*new* Annual Skydiving Survey (your help is requested!)
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BDashe 0
Just kinda a random thought, throwing it out there:
#AAD fires
RSL/Skyhooks that functioned correctly
just like to see that the safety equipment is workin!
Clear skies
#AAD fires
RSL/Skyhooks that functioned correctly
just like to see that the safety equipment is workin!
Clear skies
So there I was...
Making friends and playing nice since 1983
Making friends and playing nice since 1983
Eule 0
QuoteIt will be administered online using a custom web application.
All of the smarts should be on the server sides. In other words, it must work with everything - Firefox, Safari, Lynx - legacy browsers too.
99% of the fields should be optional. You may want to have a page that comes up that says "hey, you didn't fill in fields X, Y, and Z; you don't _have_ to fill those in but if you wanted to, now's the time." People can then either fill those in or just go on to the next page.
QuoteWhat would be your privacy concerns about participating in this survey.
If it asks for an email address, I just assume I'm going to get spammed. You'll be amazed at how many jumpers have the email address uce@ftc.gov , I think. :) If the URL ends in "exe", "asp", or "aspx", I _know_ the data is not secure. If it ends in "cgi" or "php", it's _probably_ not secure. Other URLs are on a case-by-case basis.
QuoteCurrency/Incurrency
Age/Years in sport
This is kind of hard to capture, but you might try to see if people have had layoffs of over a certain duration or not. It seems to be somewhat common that somebody gets started jumping, then stops for a while due to spouse/kids/money/whatever, then starts up again. Or, they are a static line military jumper, get out of the military, and don't take up sport skydiving until a few years later.
Along those lines, you might ask if people have had military, sport, or both kinds of training.
QuoteLicenses
Need to include "organization" as well. You might consider having more than one; for instance it's apparently fairly common for Canadian jumpers to have both CSPA and USPA licenses.
QuoteSafety devices, what should be required?
As you can see, you hit a nerve with this one and you haven't even started the survey yet. IMHO, leave this one off the survey if you don't want to throw off the rest of the answers.
QuoteSuggestions for how to best accomidate various regions would be great.
Some things are simple; asking for a postal code and only accepting 00000-99999 is one of the more obvious silly moves. For the less-obvious things, you might look at the sites of the various national skydiving organizations; I know USPA asks a couple of survey questions on their renewal application and other organizations might have online renewal applications with their survey questions. Also, the "how to get started" material usually found on such sites might clue you in to differences in basic training.
QuoteThe neat thing about this being it's own application; is that the questions asked can be based off of answers to previous questions, [....]
You might include a counter at the bottom of each page: "about 10 questions left to go" or whatever. This goes along with the feedback you've been getting that 30 minutes is too long for people to spend on the survey.
I also like the idea of letting people do a little at a time, but then you need some kind of login/password which will inevitably confuse some users.
Unless you have a paper version of the survey, you're also going to get some selection bias. Ferinstance, this is what USPA published in their 2005 membership survey for members' ages:
Quote0-29 19%
30-39 30%
40-49 26%
50-59 16%
60+ - 6%
Not reported - 4%
From that, I'd say that you're only _guaranteed_ that about 19% of the population (0-29) has the ability to fill out a Web-based survey. The chances are fairly good that an additional 30% (30-39) and maybe another 13% (half of 40-49) can do it. Over that your chances are low. Now, I know that everyone will quickly object to this and say that their 89-year-old grandma has a MySpace site and a webcam. But I think it's true, in general, that the older jumpers might not be up to speed on the Intarweb yet.
A related but lesser effect is that some people will happliy fill out a paper survey (and stick it in a Business Reply Mail envelope or SASE or equal) but will clam up if asked to type things into a computer - even if they know how to run a computer already. The paper is less threatening, because it is going to be read by a human, but they _know_ that whatever they type into the computer is going to instantly be transmitted to the FBI, the USPA, the FAA, the police, the health department, and the dog catcher.
The head-shrinker types have done a good bit of research into "how to do a survey"; some time in the library might be beneficial.
