Zoomerang has a wealth of information available to help you collect the actionable data you need and analyze the results. You can find a new Zoomerang Survey Tip each day on Twitter which are designed to help make your survey experience a success.

To help keep you up to date, I have compiled the survey tips from the last week for easier reference and I will be posting an update weekly.

- Use Tag Clouds to easily quantify open-ended survey responses is easy – Just drag & drop words and phrases into tag lists

- A quick survey on a how to handle a difficult business question generates responses that can be directly put into practice

- Resist the urge to code/track employee surveys – When it’s discovered (and it will be) you will have reinforced distrust

- Prevent duplication of efforts and list fatigue – Coordinate efforts with colleagues using Zoomerang Enterprise

- Rather than cramming every Q you have into a single customer sat survey, do multiple surveys throughout the year on different topics

You can find compiled lists of the previous Survey Tip of the Days as well as additional online survey tips and suggestions here at the Zoomerang blog as well as links to helpful Zoomerang tutorials and Zoomerang webinars.

Be sure to follow Zoomerang on Twitter if you would like to view the Survey Tip each day. You can also add the Zoomerang blog to your RSS feed or bookmark the site to get the weekly recap. If you have any survey tips you would like to share leave me a comment or send me an email, Zoomerang is all about sharing knowledge.

Oleh Jane Weaver
Editor kesehatan
msnbc.com
updated 11:37 ET April 16, 2007

Bagi kebanyakan orang membina suatu hubungan, adalah komitmen yang sangat berarti dan tidak main-main. Namun bukan berarti banyak permasalahan soal pelanggaran komitmen tersebut yang terjadi saat ini.

Sekitar satu dari lima orang dewasa dalam hubungan monogami, atau 22 persen, telah mengkhianati pasangan mereka. Angka ini bahkan lebih tinggi di antara pria yang sudah menikah. data ini sesuai sesuai MSNBC.com / iVillage Lust, Love & Loyalty survei.

Lebih dari 70.000 orang dewasa yang menjawab survei bagi pembaca online di bulan Februari. Terdapat 30 pertanyaan yang banyak mengungkapkan perasaan intim mereka dan pendapat mereka tentang zina/perselingkuhan, bahkan menjawab mengapa mereka tetap selingkuh, tersesat atau tetap setia.

— Total participants: 70,288
— Average age:Men, 43; Women, 38
— Gender: Men, 54%; Women, 46%
— Age range: 18-76+
— Married or remarried: 60%
— Length of relationship: 1 year, 5%; 3-5 years, 15%; 11-20 years, 25%
— Living with partner: 11%
— Dating one person: 13%
— Heterosexual: 94%
— Average number of lifetime sexual partners: Men, 17; Women, 11

Sekitar tiga perempat dari pengambil survei mengatakan bahwa mereka telah membuat komitmen monogami, dengan mayoritas baik menikah atau menikah lagi. Tapi porsi yang signifikan merasa lebih mudah untuk membuat janji daripada memperthankannya. (manis dimulut saja)

Mengurus rumahtangga bersama bersama, mengikat diri dalam perkawinan suci, bahkan memiliki anak-anak tidak banyak dapat mempertahankan mereka akan godaan untuk berselingkuh.

Sisi baiknya adalah, sementara banyak dari kita yang tergoda oleh godaan tersebut, tampaknya kita takut berbuat lebih jauh dan ingin mengakhirinya.

Kita dibombardir dengan gambar-gambar perselingkuhan dalam budaya populer dan berita, sehingga tidak mengejutkan banyak orang bhawa perselingkuhan, perceraian didalam keluarga adalah sesuatu hal yang biasa.

Survey taker menduga bahwa dua kali lebih banyak hasil yang sebenarnya, ia memperkirakan bahwa 44 persen dari pria menikah dan 36 persen wanita menikah tidak setia. Pada kenyataannya tidak seperti yang merajalela seperti yang kita pikirkan, dengan 28 persen dari pria menikah dan 18 persen wanita menikah mengaku memiliki hubungan seksual yang baik.

