New survey tool
Our new survey tool SHOUT went live this year and the time is right to share some of our learnings. In the short time that we have been offering SHOUT, we have learnt a great deal about how to maximise the responses from young people. Creating SHOUT surveys is not just a matter of asking questions. Many different factors add up to making SHOUT a success.
Ten top tips
1. Reassure respondents about privacy regulations and that their data is secure.
As a fundamental part of SHOUT surveys, we ensure that there is as much information around GDPR and data security as possible. Each survey begins with a ‘5 steps to being in charge of your information’. This not only links to our Mind Of My Own data policy, it gives young people a “Yes\No” choice to continue.
Dealing with sensitive information requires a bond of trust, something we strive to uphold.
2. Explain to young people why they’re doing the survey.
Context is an asset. The more young people know about what they are answering questions on and the reasons behind the survey, the more likely to be open with their answers, and willing to participate.
3. Show the young people that their voices have been listened to.
Evidence the work that has been done. There’s nothing more effective than showing clear evidence to young people that they’ve been listened to. If the survey has been created with a problem to solve, let the young people know that you have heard their views and are working towards a solution.
4. Consider offering an incentive.
Getting surveys completed can be a challenge, especially when SHOUT is an optional tool rather than something mandatory. We suggest that if you have difficulties in uptake, work with some young people to put together comms to motivate others to complete it.
5. Remember that you have 3 surveys
When you purchase SHOUT, you buy three surveys over a twelve month period. These surveys can be used in any way that you see fit. They can be deployed sequentially or simultaneously. If you plan to use your surveys one after another, find a way to link the surveys together! If your first survey too long or over complicated, consider breaking it into two parts.
6. Changes are possible when your survey is live.
If you realise that a part of your survey can be changed to improve your responses, let us know. We have the ability to change elements of the survey even when the survey is live, without it impacting the end results. This means that if you realise that something needs changing, or a small adjustment might improve the quality of results, we can change it as soon as we know.
7. Simplicity is key.
A simpler survey makes participation from your young people more likely. Additionally, a simpler survey creates a clearer set of results for your organisation. An overly complicated survey is detrimental to all players! Simplicity is key.
8. Your demographic questions will be put at the end of the survey.
In our experience, putting demographic and other sensitive questions at the end improves response rates. It not only allows respondents to get straight to the important questions, it avoids young people second guessing whether or not the survey is anonymous.
9. Avoid leading and biased questions.
This is vital in all surveys, but especially those dealing with topics such as sexual peer-on-peer abuse, RSHE or domestic abuse. To get clear and accurate results, all questions and answers need to be neutral and direct. In previous surveys we have decided to remove specific uses of images in the answer fields precisely because of this.
10. Pages of long explanatory text before the questions at the beginning tend to turn respondents away.
Minimise preamble. It’s important to consider the experience of the people filling out the survey. If young people are promised a short survey, but are then greeted with pages of text, it’s unsurprising that they don’t make it to the end! We will work with you to make the starting pages of the survey as concise as possible.
To find out more about SHOUT, contact us at hello@mindofmyown.org.uk
