Parent Survey: online surveying option
The National Center for Safe Routes now offers local SRTS programs the ability to collect responses to the Parent Survey questionnaire using an online survey. For the online version, the National Center is using the web-based software Survey Monkey* for administering the survey.
The National Center has built English and Spanish versions of the Parent Survey in Survey Monkey. Survey Monkey has a feature that allows users to share surveys across accounts, which enables the National Center to send you the survey so you don't have to build it yourself. Using the electronic survey the National Center built also helps ensure the output you generate is properly formatted for easy and correct uploading into the national data system.
The questions and answers below are intended to help you determine if online survey administration is appropriate for your local SRTS program. After reading the information, if you have additional questions or would like to begin using the online survey, please send an email to data@saferoutesinfo.org and in the subject line include "SurveyMonkey" and your city and state (ex, SurveyMonkeyChapelHillNC)
Q. What criteria would make Survey Monkey a good fit at a particular school?
A. If the school communicates with parents primarily through email, electronic newsletters or other digital media, then that school may be a good candidate for using Survey Monkey to administer your survey to parents. If the school primarily sends communications to parents on paper, then administering your survey using paper hard copies of the Parent Survey is the better choice.
Q. Can I use both Survey Monkey and hard copy surveys at the same school?
A. This is not recommended. After you have determined the primary method your school uses to communicate with parents, you can decide how best to administer the survey. Please be aware that mixing survey administration methods (Survey Monkey and paper based surveys) at the same school during the same data collection period can result in a parent completing an electronic survey and paper based survey, which results in their responses being counted twice in your data results.
While the National Center does not recommend using a mixed method, if you do opt to administer the survey using both paper copies and Survey Monkey, you will have to collect the hard copy surveys for the school and manually enter them into Survey Monkey before sending the file to the National Center for upload.
Q. I am working with three schools. One school communicates with parents via email and the other two send home papers containing information. Can I use Survey Monkey at the one school and use hard copies of the Parent Survey at the two other schools?
A. Yes, you can use Survey Monkey at the one school and paper copies at the other schools. For the surveys collected using Survey Monkey, there are instructions that we will provide you on how to submit the data electronically to the National Center. For the hard copies of the surveys you collect, you should mail them to the National Center for processing by following the mailing instructions at www.saferoutesinfo.org/resources/evaluation_cover-sheets.cfm
Q. Will I have to build the online survey myself?
A. No, you do not have to build the survey. The National Center has already built English and Spanish versions of the Parent Survey in Survey Monkey. Survey Monkey has a feature that allows users to share surveys across accounts, which enables the NCSRTS to share our survey so you don't have to build it yourself.
Q. Do the questions differ between the paper-based Parent Survey and the online survey?
A. No, the questions and response options are the same.
Q. Can I add questions to the Parent Survey in Survey Monkey?
A. If you would like to add questions to the survey, please discuss this with the National Center. Please remember that if you plan to submit the survey data you collect to the National Center for inclusion in their data system, you should not change any of the existing questions, question order, or response options on the survey.
Q. How do I download my Survey Monkey results and send them to the National Center?
A. The National Center will provide you detailed instructions on how to prepare your Survey Monkey output file for submission.
Q. How much does it cost to use Survey Monkey?
A. In order to use the online Parent Survey, you need to purchase a "Monthly Pro", "Quarterly Pro", or "Annual Pro" level account in Survey Monkey. As of September 2009, the lowest price for this account was approximately $20 per month. Visit www.surveymonkey.com/Home_Pricing.aspx to compare cost and feature details for determining which level account best meets your needs.
Q. Are the online Parent Surveys available in multiple languages?
A. The Survey Monkey version of the Parent Survey is set up for both English and Spanish responses. If a significant segment of your school's parents' primarily communicate in other languages, then the online survey may not be the best survey option.
Contact us at data@saferoutesinfo.org if you have additional questions or would like to begin using the online survey. In the subject line of your email please include "SurveyMonkey" and your city and state (ex, SurveyMonkeyChapelHillNC).
*The National Center for Safe Routes to School does not endorse nor sponsor Survey Monkey.