“Kami pikir semua orang di luar sana melakukannya,” kata Janet Lever, seorang sosiolog di California State University, Los Angeles, dan memimpin penelitian ini. “Yah, ternyata mereka tidak.”

Bahkan, tingkat kecurangan telah tinggal cukup konsisten, menurut penelitian pakar Tom W. Smith, Direktur Umum Survei Sosial untuk National Opinion Research Center di University of Chicago.

Smith melakukan studi “Perilaku Seksual Amerika,” sebuah jajak pendapat dari 10.000 orang lebih dari dua dekade. Studi ini menemukan bahwa 22 persen dari pria menikah dan 15 persen wanita menikah sudah menipu setidaknya sekali – mirip dengan hasil dari MSNBC.com / iVillage survei.

Hampir 20 persen dari survei taker dalam hubungan berkomitmen berciuman dengan orang lian yang bukan pasangannya adalah hal baisa, sedangkan 83 persen menganggap bahwa hal tersebut adalah pelanggaran atau perbuatan curang. Dan 15 persen laki-laki (meskipun hanya 7 persen wanita) telah terlibat dalam online Webcamming seks atau seksual, 66 persen menganggap perbuatan ini adalah perbuatan curang.

Survei memang menemukan beberapa skenario umum, namun. Kecurangan cenderung terjadi baik ke dalam hubungan – terutama dalam tiga sampai lima tahun zona – oleh orang yang tidak puas dengan kehidupan seksual atau seorang perempuan yang merasa kehilangan secara emosional. Kekasih baru yang paling sering teman atau rekan kerja, dan dan rata-rata kasus ii berlkangsung anya beberapa minggu saja.

A survey undertaken by Vertical Response in the US found that small business owners ranked PR and social media marketing amongst the most important tools for success in 2010.

More than two thirds of respondents planned to increase their use of email marketing and social media next year.

Whilst the respondents of this survey were US small businesses, in Australia, and Adelaide particularly, we are starting to see more businesses understanding how important social media can be to their business as it is not only cost-effective and easy to use but a great way to communicate directly with customers, prospects and key influencers.

Some of our new clients we are putting social media strategies together for include Internet Television broadcasters AustraliaLiveTV, real estate company Brock Harcourts and financial planners Hedges Asset Planning.

This article* describes how a library worked with marketing classes at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) to improve students’ interest in using reference services. This gave the opportunity for students to engage in a real-world problem, while meeting the academic needs of the course and providing the library with ideas as to how they could improve the visibility and usefulness of the service. Some key points from the article for me were:

• the Library only specified two questions, the students generated the bulk of the survey questions
• the survey results confirmed that the students love the library facility but fail to use its resources, specifically the reference desk to the fullest
• students tended to be technology savvy, time poor, and unwilling to ask for assistance
• students used Google as their main resource, and would ask peers and lecturers for help, but were unlikely to ask librarians
•  the words “reference” and “information” were meaningless to students

Students provided recommendations for improving reference services, which were then considered by the librarians. As a result of this project:

• a secondary sign was added to the “Information desk” sign – a large yellow “help” button
• an instant messaging (IM) service was initiated (apparently marketing students “strongly advocated” this – Meebo was eventually chosen)
• promotional materials were developed for the IM service and for the email reference service
• walk-in workshops on specific topics were suggested by students, but were not pursued as they had failed to attract student interest in the past. As an alternative the library did decide to work on relationships with student groups – a “handful” of these scheduled time on sessions to improve research skills
• the seating arrangements of the student assistant/librarian at the reference desk was reversed, with the librarian taking the front and center seat and the student assistant moving to the back

The article notes that the number of reference transactions jumped as a result of the changes, but overall “aggregate numbers continued to trend downward, though less dramatically”.

