[FAQ] Surveys [101]

Posted May 20, 2020 11:49 PM

According to Google, this is the default definition:
"(of a person or their eyes) look carefully and thoroughly at (someone or something), especially so as to appraise them." - (Source: Google)

Although this is true and applicable to the definition we know it as, the term we're actually wanting to defy is a "Market Research Survey"

Here are some jargoned words in the world of surveys:
CPA = Cost Per Action
PPD = Pay Per Download
EPC = Earning Per Click
CR = Completion Rate
Leads = Amount of offers completed
Clicks = Amount of clicks on an offer, or survey
Threshold = Required amount of earnings before a payout
Payout = Payment via affiliated network

"Market research surveys are the stock in trade for gathering any sort of market information. The aim is to gather information from a small sample of a market in order to be able to predict what the whole market wants."

There are 3 sides of perspective when it comes to Surveys (both paid and free). There's the business that seeks information, there's the consumer who partakes in a survey, and lastly the researcher.

I personally believe that if you read this thread and understand what happens behind the scenes, you can:

1. Partake in better surveys that pay more or give you more incentive (consumer perspective)
2. You can actually do research yourself or have research done as a business owner and have MUCH better results (business owner)
3. An example I’ll use that also fits the 3rd perspective (researcher) is me making this thread. I personally "surveyed" the sections on HF and looked to see what sections didn’t have a sticky’d thread already.
At the same time, the survey section was one of many but people could have MUCH more insight than they already do when it comes to surveys so I picked this section. I did my due diligence and looked at sections, activity, and what was missing. We overlook this skill, we learned it in elementary school (the scientific method). If you understand which questions needs to be asked, and when/where to ask them, you can effectively obtain information that's valuable.

Face to Face Interview - A face-to-face (F2F) interview is like the name suggests, an interview done face to face. The advantages to this are more in-depth questions/answers which lead to more precise information. The disadvantage being the cost, generally the research team/party who conducts this compensate people for their time and over time, this can be costly.
Web Survey - This form of survey is most known to HF. These are generally paid surveys in which an individual online fills out in return for some sort of compensation. Maybe you've taken a survey before after speaking to a rep or ordering something. You may have even written a review on Google or an App. The advantages to this is that there's fast data processes. The downside is very minimal, there needs to be data management to process the forms but hey, we're HF members are we not?
Email Survey - This is becoming an outdated form of obtaining surveyed information. Email surveys generally costs the opposing party little to nothing but the conversion rate is very low as not many people respond to surveyed emails.
Mail Surveys - I'm surprised this is still a thing. Mailed surveys are surveys that are physically mailed to you. There is a moderate expense when mass sent, but the advantage to this is anonymity when sent back. The downside is the turnover time on a filled survey. With digitalization, mail surveys are a thing of the past.
Written Questionnaire - This is one of the cheaper options, generally there's a very short/simple written portion with responses that are circled or checked, this involves very little effort from the person doing the survey. The downside is minimal data is given but sometimes simplicity is all that's needed.
Telephone Survey - This is a survey that's done via telephone calls and at times can be connected to telemarketing. This is a moderate investment as it's not super cheap or expensive hiring an employee to make calls. The only downside would be the lack of observations that could be recorded when giving the survey.

There are limitations when it comes to surveys. There are (nearly infinite) real world factors that can change the effectiveness of a conducted survey. A researcher could ask an individual a question that could be asked in 2 different ways/different tones/etc and have a completely different result. It’s also wise to note that a consumer may not answer truthfully due to being pressured or other things (wanting to rush the survey, etc). In a researcher’s perspective, it’s best to conduct a survey and use the returned data with slight caution.

Here is a list of the top 10 Survey providers. Click on their logo and you'll be redirected to their site. I am in no way affiliated with any of these sites.

Swagbucks
Toluna
Vivatic
MySurvey
OnePoll
Survey Bods
YouGov
Ipos i-Say
Valued Opinions
PopulusLive

There are a lot of survey companies that pay you for a wide range of things. From pharmaceuticals to food tasting companies. Generally, you fill out a profile you that lets the survey taking know your demographic (ex: age, height, race, salary, occupation, etc). Once that's done, you're notified of potential surveys you can partake in (offline and online). Offline/IRL surveys generally pay WAY more than online surveys.

Am I leaving anything out? If so feel free to post below or PM me and I will build upon this thread. Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this.
- Thread design by Novica & .Saint - big thanks to them -

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