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using Adobe Acrobat - Conduct a Survey
The do's and dont's...
how to create a Web Survey
In creating the questionnaire, there are a number of ways you can go. If you're conducting an online survey, HTML, PDF or e-mail are the medias.
Option 1: Use an HTML tool
There are a number of web sites offering tools for conducting "quick and dirty" surveys, invitations, evaluations and so on. In such a tool, you enter your questions, one by one, and each answer(s) repectively.
Option 2: Do-it-yourself in HTML
This is nothing to recommend unless you have a web design/programming unit at your hands. First, you need to create the form in an HTML-tool (Adobe GoLive, DreamWeaver, FrontPage and so on). Then, you need a web server with a scripting language installed, in order to create a server-side script to which the data is sent and validated. Then you need to create a database to which your script can store each captured fill. Finally, you need to create a report function, that is, a script that reads from the database and prints a summary on a web page. If you all of a sudden discover that one question is irrelevant, or that you need to add a question, you need to change the form, the validation script, the database and the report script.
Option 3: Do it in PDF
You'll need Adobe Acrobat for this one: Create your questionnaire in the program of your choice - MS Word, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Fill-In Design, Adobe Form Designer, ANY application at all. Use any colors, fonts and logos you want, and finally convert it to PDF. Using Adobe Acrobat, add fields to your questionnaire (tutorial: How to add fields to a PDF form), in order for your target group to fill out the form in Adobe Reader (which is free). Finally, upload the finished questionnaire at http://www.re-pdf.com and off you go!
re:PDF will provide you with a link to your survey. You can either put the link on a web page, email the link to your target group or (not recommended) email the entire PDF to your target group.
Always test your survey
Once you've created your questionnaire and added the fields, make sure you test it on somebody. Developing a form or survey is an iterative process, usually with many minds and wills involved. A good way of doing this is to tell your test person to "think out loud". Sit by and observe as he/she fills out your questionnaire. Track the user's every moment of hesitation.
If you choose to e-mail the link of the form to your target group, responses will start dropping in immediately. Most participants will respond within 3 days. Having to send out reminders to those who hasn't responded is more of a rule than an exception.
Analyze your Responses
This is usually when you realize it was a mistake to provide allow free text answers to each question. (If you went for option 3 above (re:PDF), you can download the result as en Excel spreadsheet, as XML or view the results in your web browser.)
Analyzing the results is beyond the scope of this article, however there are a number of tools and applications for doing this if you just search the web.
On to the next tutorial: How to create a PDF...