A second round of marketing class/library collaboration was undertaken with students developing marketing plans for the library. Ultimately this was considered less useful than the original collaboration as “the suggestions did not fit for the image that we wanted to portray and were not as appropriate for the real world as they seemed on paper”.  Of the suggestions that did fit, one was the adoption of a  standardised visual identifier (which eventually replaced the help button), that was used in a consistent manner across the website, on handouts etc. This identifier – the “AskeAmes” logo was created by a graphic design student.

I’m wondering now if there would be scope for something like this at the university I work at. I’d be very interested to hear if anyone else has undertaken similar collaborations.

Spotted on the M Word – Marketing Libraries blog

* Duke, L. M., & MacDonald, J. B. (2009). Working with campus marketing classes to improve reference service visibility. Marketing Library Services, 23(6). Retrieved from http://www.infotoday.com/mls/nov09/Duke_MacDonald.shtml

In crowded markets, it’s important to position your services and products appropriately. Each of your business stationery – letterhead, envelopes, mailing labels, business cards, invoices, quotations, etc., should have a consistent look.

This is because your brand is essentially your promise to the customer. This tells them what they should expect from your services and products. Your company’s brand is derived from everything you represent: who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.

Are you the experienced, reliable company in your industry? Or the risk-taking, innovating type? Is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option? You can’t be both, and you can’t be all things to all people. Who you are should be based to some extent on who your target customers want and need you to be.

Our design team will work with you through every step of the design process to ensure that your graphics have maximum visual impact, communication, branding and that you are satisfied with the results.

We look after all your printing needs from business cards and other stationery items to postcards, flyers, brochures, presentation folders, as well as posters and banners.

If you want to know how to maximize your branding efforts, give us a call.

http://avenueroadadvertising.com/

What festival is your favorite in Chicago?(poll)

If you’ve ever Googled your name, you know how important managing your reputation online can be. Each day, thousands of individuals are searching online for information about others simply by searching on Google or other leading search engines. With information being so readily available, managing your reputation is more important than ever.

How to Manage Your Reputation Online

Fortunately, managing your reputation online isn’t all that difficult, but it does take work. Here are 7 basic steps you can take to ensure that your reputation doesn’t become negatively impacted by what’s being said about you online.

1. See where you stand. Start your reputation management initiative by Googling your name. Try it with quotes and with out (first and last name together). Look through each of your results on page one and page two of Google. Are there any there are are negative or you wish to remove?

2. Set up a Google alert. Visit Google and set up an alert for your name. After setting up the alert Google will send you and email to confirm that you wish to receive the updates. Accept the alert and each time your name is published to the Web, you’ll know about it.

3. Contact website owners for name removal. If there are sites that include your name and commentary that is less than desirable, contact the appropriate websites requesting that the information be removed. More often than not, website owners will agree to remove your name and/or inappropriate information.

4. Purchase a domain with your name. Add sites and webpages associated with your name and watch negative search results get pushed lower on Google rankings. Visit GoDaddy or another provider of website URLs and hosting, and purchase a domain that contains your name. Even if your name is rather common, experiment with variations until your name can be established in the form of a dot com. Once you own a domain, publish a webpage with your personal profile.

5. Start a blog under your name. Blogger is a great tool for setting up your own blog which can be used to publish information about yourself. Popular blog sites are often picked up by Google and you can control the content. Be sure to sign up for Technorati after your blog has been published. Submit your blog for review and its popularity will increase, improving search rankings and continuing to push down negative search results.

6. Free press release. Use free-press-release.com or a similar free press release site to publish favorable information about your and your reputation. This form of reputation management is easy and costs nothing. Be sure to use your name throughout the release and in the release title.

7. Author articles in your field. Publish article relative to a particular topic or area in which you’ve done some work or have experience. Use article distribution serivces to build online references to your content. Make sure your articles contain an about the author section that links back to your main website.

