SurveyMonkey 2011 User Manual

SurveyMonkey
User Manual

Customer Guide for Account Navigation, Survey
Creation, Distribution & Analysis

Copyright ©1999-2011 SurveyMonkey. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this guide may

be copied without the express written consent of SurveyMonkey.

SurveyMonkey User Manual

Table of Contents & Summary

I. Getting Started …..………………………………………………………………. pg. 3

1. Creating accounts and upgrading pg. 3

2. Pricing and payment options pg. 4

3. Features of Basic and Professional accounts pg. 5

II. Survey Design …………………………………………………………………... pg. 7
A. A new survey pg. 7

4. Where to begin pg. 7

5. How to add questions and pages pg. 8

6. Types of questions available and Features pg. 9
a) Types of questions pg. 9
b) Features pg. 9

i. Adding a comment field

ii. Required to answer

iii. Text validation

iv. Change of question size and placement

7. Copying a survey pg. 13

8. Editing the survey theme pg. 15

9. Survey Options pg. 16

i. Page and question numbering

ii. Add logo to survey

iii. Progress bar settings

iv. Survey page/titles

v. Navigation button

10. Skip Logic & Advanced Logic pg. 19

B. Edit an existing survey pg. 21

11. Copy or move a page/question pg. 21

12. Add a page or insert a page break pg. 22

13. Delete a page/questions pg. 22

14. Restore deleted questions pg. 23

15. Edit a question with responses collected pg. 23

C. Print a survey or responses pg. 25
III. Collecting Responses …………………………………………………………. pg. 27

A. Collectors pg. 27
B. Collector Settings and Restrictions pg. 28

i. Collector Settings

ii. Collector Restrictions

C. Sending out the link pg. 35

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1. Send through own email client pg. 35

- Adding manual entries pg. 35

2. Post on your website pg. 35

3. Embed survey or create popup invitation pg. 36

4. Post the survey on Facebook pg. 36

5. Send through SurveyMonkey Email pg. 37

i. Upload emails to a list

ii. Compose a message

iii. Send a reminder email

iv. Add new invitees to list and send message

v. Send a 2nd message to the same survey/Use custom criteria

vi. Track the emails by status – responses, no response, opt outs

vii. Export emails from the collector – including opt out & bounced emails

viii. Edit email addresses in an existing list

6. White Label your Surveys pg. 40

IV. Analyzing & Exporting Data ………………………………………………… pg. 41

1. Browse respondents to edit or delete pg. 42

- Response Type pg. 43

2. Creating filters pg. 46

i. Filter by response pg. 46

ii. Filter by properties or collectors pg. 48

iii. Managing multiple or saved filters pg. 49

3. Cross tabs pg. 49

4. Exporting data & creating custom charts pg. 50
a. All Responses Collected Spreadsheet pg. 50
b. SPSS Integration pg. 50
c. Summary Exports pg. 51

5. Sharing survey responses pg. 55

6. Custom reports & sharing data pg. 56

7. Text Analysis pg. 57

V. My Account ………………………..……………………………………………. pg. 58

1. Share an account pg. 58

2. Change emails on account pg. 59

3. Change time zone on account pg. 59

4. Change the account subscription or credit card pg. 60

5. Transfer a survey to another account pg. 61

6. Creating folders and moving surveys pg. 62

7. The Address Book pg. 63

8. Tracking the identity of respondents pg. 64

9. SSL encryption pg. 66

10. Cancel an account pg. 67

11. Security pg. 68

VI. Conclusion ………………………..……………………………………………. pg. 70

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SurveyMonkey User Manual

I. GETTING STARTED

Welcome to SurveyMonkey! This user‟s manual guides you through all areas of
SurveyMonkey. It takes you from start to finish covering topics such as creating and
upgrading accounts, designing surveys, collecting responses, analyzing data, and
managing accounts. The manual directly links you to our FAQs and Tutorials. Simply
click on the hyperlinks (indicated in blue underlines) to go directly to our Help Center
topics for additional information.

1. Creating Accounts and Upgrading

Create a BASIC (free) account to begin using the online survey system. We do not
offer what some consider a “license” since you are not purchasing software. Everything
is accomplished by logging into your registered account! What we do offer are BASIC
or Professional plans. Professional plans provide access to the premium features. We

offer GOLD, SELECT or PLATINUM Professional plans.

