Conduct Meaningful Opinion Surveys

Submitted by limalan88

Mon, 27 Jul 2009

The reason why organisations opt for the method of opinion surveys is to gauge the reactions of the relevant market that will be impacted. The purpose is two-fold, for one it makes the consumer market aware of a change that may come about and makes them ready to choose an alternative in case the change has to be made. For example, there may be a decision to force income earners to pay towards a national fund to take care of war veterans. This is likely to receive mixed reactions that will come out in the opinion survey and also make the participants aware that such a step is under consideration.

Qualifying for surveys

Clearly, if the company is paying you to fill a survey form, it will require that you meet the required respondent profile. When you fill in your details, avoid trying to match the expectations since your data will be checked against a database before the payment is made to you. If the survey is checking for senior citizens responses to policy decisions, an effort by a younger person to pass off as somebody in the category of senior citizens can be easily found out on the basis of the information provided. Earn through opinion surveys by entering those for which you qualify.

Providing feedback

Some surveys use a mix of open and close ended alongside multi-choice questions. There is a possibility that you receive a call to clarify your stand on a certain point. This may happen because some questions seem ambiguous and therefore open to multiple interpretations. The method chosen for the survey may involve a telephonic conversation with the respondent. Whatever the route, it is useful to provide honest feedback in opinion surveys. Avoiding honesty since it makes it possible to track you down defeats the purpose of taking the survey altogether. If you are not up to date with a particular situation, educate yourself and take a stand.

Be serious

Earning through opinion surveys is a serious job and must be viewed in that manner. If you are repeatedly found to provide vague or contradictory answers, you will find it difficult to continue in this area. Agencies will try to estimate the number of real respondents and weed out the ones who are trying to earn without providing useful information. Analysis of your answers will reveal any casualness in your effort to fill the form. The section that allows free flow answers reveals the extent of your knowledge and information of the subject for which you are providing your views.

Earning potential

Is it possible to run a family on the earnings you make through opinion surveys? This depends on your speed in answering surveys and also you qualifying for the surveys that appear in the course of a time period. The amount of earning per survey varies. It is better to gauge the earning potential through this activity by undertaking it for a few months as a source of supplementary income. This will help you make a realistic assessment before you take the move.