Web Opinion Research
FAQ

We have designed what we believe is the best free survey service for one reason, so that you will use it -- and so that we can make money from from the fact that are using it for free. How can this happen? We have three potential income streams built into our survey system.

1. We will place small unintrusive adds supplied by Google or Amazon on most survey pages.
2. We will invite respondents to complete a second survey after they have finished the one designed by our Gold client. The results from this second survey will be included in our blogs and other publications.
3. Some of our Gold clients may decide to upgrade to our Platinum product in order to obtain additional research features and professional assistance. In addition, there will not be any ads included on a Platinum questionnaire.

We do not consider our Titanium services to be an upgrade but instead it is an entirely different type of research product altogether. More information about our Titanium services is available here.

There are three reasons why many firms will choose to upgrade to Platinum.

1. Our platinum research product has additional survey features not available with our Gold product:
• Open-Ended and Fill-in-the-Blank: these questions can be hard to write and responses are very often cryptic and difficult to interpret; also care must be taken to ensure that respondents are willing and able to provide the needed information. An example question might be:
  • "What did you enjoy least about your most recent visit to our store?"
• Self-generated multiple-choice response options and multiple-choice questions that permit the respondent to select more than one response. Example questions might be:
  
  • "Which one of our stores do you visit most regularly? _Westside _Central _Eastside"
  • "Which of the following reasons might you give for not recommending our store to a friend? (check all that apply)"
Although we could provide these additional question formats with our Gold product, we believe that the professional assistance included with our Platinum product is actually needed to ensure a quality outcome.
2. Platinum clients will receive professional assistance while using the product. Although they will still do most of the actual work, they will be able to get answers to questions and the assurance that they are moving in the right direction.
3. Your survey may appear more professional as we will not include any ads.

To upgrade, you must be signed-in to your Gold account.

1. Click on the upgrade link at the top of the Client Home Page after signing-in to your account.
2. Complete the additional upgrade information.
3. Pay the Platinum upgrade fee of $2,250. We expect that most business firms will prefer to mail a company check although we will accept wire transfers from firms desiring faster initiation of services. Prior clients with established accounts may use a purchase order.

No, the upgrade is per survey because you are receiving help not only with questionnaire design but also with Fielding the survey and eventually, Data Analysis. Of course, as most research principles will apply across all surveys, what you learn from your first Platinum upgrade might be enough to let you conduct your own Gold surveys in the future.

Many corporate services such as legal, accounting, or research may seem expensive to non-business people. It must be remembered that these services are purchased to make the business better and that the benefits to the business justify the cost. Web Opinion Research fees are about average for professional business services and are not intended to be consumer products. Our Platinum product provides an opportunity for small businesses to obtain professional services at a greatly reduced cost by sharing the workload. Our Pro-Bono product is one way that Web Opinion Research is attempting to give back to the community by helping nonprofit organizations better serve their constituents.

More information about our Pro-Bono projects is available here.

Business research is not an impulse-driven consumer good. It is intended for thoughtful companies seeking actionable results. Yes, some small business owners might use a credit card for routine operating purchases such as office supplies; research services require careful thought and evaluation prior to purchase. We will accept wire transfers from firms desiring faster initiation of services.

Usually, yes. Our Platinum clients are expected to do most of the actual work and to have studied the lessons provided by the Web Opinion University. Your research consultant will provide guidance and suggestions as needed. Additional professional time can be made available if desired. Our Titanium services are intended for clients who do not wish to do their own survey research or who feel that they might not be qualified to do so.

Perhaps, but this cannot be guaranteed. Dr. Schaffer does work personally on all Titanium and Pro-Bono projects. In all cases, your research consultant will be fully qualified.

Quite frankly, Dr. Schaffer spent most of his professional life working on business research projects; he is now retired and actively involved in many aspects of his local community. It is his desire to further the contributions of local nonprofit organizations that drives his participation in these Pro-Bono projects. Dr. Schaffer is also willing from time-to-time to participate in those Titanium projects that have unique characteristics that he finds interesting and/or challenging.

Scale creation is part art and part science. All scales need to be tested for validity prior to use. You can trust that our pre-made scales are valid; that is, they measure what you think they are measuring. Our Platinum product does allow you to create your own multiple-choice response items because professional help will be available.

Yes, it's your survey but our research platform. The most important thing that makes Web Opinion Research different from other online research services is that we try do things right; you can trust our scales and methods to produce actionable results when used appropriately.

Is there is a scale you really think we need to add? Please tell us about it; we may be able to test it for inclusion in a future version of the Web Opinion Research website. Describe Your Scale

Fill-in-the-blank and open-ended questions are often very hard to word correctly and the responses are even more difficult to interpret. Also, respondents do not like these questions and rarely provide complete responses. We do provide the opportunity to add a few fill-in-the-blank or open-ended questions with our Platinum research product because professional assistance is available.

Semantic Differential scales require considerable judgement to construct and statistical knowledge to interpret the results. They are not appropriate for our self-administered research products but can be included in a survey produced with our Titanium research services.

To some extent we are trying to protect our resources that are being provided for free. More importantly, we are trying to protect you. The single greatest reason given by respondents for why they do not complete surveys is that they just ran out of patience; eventually, just-one-more-question became the straw the broke the camel's back and they close the browser window. You will usually get better results from two separate short surveys (spaced a few weeks apart) than from one long survey.