Step 1:

Activate your account by clicking on the [Sign Up] button located on the homepage.

Step 2:

You are prompted to enter a unique username and password to create a Basic account:
To upgrade to a Professional

plan, click the [Upgrade]
button located in the My
Account section.

As a paid user, you will have
access to the premium

features once we receive

payment.

NOTE: The login fields are

case sensitive.

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2. Pricing and Payment Options

SurveyMonkey offers several professional plans. All plans are billed annually except for
the SELECT monthly plan.

To see our full plans, pricing and feature comparisons, please visit the following page
on our site: Subscriptions, Features, and Prices.

NOTE: We do not offer pro-rated refunds on subscriptions. If you anticipate needing the
subscription for a short amount of time, purchase a SELECT monthly subscription.

Billable Responses: SELECT plans billed monthly allow 1000 free responses within

the monthly billing cycle. You can collect as many responses as you want; however,
any response over that 1000 for the month will receive an extra charge (Price is shown
on our pricing detail page). The response count is set back to “0” at the beginning of
the next month‟s billing cycle. For unlimited survey responses, purchase a SELECT
Annual, GOLD or PLATINUM plan.

 We accept credit card payment for all subscription terms (Visa, Master Card,

Diner's Club, American Express, and Discover).

 We accept purchase order, check, and wire transfer (or direct bank deposit)

payments for Unlimited Annual subscriptions only.

NOTE: Payment is required before activating the account.

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SSL Encryption:

If you are concerned about security, we offer SSL encryption for the survey links, survey
pages and exports. A survey with SSL encryption shows the 's' in the 'http' URL
address. It appears as: https://www.surveymonkey.com.

This is commonly used for online banking or sites that transmit secured information. In
order to stay in compliance with HIPAA regulations, we recommend that SSL encryption
be purchased for your account.

SSL is included as a feature with all Professional plans and you can turn off or on the
SSL on collector links before distributing them to your respondents

3. Features of Basic and Professional Plans

a. BASIC Account

The BASIC plan is completely free, and it allows you to create as many surveys as you
would like! You are never forced to upgrade, and we do not delete your surveys or data
if you do not upgrade by a certain time. You have the ability to share one login and
password for multi-user access. Simply have the person(s) you are sharing the account
with use the one login and password. We do not assign multiple usernames on
individual accounts. Please keep in mind that you are sharing full administrative
privileges with other users. Currently, we do not provide the ability for different access

levels on the account.

BASIC Features:

 Up to 10 questions per survey
 100 responses per survey (*Upgrade to Pro in order to view all responses.)
 15 types of questions
 Collect responses via weblink
 Collect responses via email
 Embed survey within a frame on a website
 View live results as they are recorded
 Supports any language, including Unicode
 Survey completion progress bar
 Automatic numbering for pages/questions
 15 pre-built survey themes
 Validate/required survey responses
 Randomize/sort answer choices
 Accessible and 508 compliant and certified surveys (*U.S. only)
 Limit of 3 Collectors per survey

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b. Professional Plans:

SurveyMonkey offers the following paid plans:

 SELECT Monthly or Annual plan features
 GOLD plan features
 PLATINUM plan features

GOLD and PLATINUM plans provide additional Advanced Logic features such as:

 Random Assignment
 Question Piping
 Question Randomization

With the PLATINUM plan, you can take advantage of our white label feature. With this
feature, you can remove SurveyMonkey branding and use a “research.net” URL to
distribute the survey.

Here is examples of some other things you can do with a Professional plan:

1. No Limits - You can create surveys with an unlimited number of questions,

spanning an unlimited number of pages.

2. Create Surveys from templates.

3. Create Skip Logic (Conditional Logic) - You can customize the path a

respondent takes through your survey by adding skip logic.

4. Add a Logo - Branding your survey gives it a professional feel.

5. Create Custom Themes - Every element of your survey can be customized:

fonts, sizes, and colors.

6. Embed Survey/Popup Surveys -Embed the survey on your site or have it

appear as a popup.

7. Custom Redirect - Once your survey is complete, respondents will be redirected

to the page of your choice. (Available to GOLD and PLATINUM plans only.)

8. Filter Results - A powerful feature that helps you find patterns in your results.

Ask questions such as: "Show me only those respondents who answered choice
X in question Y." The entire results section will reflect your filter choices.

