveys. It appears to be designed primarily for marketing research, but could apply to psychological research as well.
12) SurveyMonkey.com - "Intelligent survey software for serious primates of all species". SurveyMonkey allows the creation and hosting of online surveys, using a variety of question types and user controls. They do offer a free basic subscription to the service. This limits you to 10 questions and only 100 reponses per survey, but does include all the basic features of the program. On their pricing page, they even provide a list of their competitors so you can comparison shop.
13) Zoomerang - Zoomerang offers online development of surveys, but also has a variety of templates with you to start from. They offer a free, basic subscription with a limit of 30 questions per survey, with a maximum of 100 responses per survey.