The Survey System 7.0: a tool for novices, experts - computer software evaluation - Software Review - Evaluation

HR Magazine, Sept, 1999 by Joe Dysart

HR departments daunted by the prospect of taking on even the simplest of surveys likely will find a friend in The Survey System 7.0. Designed to be accessible to the beginning surveyor, the core package can be accessorized easily with a number of add-on modules that should please even the most sophisticated opinion analysts.

With the core package, users get a complete survey creation, solicitation and analysis system couched in familiar Windows-style logic and conventions.

If you are comfortable with drop-down menus, help wizards and similar tools that are well established in Windows, you will feel right at home here.

What It Does

The software, from Creative Research Systems of Petaluma, Calif., helps users create and analyze surveys distributed and answered on paper, via e-mail or over the phone. While the core package is designed to accommodate those users brand new to surveying, its analysis prowess also is formidable.

For example, besides having the ability to create survey tables, graphics and charts for data analysis, the software also can point out standard deviations, standard errors and medians and in addition can extract samples from the general survey population.

The software effectively leverages banners, which enable users to combine and compare different kinds of demographics, side-by-side. An HR manager might want to use a banner, for example, to compare and contrast how employee attitudes differ by department. And banners could be used to compare answers to related questions on a department-by-department basis.

Equally versatile are the software's data visualization capabilities, which offer 26 choices for chart presentations in two and three dimensions. With 3-D charts, even the viewing angles and light sources are customizable - a nice touch.

In addition to generating traditional telephone surveys, The Survey System is Internet-ready. Questionnaires can be converted automatically for e-mail delivery and can include optional opening and/or closing messaging. The program handles the entire process, sending the questionnaires to a list of e-mail addresses, checking for replies and placing responses in its standard data file format on the PC's hard disk.

Sophisticated users can add up to eight additional modules to the core program. Among the most interesting additions is the enhanced tables module, which enables the software to process up to 500 answer choices per question.

HR managers interested in further automating data-gathering will want to consider the interviewing module. The module enables users to customize their surveys by adding skip patterns, which are used when a survey needs to steer respondents away from some questions based on their answers to others.

The interviewing module also offers the ability to put questions in random order and other variables that help control the flow and logic of an interview. Its network capability enables multiple interviewers to work with the same data file.

HR managers especially concerned with fine-tuning the software's survey demographic should look into the sample management module. With this addition, users can place limits on how many people of certain kinds are called. Designed primarily for a multi-user environment, the module also can dial phone numbers using a modem and keep track of each call attempt.

What's New

While this latest version of the software does not include any earth-shattering advances, there are a number of improvements that do add up to a substantial revision. I especially like the "Make It Fit" function, which automatically reduces font sizes so that a data table can fit on a single page without wrapping.

Version 7.0 also enables users to save charts in JPEG format, a significant advance for anyone who uses the Internet regularly.

JPEG files are much smaller than many other graphics files, allowing for easier posting and accessibility on a web site, for example, as well as for quicker transmission via e-mail as an attachment. (Anyone who has been forced to endure the interminable wait for a bloated graphics file to upload to the Internet can relate to the desirability of faster posting.)

Users who analyze their surveys for evidence of word frequency will also appreciate the software's minimum frequency filter, which enables a user to specify the minimum number of times a word must appear before those occurrences show up in a statistical report.

The software also has a filter that enables a user to specify the minimum number of characters a word must have to appear on the report.

Other new features that experienced users of the software will like include the ability to change the font, size and color of table labels. Users can choose an option to expand data files, enabling them to specify a different number of data columns and verbatim columns. And with version 7.0, users can now export data files in tab delimited format, making the software easier to use with other programs.

What To Watch For

Unless the user is an experienced surveyor and knows precisely what his or her needs are, the best bet is to give the program a test drive with the $49 evaluation unit. Chances are that even the most sophisticated user may not have use for one or more modules.