9. Cross Tab Results - Cross tabulated data is useful for showing a side by side

comparison of how respondents answered two or more survey questions.

10. Share Results - Let others view your results without giving them access to your

account.

11. Download Results & Charts - All data can be downloaded to your local

computer for further analysis. Create custom charts for presentations.

12. Create PDF - Create a printable PDF version of your survey or the results.

13. Custom Reports - You can create custom reports to include only the questions

in which you're interested. Export them or share them with others for easier data
management and/or analysis.

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II. SURVEY DESIGN

A. New Survey

4. Where to Begin?

When you are ready to create a survey, click on the [Create Survey] tab located on the
page header of your account. Choose if you want to create:

 A survey from scratch
 From a survey template
 Or from an existing survey in the account

Name the survey and you are ready to go!

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Note: Any time you exit that survey editor to navigate through the account and when

you need to re-enter back into the Edit Survey mode, click on the [Design] icon
located to the right of the survey title on the My Surveys page.

a. After creating the title, the Edit

Survey page immediately
opens.

b. Click on the [Add Question

Here] button to insert your first
question.

c. If you want to add pages, simply

click the [Add Page Here]
button where you want to insert
a new one.

5. How to Add Questions and Pages

Once you begin designing a survey and every time you add or create a new question, a
window opens within the survey designer. Choose the question type from the dropdown
menu.

1. Type the question text into the
provided textbox.

2. Type the answer choices into the
provided textbox (each must be on
its own line).

3. Choose to add any of the additional
features, e.g., randomize choices,
set to required answer, etc.

4. Click the [Save Changes] button
when you are finished.

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6. Available Question Types and Features

a. Question Types

To add a question to your survey, a dropdown menu is presented after clicking the [Add
Question] button. Choose which type you want to create. To view examples of

questions, visit our homepage and click the types of questions link.

If you need additional information on
survey design, please refer to the Smart

Survey Design guide located in the Help

Center of your account.
This guide provides tips on designing

effective surveys.
Or if you want us to design the survey for

you, click here to learn more.

b. Features

When adding questions to the survey, you have the ability to add individual features to
them. Both Professional and Basic accounts provide access to these features, which
allow greater control of the survey response collection:

Adding a comment field
Required to answer option
Text validation
Change of question size and placement

i. Add a Comment Box: Multiple Choice vs. Rating/Matrix

Multiple Choice Types: When creating the Multiple Choice type questions (One

Answer or Multiple Answers), you can choose to include a comment field as an answer
choice or to keep it as a separate comment field. In the question design, you can:

 Modify the Field Label.

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 Configure the Comment Box Size. This enables you to change the size of the

comment box based on a „characters wide‟ parameter.

 Set up the Text Validation by the following criteria: text of a specific length, whole

number, decimal number, date format (UK/US), or email address.

 Customize the error message if a respondent fails to answer the comment box.

Matrix/Rating Types: When creating a matrix or rating question, you will see the

option to Add Comment Field. From here you can change the following:

 Modify the Field Label.
 Configure the Comment Box Size. Here you can change the size of the

comment box based on a „characters wide‟ parameter.

 Set up the Text Validation by the following criteria: text of a specific length, whole

number, decimal number, date format (UK/US), or email address.

 Customize the error message if a respondent fails to answer the comment box.

Require a Comment: You can
create a Yes/No type question
where if “Yes” is selected a
comment is required. Learn more.

ii. Require to Answer

You can force respondents to answer the questions using the Require Answer to
Question feature.

1. Place a tick mark next to the Require Answer to Question option.

2. Customize the "failure to answer" message in the provided section. Click the
[Save Changes] button. An asterisk will appear next to these questions.

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Additional Information: Setting an Answer Choice Limit

There is a feature that allows multiple choice questions to limit "how many" choices a
respondent can answer.

When creating a Multiple Choice, Matrix/Rating, or Open-Ended (Multiple Answers
Allowed) type question, set the Require Answer feature to where the respondent must
answer according to any of the following options:

♦ All
♦ At least
♦ At most
♦ Exactly
♦ Range

If a limit is applied, edit the error message so it corresponds to how the feature has
been configured. Then respondents will know what is expected of the answer.

