Monthly Archives: August 2011

How Often Should You Run Employee Satisfaction Surveys?

Employee satisfaction surveys are far more useful when you have multiple baselines of data. Indeed, ideally you will not just look at the number itself, you will also look at the way that number changes over time. Read more…

Why to Avoid Dichotomous Questions

Dichotomous questions (Yes/No) may seem simple, but they suffer from problems both on the part of the survey respondent and in terms of analysis. Yes/No questions often force customers to choose between options that may not be that simple, and may lead to a customer deciding on an option that doesn’t truly encapsulate their feelings. Read more…

3 Possible Explanations for a Blip in Satisfaction Data

There are possible reasons for a blip in your data. If you see such a blip, you shouldn’t let it dishearten you. Instead, you should continue your efforts and explore the blip further to see if there is anything interesting you can learn from the result. Read more…

Career Changes and Job Satisfaction

While it’s not a guarantee of increased satisfaction, it is clear that hiring someone that may be going through a career change can be beneficial for your employee’s long term satisfaction, as there are some benefits that indicate their satisfaction levels may be higher than the average employee. Read more…

When is it Generally Better to Use Median Over Mean?

When it comes to analysis, you are often faced with choosing between many different tools. You have a large dataset filled with information, but if you use different analysis methods, you may get different results. One of the most common errors when it comes to survey research comes from this issue, and interestingly it is one of the most basic types of analysis: Mean vs. Median. Read more…

Introduction to Statistical Thinking

The term “statistical thinking” is a phrase that has never received much of a formal definition, but has clear implications when used. Statistical thinking is, by its very nature, a form of natural skepticism – the willingness to seek out proof before committing to a belief, the openness to accept alternate information and the ability to apply logic and analysis to everything that you do. Read more…

How to Avoid Central Tendency Bias

You should be able to find out if there is a central tendency bias by testing the survey beforehand. It’s important that you discover if this bias exists so that you can take the necessary steps to stop it, because your data is only as useful as it is accurate, and if this bias persists, you are going to collect data that may not represent the respondent’s true feelings. Read more…

Introduction to Central Tendency Bias

Central tendency bias causes your survey responses to blend together in such a way that you lose some of the value of your data. It’s much harder to figure out the actual feelings of your customers when their answers are closer to the center, because the difference between answers becomes much smaller. It’s important that you shorten your survey and look for ways to reduce central tendency bias so that your data is as useful as possible. Read more…

What is an Offensive vs. a Defensive Customer Satisfaction Strategy?

When you are trying to improve satisfaction, there are multiple programs you can try to employ. Some work on training employees better, others improve their products, and so on. You have plenty of possibilities at your disposal, and you do not necessarily have to limit which of these strategies you choose to use. Read more…

How Habituation Can Negatively Affect Your Survey Reponses

Most researchers forget how things like boredom, anger, and other emotions can affect your data collection. When those in your sample are taking a survey, how they feel about your survey can badly affect your ability to receive useful data, and depending on how your survey is created, there may be other issues at play that affect your data collection. Read more…