Conducting a survey is a great way to collect feedback and insights from your target audience. However, getting responses to your survey is just the first step. The real work begins when you start analysing the data you have collected.

Analysing survey results can be challenging, especially if you don’t have much experience in data analysis. However, proper analysis of the data can help you identify patterns, trends and insights that can be used to make informed decisions and improve your business strategies.

If you’re wondering how to analyse your survey result, here are some key steps to take.

Step 1: Review the Purpose and Goals of Your Survey

Before beginning any survey, you must have a clear idea of what you want to achieve or gain from the survey. You must know the purpose of your survey- why you are conducting it and what you intend to accomplish. Additionally, having specific survey goals in mind will ensure that you gather accurate and relevant data that will be useful in making informed decisions.

Upon receiving feedback from your target audience, it is important to revisit the purpose and goals of your survey to understand whether you have achieved the objectives you set out to achieve. A review of the purpose and goals of your survey will enable you to identify potential gaps in your data and determine whether your survey was successful or not.

How to Review the Purpose and Goals of Your Survey

– Start by revisiting the purpose of your survey. Ask yourself why you initiated the survey, what you expected to gain from it and whether you achieved your objectives.

– Review the survey goals. What were the specific goals you aimed to achieve through the survey, and are they measurable?

– Examine the survey questions. Did your survey questions cover the objectives set out in the purpose and goals of your survey? Are there questions that could have been worded differently or in a more targeted manner?

– Analyze the data. Evaluate the data collected to determine whether the insights and information gathered were in line with the goals outlined in your survey.

– Assess the outcome. Evaluate whether the outcome of your survey was productive and contributed towards achieving your intended goals. Identify any areas that require additional data collection, modification of survey questions or follow-up surveys.

Step 2: Clean and Organize the Data

Clean and organize the data is essential for accurate analysis. When your data is disorganized, you may miss essential information in your analysis that can affect your decision-making process.

It can also lead to errors and inaccuracies in your analysis. A well-organized dataset helps to streamline your analysis process by making it more efficient and effective.

Cleaning Data

Cleaning data is the process of removing or correcting any data that is incorrect, incomplete or improperly formatted.

Here are some tips to clean your survey data.

– Eliminate Duplicate Responses
When analyzing survey data it is important to eliminate duplicate responses to get accurate results. Having duplicate responses can impact your data analysis and skew the results. There are different ways to detect and eliminate duplicate responses, such as using Excel or statistical software.

– Remove Outliers
Outliers are responses that are not typical in your data set. Removing outliers can help make your data more representative of your target population. Statistical software can help you detect and remove outliers.

– Verify Responses
Verify the responses in your survey to ensure that they are sensible and plausible. It is important to have the correct responses from the survey participants to avoid any mistakes during analysis.

– Correct Errors
Check for any spelling mistakes, typos and format issues in your data. Review all responses for consistency and accuracy.

Organizing Data

Organizing data is about having a structured and systematic way to store and analyze your data.

Here are some tips to organize your survey data.

– Define Variables
To organize data, you need to define variables and assign values that represent the answers to the survey questions.

– Use Data Tables
Use data tables to store and organize your survey data. Data tables make it easier to search for specific information, compare values, and make calculations.

– Maintain Consistency
Maintain consistency in your data by making sure that the same format and structure is used throughout the survey. This includes format such as date, currency, and decimal places.

– Create an Analytical Plan
An analytical plan outlines how you will analyze your data and the steps that you will take to make sense of the survey data.

Step 3: Look for Trends and Patterns

Trends and patterns provide a clear and comprehensive summary of the survey responses. It highlights the most significant or noticeable aspects of the data and identifies the areas that require attention and improvement. These patterns provide a foundation for the development of strategies or actions that will address the needs or issues raised in the survey.

Here are some tips on how to identify trends and patterns in survey data.

– Start by Tabulating your Survey Responses
The first step is to tabulate all the responses you have received for each question in your survey. This can be done using a spreadsheet, where you can categorize responses based on variables such as age, gender, location, or occupation.