EXAMPLE: If you have a list of 10 items and you restrict the limit to "exactly 3" answer
choices can be selected, we recommend editing the error message to be something
like:

"You have picked more than the allotted answer choice limit. Please restrict your
response to 3 choices."

iii. Text Validation

When creating Single and Multiple Textbox questions, you can “validate” how the
responses are to be entered by the respondents, e.g., whole numbers, decimal
numbers, date format, and so on. You will see the Validate Text option in the list of
features available under the question editor prompt.

NOTE: The Numerical textbox does not have the validation feature since it only allows
whole numbers (negative numbers not allowed). The validation features can be added
to the following question types:

1. Single Textbox

2. Multiple Textbox

3. Multiple Choice (One or Multiple Answers Allowed)

4. All Matrix types

5. Rating

Essentially, validation is available anytime you enable the Add Comment Field

option to a Multiple Choice, Matrix, or Rating questions.

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The Text Validation is located in the question editor. When you click the dropdown
menu, the following validation parameters are available for the open-ended comment
boxes:

 don't validate comment text
 must be a specific length
 must be a whole number
 must be a decimal number
 must be a date (MM/DD/YYYY) or (DD/MM/YYYY)
 must be an email address

iv. Change Question Size and Placement

When clicking on the [Edit] button associated with a question in the Design mode, you
will notice the Question Type & Format option on the Question Editor page.
Depending on the type of question, you can set a percent or fixed/pixel question width,
column width, or comment/input box size. Click on the Change Question Size &
Placement option to perform any of the following:

 Overall Question Width: If you want the question to cover less or more space

on the webpage, then edit the Percent or Pixel width. This will either spread or
condense the space it covers.

 Column Width: You can control the amount of space reserved for the label and

the answer choices.

o EXAMPLE: This is helpful if you have large amounts of text for the answer

rows of a Matrix question. If the column headers consist of less text, then
you can allot more space for the "label" section. The rows of choices will
not appear so condensed.

 Question Placement: If you want questions to appear side by side, then choose

to have a current question placed next to the previous one. To have the
questions located underneath one another, then leave the default of Start
question on new row.

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 Question Margin: To allot more spacing between questions or create

indentation through spacing, then this setting is helpful. Sometimes a question
may appear too close to the logo header. Type in a pixel number like "5" or "20"
in the Top Margin setting. This provides space above that question.

Edit Comment Box Size:

You have the ability to edit the size of the comment box for the Open Ended questions.
Click on the Change Question Size & Placement option located within that question
builder.

 With the Comment Box or Essay Box type, you can create a text box based on

the number of lines and the number of characters wide, e.g., 5 lines/20
characters wide or 10 lines/70 characters wide.

 With the Single Line Input Box, you can set the input box according

to character widths, e.g., 30 characters up to 100 characters.

7. Copy a Survey

The ability to create a copy of any survey is available to all subscribers. This is done
under the [Create Survey] tab.

NOTE: If the survey has responses, they will not be copied.

 Only the survey design itself is copied. No collectors or their settings are copied

from the original survey.

 Create a new collector and select a saved custom theme in the Theme

Dropdown menu on the copied version or edit a new one.

To perform this function, please do the following:

Step 1: Click on the [Create Survey] tab.

Step 2: Choose the Copy existing Survey option. Select the name of the survey to

copy in the provided drop-down menu.

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Name the survey and then you have the choice to:

 Select that survey and modify it.
 Select as is and move directly on to create a link and send it to your audience.

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8. Editing a Theme

As a Professional subscriber, you can edit an existing theme or add a new one by
modifying an existing theme template. While in the design, these options are visible in
the Edit Survey mode.

To brand the survey to fit your organization's needs, do the following:

a. The color picker allows you to enter in your own hex code for specialized colors.
b. Add elements like Bold, Underline, or Italics to the text in the title, page titles &

descriptions, question headings & choices, exit link, and error text message.
[Click here for more information in using HTML in the survey design itself.]

c. Add a logo to the survey header.
d. Add images into the body design.
e. Create a redirect or survey completion option to your company‟s URL.

