Surveys and Interviews

Survey: a series of predetermined questions given to users of or participants in a system.

Purpose/ Advantage:

• When responses are multiple choice or ranked numerically on strength of feeling the results can be collated in a database or spreadsheet and the trends observed.
• Open questions provide an opportunity for users to respond freely and can reveal unanticipated needs.

Anonymous/Identifiable:

• Responders to a survey can be anonymous; anonymity could generate honest responses or conversely, dishonest or non-serious responses

Closed questions: a question with a suggested limited number of responses which should be selected by the responder

Advantages:

• trends can be can observed
• anonymity
• 
  

Disadvantages:

• does little to encourage the responder to open up
• not many people volunteer to complete surveys, often some sort of incentives are given to encourage responders

Open question: questions that do not suggest an answer and requires the responder to provide the answer

Advantages:

• answers are of the responder's personal opinion and is not limited

Disadvantages:

• trends cannot be easily observed
• accurate analysis cannot easily be made to find a relation between numerous surveys

Interview: discuss formally with (somebody) for the purpose of evaluation

Purpose/Advantage:

• open questions are normally employed, therefore they can probe more deeply than a survey
• may suggest surprising new directions

Focus groups: a group activity where you gather users or participants with similar interests in the system; brings together a no. of people for a group discussion or interview were all can contribute their ideas.