– Group your Responses
Once you have tabulated your results, group similar responses together. This will help you to identify patterns and trends that emerge from your survey responses. For example, you can group responses by age range, gender or geographic location.

– Look for Patterns Across Groups
Once you have grouped responses, start to analyse the patterns that emerge across these groups. For instance, you may notice that older respondents tend to have a more negative response to a specific question, while younger respondents are more positive. This lets you identify potential age-related trends to consider when interpreting the results.

– Consider Different Perspectives
It’s essential to look at your results from different perspectives. This may involve answering questions such as “is there a pattern of interest in my data?” or “what are the similarities and differences between my groups?”. Doing so opens up different possibilities allowing you to examine your results intuitively.

– Identify Trends Over Time
Looking for long-term trends is necessary to identify reliable patterns that you can act on. This may require you to conduct a follow-up survey on specific questions to track the evolution of trends over time.

Step 4: Segmenting the Data

Segmenting the data means dividing your survey responses into groups based on specific criteria. By grouping similar responses, you can gain a deeper understanding of your audience’s preferences and behaviours within each segment. This method allows you to identify patterns that may not be evident in the overall results.

Here are some steps to help you segment your survey data to gain better insights.

– Determine your Segmentation Criteria
Before you start segmenting your data, you need to decide on the criteria that you will use. Your segmentation criteria should be based on the objectives of your survey and the variables you want to analyze.

For example, if you conducted a customer satisfaction survey, you may want to segment your data by age, gender, income, or geographic location.

– Create Segments
Once you have determined your segmentation criteria, the next step is to create segments. You can use statistical software such as Excel, SPSS, or SAS to create segments automatically, or you can do it manually.

If you decide to create segments manually, ensure that the criteria you use are clear and consistent.

– Analyze each Segment
After creating your segments, the next step is to analyze each one. Analyzing each segment allows you to identify differences and commonalities between them.

Look for patterns, trends, and relationships within each segment. This will help you understand the unique needs and preferences of each segment.

– Draw Insights
The final step is to draw insights from your analysis. The insights you gain will help you make informed decisions and tailor your products or services to meet the needs of each segment.

Use the insights to identify areas that require improvement and areas where you can leverage your strengths.

Step 5: Draw Conclusions and Take Actions

In order to make the most out of the data collected, you need to analyze the results thoroughly and draw conclusions that will help drive your business forward.

Here are some tips to help you translate your survey data into meaningful conclusions and take actions.

– Review Your Survey Results
The first step in analyzing your survey results is to review the data. Look at each question individually and then look at the responses as a whole.

Identify trends or patterns in the data and take note of any interesting or unexpected findings. It is also important to compare your results to any benchmarks or industry standards to help provide context to your findings.

– Identify Major Themes
Once you have reviewed the data, it’s time to dive deeper into the survey results. Identify major themes that emerge from the responses.

For example, if you conducted a customer satisfaction survey, you may notice that a significant number of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with your customer service. Use these major themes to help guide your analysis and draw conclusions.

– Interpret the Data
Interpretation is a crucial step in analyzing survey results. Be sure to look beyond just the surface-level responses and dig deeper into what the data is telling you. Try to identify potential reasons for why respondents may have provided certain answers.

For example, if numerous respondents indicated that they are dissatisfied with a particular feature of your product, there may be an issue with that feature that needs to be addressed.

– Draw Conclusions
Once you have reviewed and interpreted the data, it’s time to draw conclusions.

Based on your analysis, what can you say about your target audience or customers? What insights have you gained about your products or services?

Having a clear understanding of what your data is telling you will help you make informed decisions about how to move your business forward.

– Take Action
The final step in analyzing your survey results is to take action based on your findings. Identify what changes or improvements need to be made and develop a plan to implement them.

If customer service was identified as a major issue, for example, you might want to invest in additional training for your staff or create a new customer service policy.

By taking action on your survey results, you are improving your business and showing your customers that you value their feedback.

Conclusion

In conclusion, analysing your survey result is a vital step in understanding your customers and improving your business or organization. By following the step-by-step guide outlined above, you can identify key insights, segment your data, draw conclusions and take action to improve your products, services and overall customer experience.