There are a variety of strategies you can use to manage online references about you, your family, or others that need to manage their reputation online. Other online sites like Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, and Squidoo, offer ample opportunity to deliver favorable search results that can push unfavorable results down in search engine rankings. The key is to start today – proactively manage your reputation and put yourself in a favorable light.

www.RaziCommunications.com

info@razicommunications.com

Razi Communications is an Identity Company offering full-service public relations, advertising, marketing and Internet-based programs. We work with clients to help them discover their strengths and the things that make them unique and then help communicate those strengths into effective marketing campaigns. We bring your story to life in language that inspires and motivates utilizing traditional and new media.

Online paid survey has become a favorite supplementary income source of many work at home individuals. Even many regular office goers who are in need of that extra money participate in paid surveys during their spare times. Paid surveys allow individuals to enjoy flexible work hours. Paid survey respondents can dedicate a few minutes everyday taking paid surveys online and get paid.

Online surveys have made part-time income easier for many housewives and sit-at-home moms who have household chores as well as kids to take care of. With the surveys, they can supplement the home income and also attain some financial freedom. However, many individuals wonder whether the paid surveys are lucrative enough to fetch a steady and decent income. The fact is that though paid surveys can help people earn that extra amount online, they cannot turn one rich overnight. To ensure a consistent income, one needs to stick to this field for a long time and work with multiple survey companies for boosting the income potential.

Since paid surveys allow flexible work timings, people can choose their desired work hours during the day. Also, one need not be highly qualified or possess previous experience to get paid to take online surveys. That is why paid surveys have equally become popular among college goers as well as retired individuals, who utilize their spare times to make some cash online. The increasing popularity of the paid surveys has led to the fast growth of the paid survey industry. Today, there are several paid survey sites online that offer genuine paid survey job opportunities to additional income seekers. New survey companies are springing up every other month to meet with the growing demands of millions of part-time income seekers.

Paid surveys are designed and conducted by reputed market research firms who are hired by major manufacturing companies. The surveys are designed to collect fresh feedback from customers so that they can keep the client companies constantly updated with the prevailing market conditions. The data is finally used by the client companies to bring further improvement in their product and service features.

In order to get an accurate feel of the customers’ preferences and opinions, companies have switched to the online mode of conducting surveys. The market place surveys have somewhat become obsolete as it takes a lot of marketing strategies, time and money. Besides, companies nowadays prefer online surveys to offline surveys as the former can be targeted at a larger consumer population.

People who want to take up paid surveys need to sign up with a legitimate survey company. All genuine survey sites are for free and do not charge any form of membership fees. Individuals need to provide some basic information while signing up. The information so provided is used to create a demographic profile based on which, survey invitations are mailed. Once an invitation is mailed, a survey respondent can complete the survey in few minutes and get paid for it. Through paid surveys, both survey respondents and companies are mutually benefited.

It’s that time of year. I post this every year at this time. One of my absolute favorites! There’s a moral to the story

Okay, the holiday office party has come and gone and now it’s time to return to work. What do you mean you’re too embarrassed to show your face there ever again? Remember  you promised yourself while getting ready that you would only have two cocktails TOPS and you would eat in between?

Yeah, maybe no one will remember.

Thanks Jean for making me Holiday sparkly and fabulous!

I am submitting a proposal for a paper for a conference. (Association of Popular/American Culture)  My topic is about the eating disorder community on Facebook.  There has been research done about media, magazines, advertising, and pro-ana sites.  I think it’s time we look at how healthy Facebook is, whether it encourages recovery or not or whether it encourages an individual to stay stuck in his or her illness.

There are two parts to the survey, only because I only have a basic account and can’t have more than 10 questions on any one survey.  I am asking you to please take a few minutes and answer 20 questions, 19 of which are simple multiple choice questions.

