Unleash Your Potential - Namagunga Girls Coding Club
Is our two way communication a one way street? Informal Surveys & Polls in Libraries
1. Is our two way communication
a one way street?
Gillian Byrne & Louise McGillis
Memorial University of Newfoundland Libraries
2. Informal Surveys & Polls
Benefits
Easy to create/disseminate
Often high return rate
Targeted feedback
Provides operational feedback
Disadvantages
Unscientific results
Can be difficult to interpret results
Uncontrolled access
Easy to compose badly!
3. Choosing A Software
Think about...
Price
Software / hardware requirements
Ease of use
Features
4. Web-based (hosted) Survey Software
Requires no hardware / software to run
Often extremely easy to use
Many free options available
Little control over the look & feel
No control over the data
No control over the server speed
Limited features
Examples:
SurveyMonkey
QuestionPro
WebSurveyor
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9. Install (product) Survey Software
Control over look & feel
Control over the data
Often have more features
Range from open source to very $$
Hardware requirements
Software requirements
Expertise needed to install
Need to store / backup data
Examples:
VT Survey (Open Source)
Perseus SurveySolutions
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13. Memorial Quick Poll Experience
Wanted focused feedback from patrons on
a wide variety of aspects
Created the “Quick Poll” - an ongoing series
of basic online polls for the MUN community
No more than 2 questions (besides basic
demographic questions)
Linked of the Library news
Live for 2 weeks at a time
Quick polls always end with a comment box
Results tabulated & disseminated internally
on staff website
17. Thus far...
Topics covered
Physical space
Study/ Research habits
RSS feeds
Reasons for visiting
Response Rate
Ranging from 237 (study space poll) to 62 (RSS
feeds poll)
Average response rate ~100
Comments
Great comments response rate, both related
&unrelated to the poll topic
18. Sample Comments
Either get blinds/curtains for the 5th/4th floor
carrels by the windows, or set up a larger
carrel section that is away from the windows,
though I'm not sure where that would be, as
the two or three near the silent area are not
many and its usually fairly noisy with people
talking on the cushioned seat area. Thanks for
listening
(Space Survey)
provide a map indicating study areas and
their level of privacy. (Space Survey)
19. Sample Comments
The off campus login feature is great. It really is a time
saver. Instead of having to go to the library, I can do
a lot of work from home, and know exactly what I
need to get when I get to the library. (Why are you
here? Survey)
I use the online system majority of the time. had
looking for the physical book and it is more expensive
to photocopy than print. I also use a lot of resources
in formatting my report/assignment. (Research Habits
Survey)
20. Difficulties Encountered
Not enough data for branches to work
with
Contradictory data
Multiple responses
Hastily designed questions
Difficulty in creating / tabulating surveys
Acting on results!!
21. Tips for Success
Have a clear idea of what you’re asking
and why you want to know
Keep polls simple and brief
Take the time to design questions well
Have a plan for disseminating and acting
on results
Make poll results and the actions that
happened public
Try not to ask questions about things you
cannot (or will not) act on