1. Conducting Market Research Surveys
Engineering Design and Development
© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

2. When Should I use a Survey?
Surveys – Market Research
When Should I use a Survey?
To justify a problem
To gather end user feedback as you prepare to develop a solution.
To validate choices or results
Some examples of what students might need to know include:
How much do others care about the problem?
What characteristics and features are most important about the solution?
What would people pay for a solution?
Is the assumed target market correct, smaller, bigger, etc.?
Is the problem broader or narrower according to buyers and/or users?
Survey Monkey

3. What Makes a Survey Valid and Useful
Surveys – Market Research
What Makes a Survey Valid and Useful
Carefully select respondents
Ideally 200 to 300 respondents
Choose impartial respondents
Emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers
Provide plenty of time to respond
Have a plan to analyze the data collected.
Handing out 20 surveys in the class before this one is not a valid survey!
iStockphoto.com
Carefully select the respondents to whom you will administer the survey or interview. Depending on the problem that you intend to solve, you may want a random sample of the population, or perhaps you need to focus on senior citizens, dog owners, or motorcycle owners.
The more data you can gather from your potential customers, the better informed you will be concerning the potential success of your project. Try to collect two to three hundred responses. Remember that you will have to distribute many more surveys than you expect to receive back. But, even if only 20 to 30 surveys are returned, even this small number of responses can provide valuable information if the respondents are objective and representative of your target market.
Avoid soliciting feedback from people whom you personally know and who may find it difficult to be objective if they know you are the inventor. You want to obtain truthful information that will help you make informed decisions. You don’t need a support group that can skew your results and potentially lead you down an expensive, and time consuming path in pursuit of the unjustified development of an unsuccessful product.
Be sure the respondents understand that you simply want help identifying weaknesses in your idea or improving your potential solutions. There are no right or wrong answers.
Don’t rush the respondents – give them plenty of time to answer fully and truthfully. Don’t answer for them.

4. What Makes a Survey Valid and Useful
Surveys – Market Research
What Makes a Survey Valid and Useful
Keep it simple
Brief and clear
Only one issue per question
Use check boxes, numeric scales, yes/no
Follow up with “why”
Phrase to produce variability in responses.
Use multiple choice when possible
Limit narrative answers
Carefully phrase questions without bias
Don’t use “not”
Order questions logically
General to specific
Use easy to read format
Wide margins
Double or triple space
iStockphoto.com
Keep the survey simple and as short as possible. Some people hate to write and may decide not to respond if they are required to write long responses.
Your questions should be short and unambiguous. Use a casual conversational style that almost anyone can understand.
Ask about only one issue per question. For complicated issues, separate into more digestible components and write individual questions for the smaller components.
When possible, use tools designed to elicit responses quickly and easily such as check boxes and numeric scales. Where appropriate, follow up with “why” in order to obtain more useful information.
If a question will elicit the same response from almost everyone you question, don’t ask it. It won’t help you. For example, If you ask the question, “Are you for a balanced budget?”, there would be very little variability in the responses.
If applicable, provide likely answers in a list for respondents to circle rather than write out, but provide an “other” choice for which the respondent can include an unusual answer.
Save narrative answers for questions that will elicit individually unique answers.
Be sure to carefully phrase questions so that they do not lead the respondent to a particular answer.
Don’t use “not” because it may result in a double negative response and confuse the intended answer. For example, “Would you not purchase a computer online?” might result in the response, “No. I would not not purchase a computer online.” The intent of the response seems to be that the respondent WOULD purchase a computer online – however, it is difficult to determine if that is the intended meaning.

5. How do you currently solve the problem of ___________
Surveys – Market Research
Example Questions
Demographics
How do you currently solve the problem of ___________
What do you like about the solution?
What do you dislike about the solution?
What features are most important? Why?
How much do you pay for the solution?
If a new product existed to solve the problem in a better way, would you try it?
How much would you be willing to pay for it?
How many times a year would you expect to buy it?
Keep the survey simple and as short as possible. Some people hate to write and may decide not to respond if they are required to write long responses.
Your questions should be short and unambiguous. Use a casual conversational style that almost anyone can understand.
Ask about only one issue per question. For complicated issues, separate into more digestible components and write individual questions for the smaller components.
When possible, use tools designed to elicit responses quickly and easily such as check boxes and numeric scales. Where appropriate, follow up with “why” in order to obtain more useful information.
If a question will elicit the same response from almost everyone you question, don’t ask it. It won’t help you. For example, If you ask the question, “Are you for a balanced budget?”, there would be very little variability in the responses.
If applicable, provide likely answers in a list for respondents to circle rather than write out, but provide an “other” choice for which the respondent can include an unusual answer.
Save narrative answers for questions that will elicit individually unique answers.
Be sure to carefully phrase questions so that they do not lead the respondent to a particular answer.
Don’t use “not” because it may result in a double negative response and confuse the intended answer. For example, “Would you not purchase a computer online?” might result in the response, “No. I would not not purchase a computer online.” The intent of the response seems to be that the respondent WOULD purchase a computer online – however, it is difficult to determine if that is the intended meaning.

6. Image Resources Microsoft, Inc. (n. d. ). Clip art
Image Resources Microsoft, Inc. (n.d.). Clip art. Retrieved from iStockphoto. Retrieved from Xerox Corporation. (2010). Chester Carlson and Xerography from