Facebook and Eating Disorders:

Survey One

Survey Two

Although times are tough, some companies are bucking the trend by remaining positive, being innovative, having fun, getting work done—-and are being recognized for it. Shazaaam! Public Relations LLC has been just named by Crain’s Detroit Business as the number one “Cool Place to Work in Tough Times” in the 1 – 50 employees category. It is the second time Shazaaam! has been named a Crain’s “Cool Company.” Crain’s cited Shazaaam! for its open-door communication policy, fun as a requirement in the workplace, and flexible hours.

“I am very proud and honored to accept this award on behalf of my team,” said Adrienne Lenhoff, Shazaaam! founder and president. “We have a great dynamic in the workplace that helps us stay cool during these not-so-cool economic times.”

Crain’s received nominations from employees throughout Metro Detroit and asked company leaders to fill out a survey created by the American Society of Employers on company benefits, practices and policies. Thirty-five winning companies were chosen from the responses by Crain’s as a ‘Cool Place.’ Categories were assigned according to employee sizes and based on point totals.

Shazaaam! and the other 34 cool companies will be honored at an awards ceremony on December 2, 2009 at the Emagine Theater and Lucky Strike in Novi, Mich. Dr. Bob Nelson, author of Keeping Up in a Down Economy, will kick off the event with a seminar, followed by the awards ceremony, and afterglow.

Lenhoff added, “We have been extremely fortunate this year. Just last month we were named one of “Metropolitan Detroit’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” by the Michigan Business and Professional Association. In addition, we’ve expanded our client base significantly this year, especially in social media marketing. We will continue to stay consistent in our work ethic so we can remain a Crain’s Cool Place to Work even when times are not so tough!”

Full day tickets are $99 per person; seminar only tickets are $60 per person; awards and afterglow tickets are $50 per person. Group rates are available. For questions or to register, call (313) 446-0300 or go to www.regonline.com/09coolplaces.

In today’s web world, one thing is clear. Content is still king. Writing the right kind of content and disturbing that content, also known as article marketing, can help you establish yourself as an expert and improve your online marketing results.

Getting started with article marketing is easy to do and can pay huge dividends. Many individuals use article marketing to improve search engine rankings, to inform, or to pitch products and services they sell. Regardless of your purpose, consider using article marketing as a great way to build a loyal following.

The proliferation of information online has brought with it varying degrees of content. Some content is valid, other content is purely fictional. When you write, be sure to provide references, examples, or quote data from other sources. This helps to build credibility and informs your audience that your content can be trusted. For your article marketing to be effective, follow these guidelines:

Research your niche. Before you begin any writing whatsoever, start by finding a niche that is popular and that you feel you can write about. It should be something you enjoy. If you are not interested in a particular area, it will be difficult to enjoy the process of writing articles.

Create a plan. Are you going to write one article per week or one each day? Think about how much time and energy you want to put into your article writing and for what purpose. If you simply want to write and publish your work, you may only want to do a little bit each day. Once you have a complete work, then you would submit to websites or blogs. On the other hand, if you are looking for improved rankings or sales from your article marketing, your publishing schedule may need to be more aggressive.

Write your article. Write and article on your subject that includes the specific keywords you seek to optimize for. Your article should be between four to seven hundred words. It all depends on the intent and purpose of the article. After you write your article make sure you proof it for spelling and grammatical errors.

Submit your article to article directories. This is a great way to get your information published quickly and easily. Register with an article directory like Ezinearticles or GoArticles. By doing so, you will have a place to submit your articles and build an author profile. Webmasters use these article directories to find content for their website. Additionally, article directories give you added exposure in a given topic area.

Article marketing has many benefits. The most important aspect of article marketing, in my opinion is to clearly understand what you want to use it for, building a plan, and consistently creating and distributing content. This is essential for long term success.

www.RaziCommunications.com

info@razicommunications.com

Razi Communications is an Identity Company offering full-service public relations, advertising, marketing and Internet-based programs. We work with clients to help them discover their strengths and the things that make them unique and then help communicate those strengths into effective marketing campaigns. We bring your story to life in language that inspires and motivates utilizing traditional and new media.

