Liftology 22: The role of surveys

Why would we want to use surveys to assess our learners? Don’t we want them to practice? Yes, surveys are, arguably, just another form of multiple choice question, and we have those. So when would we want to use surveys?

Surveys are really data collection tools, so the short answer to the question of when to use is: when you want feedback. That’s not the answer to a mini-scenario, but instead feedback about what’s going on, or how it’s going. The short answer is that it’s selecting from some alternatives.

Which implies that an important part of a survey is considering what the answers likely will be, and making those options available. For instance, if you want them to provide feedback on an event, you can ask things like: 

• met or exceeded expectations

• had some minor flaws but would do again

• had some minor flaws and would not recommend

• had major flaws and would actively discourage attendance 

If you just want a rating, you can use a likert scale or equivalent, but if you want categorical feedback and know the differences, you should use a survey. If you don’t have clear categories, and want to provide the opportunity for open-ended feedback, you should probably use an open text field. Surveys are for closed responses. 

You can also ask about how the learner’s progress is going, about the LIFT experience, etc, but the important point is to ensure that all the options are available, they’re written concisely but clearly, and there aren’t too many. Recognize that many orgs have a ‘drive by’ survey policy that basically anyone can do a survey at any point, so you want to avoid survey fatigue. However, as part of a learning journey, that’s a pretty small query, so long as you don’t overdo. So, surveys when you want clear categorical feedback. Clear enough?