A community survey is a powerful tool to understand the needs, preferences, and opinions of your target audience. But how do you make sure your survey stays relevant and useful in a changing context? Here are some tips to keep your community survey updated and effective.
Before you design or update your survey, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. What are the main questions you want to answer? What are the indicators that will show you if you are meeting your goals? How will you use the data to inform your actions and decisions? Having a clear and specific purpose for your survey will help you focus on the most relevant and meaningful questions and avoid collecting unnecessary or outdated information.
Once you have defined your goals and indicators, you need to review your survey questions and format to make sure they align with them. Are your questions clear, concise, and unbiased? Do they cover all the topics and aspects that you want to explore? Do they avoid leading or confusing the respondents? Are they easy to answer and analyze? You also need to consider the format of your survey, such as the length, layout, design, and type of questions (open-ended, closed-ended, multiple choice, rating scale, etc.). You want to make your survey as user-friendly and engaging as possible, while also ensuring that you collect reliable and valid data.
Before you launch or relaunch your survey, you need to test it with a small sample of your target audience. This will help you identify and fix any problems or gaps in your survey design, such as unclear or ambiguous questions, technical glitches, or low response rates. You can also ask for feedback from your testers on how they found the survey experience, what they liked or disliked, and what they suggest to improve it. Based on the results and feedback from your test, you can refine your survey to make it more effective and relevant.
Once you have collected your survey data, you need to analyze it and use it to inform your actions and decisions. You can use different methods and tools to analyze your data, depending on the type and complexity of your questions and indicators. You can look for patterns, trends, correlations, outliers, or differences among your respondents. You can also compare your data with other sources or benchmarks to see how you are performing or where you need to improve. The most important thing is to use your data to answer your main questions and goals, and to act on the insights and recommendations that emerge from your analysis.
Your survey is not a one-time project, but an ongoing process that requires regular monitoring and updating. You need to keep track of your response rates, data quality, and feedback from your respondents. You also need to keep an eye on the changes in your context, such as new trends, issues, opportunities, or challenges that may affect your target audience or your goals. You may need to adjust or revise your survey questions, format, or indicators to reflect these changes and keep your survey relevant and useful. You should also communicate and share your survey results and actions with your respondents and stakeholders, to show them that you value their input and that you are using it to improve your community organizing efforts.