More and more signs point to the end of the recession.  All indicators except unemployment are positive and most experts believe that too will improve in 2010.  Finally, good news for all.  Right?

 While we can cheer these events, new storm clouds loom.  A number of surveys point to pent up frustration and anger building within American workers.  Layoffs, pay cuts, furloughs and benefit reductions have taken a toll.  Employee loyalty has been tested and many workers have indicated they will be looking for new employment when the economy recovers.  Employees have become disengaged.

 For employers, this is a good and bad scenario.  For the optimist, this may be a good time to recruit good workers who want a new opportunity.   For others, now is the time to mend fences and work to reengage your workers before you loose them to greener pastures.  For all employers, it is a time to remind your star employees how much you value and want them.

 This economy has been tough on everyone.  Don’t let the recovery inflict more pain.

.|| Random 50 ||.

DarkestStar_Surveys [Do Not Remove Please]

01: What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?:
Nearly drowning in a children’s pool when I was a toddler, I suppose.
02: Do you ever talk to inanimate objects?:
Yes.
03: What swearword do you say the most?:
Shit…mostly.
04: When was the last time you took a bath?:
When I was a toddler. Hahaha, for serious. When I was old enough to bathe myself, it’s been showers, showers and more showers.
05: Do you have moles or freckles on your face?:
Moles!
06: What was the last museum you visited?:
I really don’t know.
07: Do you like to visit historical cities?:
Yes!
08: Are you a hopeless romantic?:
Romance are for losers. Ahaha, no, I’m kidding!! I don’t know if I’m a hopeless romantic. Maybe, maybe not.
09: Do you get embarrassed very easily?:
Not really.
010: Do you have your own mug that you always drink out of?:
No! I once bought a mug for my personal use but then my brother used it and then my mum used it and then yeah, that’s the story. So much for having my ~own~ mug.
011: When was the last time you had a cold?:
A couple of weeks ago, I don’t know.
012: Do you think you do well in job interviews?:
I haven’t been to a job interview.
013: What is the nearest book to you called?:
The Quran. It’s holy.
014: What are you currently craving?:
I don’t know. Nothing, I guess.
015: Do you take any medication?:
No.
016: What is the wallpaper on your phone?:
Rainbow.
017: When was the last time you felt fat?:
A couple of days ago.
018: Would you go out with a guy who was vainer than you?:
Maybe, I don’t know.
019: Do you like naps?:
Absolutely.
020: Do you like zombie movies?:
No.
021: What colour is your bra?:
Neutral coloured.
022: Where do you keep your earrings?:
The nice ones are in a jewellery box. The not so nice ones are all over.
023: On myspace do you give people a lot of picture comments?:
I don’t use myspace anymore.
024: What was the last thing you cooked that was a catastrophe?:
Nothing. I cook fabulously…I think.
025: Do you brush your teeth before you go to bed?:
Yes. Unless I’m too exhausted. As if everyone else really brushes their teeth before bed time.
026: What brand of foundation/powder do you wear?:
L’Oreal, because I’m worth it. Ahahaha!
027: What was the last item of clothing you bought or had bought for you?:
A skirt and a blouse. My aunt bought both for me at the same time.
028: What was the last food you ate that was really healthy?:
Green, leafy vegetables!
029: Have you ever written a screenplay?:
No.
030: What is your favourite facial feature of yours?:
Heh, my lips. Or my eyes. You know what, I love my whole face. Well, not so much for my nose but it’s still ok looking and I can breathe normally and it doesn’t look disfigured or anything so yeah.
031: Are you a good liar?:
I don’t know.
032: Is your new years resolution to lose weight?:
No. My new years resolution is not to do a new years resolution.
033: What is your favourite bracelet?:
I don’t have one.
034: What is your favourite form of exercise?:
Swimming!
035: Are you comfortable in really busy and crowded places?:
Not really, no.
036: How much cash do you have on you?:
A few dollars or so.
037: Would you prefer the lights on or off during sex?:
Ahahaha, who am I doing it with? Either way, I think I’ll have the lights off but I might want some lit candles. Is that over the line? Haha, oops.
038: Would you be offended if someone called you a geek?:
No.
039: Have you ever had your life threatened?:
Does nearly drowning and nearly getting hit by a car count?
040: What was the last thing you got in trouble for?:
Nothing. I am a good girl.
041: Have you ever found condoms in your parents bedroom?:
No comment. *obligatory smile*
042: If you could be a panda or a koala bear for a day, what would you pick?:
KOALA!!! That way, I’d be in Australia for a day! Assuming that I’d be a koala bear in Australia, of course.
043: What is the most common problem you have with your computer?:
It’s pretty slow and sometimes it won’t shut down.
044: Have you ever hit a boyfriend/girlfriend with the intention of hurting them?:
I haven’t hit a boyfriend so I don’t know.
045: Name a person you’ve been meaning to contact, but haven’t?:
No one.
046: Do you look up or at your feet when you walk?:
Mostly up.
047: Do you think you would have survived in the 1500s?:
I don’t think so.
048: If money was no option, would you rather live in a castle in the beautiful countryside or a modern villa near the beach?:
Castle in the beautiful countryside. I’d want many [young] man servants to serve me.
049: Do you have hidden talents?:
No.
050: What do you normally eat for breakfast?:
It depends on my mood.