I hope this helps!
Eule
(edit: speeling misteak)
PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.
QuoteBWAHAHAHAHA. You could never find 30 minutes free... With 7000 some posts. What a fucking joke.
but the multiple log in's idea is cool.
I've been on this site for a long time, young one. I, also, at one point was unemployed and not going to school full-time and could spend time on the boards. Do not make assumptions about what you have no knowledge of.
Now...back on track...
Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.
Mr17Hz 1
I want to thank everyone for the responses I've received so far, both posts on the forums and private messages. I've heard a lot of good ideas that I plan to put to use. I'll spend some time later this week sumarizing them.
-Matt
-Matt
Matt Christenson
mattchristenson@realskydiving.com
http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.
mattchristenson@realskydiving.com
http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.
I'm sure you could even make enough selling the information you gather if it's collated and presented in a thorough, logical fashion....to at least cover the costs.
You asked for some thoughts:
30-90 minutes is way to long to ask someone to give their undivided attention. The longer it takes to do the survey, the 'less' accurate the responses are.
( there are studies that bear this out )
People tend to 'rush' along to get it done...for that reason the most accurate type of survey is often one aimed at the 'lowest' common denominator of your 'test' group. I'm not saying dumb it down, but rather design it to be easy and fast to take.
I'm guessing you're a IT guy, so designing a some what interactive survey shouldn't be a big problem.
I would start with a 'general' identifier page of questions to get the basic demographic and segment of the sport 'that' person has the most interest and knowledge in.
You don't want to even 'offer' questions like 'Tandem RSL placement' to a person with 25 jumps...so the initial responses would automatically redirect an individual to a branch of the survey that is more in their realm of personal experience.
...If you're a 'PRO Rated' 'Master Rigger' with a 'Coach Rating', you would be answering questions from "section C, G, T & Z" of the overall survey package. If you are an "A" license holder that makes 40 jumps a year you would be directed to "section E, J & M" ....if you see what I'm getting at.
That would make for an easier and fast to take survey and the information would almost collate itself for you.
Surveys need to to as simply worded as possible so there is less of a chance of the subject misinterpreting the question. You should also 'supply' a series of answers to choose from...if you ask the subject to 'fill in the blank', their answers are now more subject to misinterpretation by you.
Accuracy is the goal.
I would keep the outline of the survey clean and simple, 20 questions per specific topic, one topic to a page...again you won't 'overwhelm' the subject as you might if they were to view say 500 questions that need to be gone through.
The actual 'branches' that go out from the initial identifier page could be nearly infinite...
Say for example the subject checks the box saying they plan to buy a new rig this year.
That answer eventually takes them to the section that queries 'what' it is they are looking for in a system and 'why'. What is the main concern in their choice...price, availability, peer usage, delivery time, looks,...etc.
You have a great idea here, and again a very useful tool if done right. You have some time before you want to get the 'real' survey started...why not make up a quick 'survey of a survey' program to get the information you're looking for with this post.
You know...what questions do you think a survey of the sport should address...A, B,C or D.
As to the 'actual survey itself...It's gotta be a balancing act. Work to get the most usable and accurate info from the largest segment possible.
~100 carefully filled out and concise surveys that take 90 minutes to fill out aren't as useful as 50,000 more generally worded ones that take 3 minutes to finish... Neither of those is what you are after but instead something more in the middle.
I can literally think of HUNDREDS of questions to ask on your survey, but you need to narrow the scope some to an individual subjects 'most and highest' areas of interest and experience...information of type, that would be MOST useful for the overall industry.
What 'kind' of skydiver are you?
What area of the world do you make 90% of your jumps?
Belly or freeflier?
Swooper or 'fun' accuracy jumper?
Current or past Instructor?
Type of gear?
How often do you replace / change gear.
Type of dropzone?
Most preferable aircraft type?
On and on...again, it's a balance...what will give you the most accurate answers from the most people...something relativity quick and easy to not only take but also analyze.
Any help...or did I just put more static into your idea?
~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~
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