DarkestStar_Surveys [Do Not Remove Please]

Gone are the days when people had to sit and think of finding suitable part-time jobs for additional income. With paid surveys, people can easily make some quick cash online, that too sitting in the comforts of their homes. The best part is that people can earn a decent and steady income participating in as many paid surveys as possible in a day. Besides, one can also boost his potential income gradually taking paid surveys online. Although, there are millions of people who try their luck taking paid surveys, not all can achieve success in this field. This is because most of them do not take the work seriously. Only a few individuals realize the importance of active participation and they are the ones who come out successful. Following are some of the reasons why paid surveys are important:

Paid surveys have become one of the most effective methods of data collection in recent times – thanks to the Internet that has made it easy and quick! Individuals residing at any corner of the world can access a paid survey website via the Internet and sign up with it to participate. The main objective behind paid surveys is the collection of consumer information, which is a crucial part of modern-day market research. Companies hire market research firms, who in turn design and conduct data collection through paid online surveys. Individuals participating in the surveys are the sources of the required consumer data. In other words, survey takers are required to provide their unbiased feedbacks on a wide range of products and services. The data thus collected is utilized to improve the goods and services so that they meet the consumers’ tastes and expectations.

Participating in these consumer research surveys is the best way to let a company hear one’s voice. Companies leave no stone unturned to customize the quality of the products or services as per the consumers’ preferences.

Paid surveys are perhaps, the simplest online jobs available today. Besides, they are short, precise and can be easily completed within few minutes. What’s more, every survey taker gets paid for his valued contribution to market research. However, not all companies pay in cash; some companies reward the survey takers with gift coupons, sweepstakes, merchandise, etc.

To begin a part-time work at home career with paid surveys, it is important to sign up with a legitimate company or else, one might end up losing considerable time and money.

Being able to locate a genuine company is a different challenge altogether. Out of thousands of paid survey sites, many are scams that trick people by duping them off their hard-earned money. Some scams ask for personal information, like bank and credit card details, which they sell to third-party agencies for a large sum of money. Again there are some sites that display ads offering a few hundred dollars per hour. These sites are most commonly seen in the paid survey field. Getting carried away by these sites to turn rich overnight is the biggest mistake most people make. It must be noted that no genuine survey company guarantees to make a person millionaire. However, there are some paid surveys that can earn a good amount in an hour; only the seasoned survey takers happen to know the whereabouts of these sites. As for the beginners, it is advisable to respond to each survey invitation and participate in them regardless of whatever amount they offer.

Legitimate sites do not charge any kind of membership fee. Nonetheless, some genuine online directories charge a nominal amount. In turn, they allow the registered users to access their lists of legitimate paid survey companies. In such cases, the amount spent is worth as the online directories or banks save a lot of excess search time.

The legitimacy of a survey site can be best checked by verifying the site’s reputation with the consumer forums. One can also join online blogs and forums to find out accurate information on the different aspects of online surveys.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Still recovering

1. Sent out the last batch of surveys

It’s that time of year.  Tradionally, do you wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas or get a head start on it before Turkey Day?  Do you prefer clear lights…

Or multi-colored lights?

I realize that I take a lot of surveys. And I somewhat like doing so. Usually I do it for incentives, but other times I do it under some strange assumption that companies actually care what I think.

I try to always fill out those surveys on the bottom of Target and Home Depot receipts (with the hope that I win $5K in gift cards) or at Old Navy/Gap for 10% off. I also am a part of 3 different survey programs online. One I take surveys for various rewards (that I’ve redeemed for magazine subscriptions), one that I take for airline miles, and one that I take for NBC Universal just because I like them.

Its just odd because it seems like most people do not do any sort of surveys. I figure, why not, it doesn’t take much time and I’ve always been of the belief that someone will win and it might as well be me. (Yet I’ve never won, but I always put my business card in at Chipotle and have won twice lunch for me and 4 of my friends!)

The following question was posed as part of the research module which forms part of my current studies:

Question: You are interested in how on-line environments are used by local and national governments. In particular you want to know whether the internet changes the way(s) the governments have been run.

Here I shall aim to consider the various methods that could be utilised to study this topic and the potential ethical issues surrounding this research question.

Data source & methods

In relation to this subject it would be possible to obtain data from a wide and diverse range of sources. These could include;

- Interviews – These could be undertaken with those working within local and/or national government to obtain first hand accounts of how they feel the internet has (or has not) changed the way they operate.

- Analysis of policy documents and media coverage – There is potential with this question to look at sources of information that have documented how governments have been run differently over a period of time. Examples of this would be to analyse government policy to track the changes and impacts of the internet. Alternatively it would be possible to look at the media portrayals of governments and their use of on-line environments.

- Analysis of on-line environments utilised by governments – As part of answering this research question it would also be important to look at the on-line environments themselves to see how they are being used by governments.

- Surveys – These could be used to collect data from the general public to see if they have seen any changes in how governments operate as a result of the web.

It is interesting to note that a previous study (Hands, 2005) that looked at the impact of the internet on encouraging local citizens to engage with local government employed a similar range of mixed methods. These were a review of policy, local government website analysis and questionnaires to local government employees.

Practical ties

In undertaking research on this subject there would be some practical issues that would need to be considered at the outset of the study. Firstly there maybe limited access to the internal documentation/policy that could be used for analysis. Also in relation to the possibility of interviewing government employees these individuals may not be willing to take part in the research.

The nature of the question is also very open and there are a variety of methods that could be utilised to collect data pertaining to this topic. Therefore to make the study practical and to obtain the ‘best results’ it would be advisable to focus on comparing national and local government within one country, limited to one element of governance.

Ethical issues

There are a number of ethical considerations in relation to researching the question posed. These include those surrounding the research subjects (interviewees, survey respondents and so on) and those surrounding the researcher.

In relation to the research subjects it would be important for them to remain anonymous. Their views regarding how the internet has changed how governments have been run may not be positive. For example if government workers were willing to be interviewed it could have an impact on their future employment.

The researcher would also need to consider the implications of the findings of the study on them and how the study maybe interpreted by the governments under the microscope.

Image c/o DavidErickson licensed under Creative Commons.