Edit or create a new theme for a survey the following way:

Step 1: Click the [Design] icon next to the survey title to access the Edit Survey mode.
Step 2: Click on the [New] or [Edit] Theme button.
Step 3: On the Design page, select the theme you wish to modify from the dropdown

menu. Click the [New] button next to the selected one. This takes you into the Theme
Editor. You may customize the fonts, colors, and sizes of many elements of the survey

and rename the custom theme.
To access different elements, select specific properties from the menu. Edit these

properties to customize a new theme or brand the design to your company. Click the
[Save Changes] button when you are finished:

 Survey Font & Background
 Survey Title
 Page Title
 Page Description
 Question Heading
 Question Choices/Rows
 Progress Bar
 Exit Link
 Required Asterisk
 Error Text

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9. Survey Options

The survey options are located within the Design section of the survey. These options
allow you to place more features on the survey like page numbers, logo, progress bar,
etc. The following are available under the [Survey Options] button:

Page and question numbering
Add logo to survey
Progress bar settings
Survey page/titles
Navigation button

i. Page & Question Numbering

You can edit the page and question numbering of a survey. Choose between the
following options:

 Page numbering
 Question numbering
 Or both options

If you choose the “Page Numbering”, you have the option of numbering each page of
questions separately or numbering the questions sequentially over the entire survey.

NOTE: To have your own numbering system, uncheck the 'Use Question Numbering'
option under this section. Then manually type in the question number preceding the
text for the question in the „question‟ text box configuration. Learn more.

Step 1: Click on the [Design] icon next to the survey title on the My Surveys page.
Step 2: Click on the [Survey Options] button.
Step 3: Access the Page and Question Numbering section. Click the [Save

Changes] button when you are finished creating the options on the page.

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ii. Add Logo

As a Professional subscriber, you can add your own organization's logo into the survey
design. Logos up to 50K in size can be added into the top left hand corner of every
page of the survey. The logo must be in a .GIF or .JPG format.

To add a logo, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Click the [Design] icon next to the survey title on the My Surveys page:
Step 2: Select the [Survey Options] button and scroll to the Add Logo to Survey

section:

Step 3: Access the Add Logo section. Click the [Browse...] button and locate the logo

file on your computer. Click the [Save Logo] button and the image will appear in the
Custom Logo section for a preview. Click the [Save Logo] button again to finalize.

 To delete the logo, click the [Delete Logo] button.
 To re-size the logo, edit the size and resolution of it in your own image editing

program. Then reinsert it into the design.

iii. Progress Bar

Both Basic and Professional subscribers can add a progress bar to any survey.
Professional subscribers may customize the look of a progress bar under the Theme
Editor. Within the theme‟s property menu, edit the width, text size, border width, border
color, background, text color, or bar color. Rename the theme and save it when you are
finished.

Here are the basic steps for adding a progress bar to any survey:

Step 1: Click on the [Design] icon next to the survey title on the My Surveys page.
Step 2: Click on the [Survey Options] button located on the left side of the survey

design page.

Step 3: Access the Progress Bar section and select where you want the bar to appear

(top or bottom of page). Click the [Save] button when you are finished.

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iv. Survey Pages and Title

You have the ability to hide the survey or page titles when a respondent takes the
survey. In order to hide them, follow these steps:

Step 1: Click on the [Design] icon next to the survey title on the My Surveys page.
Step 2: Click the [Survey Options] button located on the left side of the page.
Step 3: Scroll down to the section that says Survey/Pages Titles and uncheck the

option to Show Survey Title in Actual Survey. Now the title will be hidden to the
respondents.

Click the [Save Changes] button when you are finished.

v. Navigation Titles

In order for respondents to move through the survey, Navigation buttons are used.
You can customize the wording on these buttons under the [Design] icon on your My
Surveys page. Simply type in the word(s) you would like to use for the navigation text.

Here is how to change them:

Step 1: Click on the [Design] icon next to the survey title on the My Surveys page.
Step 2: Click on the [Survey Options] button located on the left hand side of the

survey design page.

Step 3: Access the Navigation Buttons section and type in whatever words you would

like to use as the navigation links. Click the [Save] button when you are finished.

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10. Skip Logic & Advanced Logic

Skip Logic:

The goal of Skip Logic is to direct respondents through different paths in the survey
based on a response to a previous question. This feature is available in all Professional
accounts.

Key points to remember:

 With Question or Page skip logic in place, you can force respondents to jump to

a specific page.

 Only the Multiple Choice questions (One Answer and Multiple Choice Answer)

allow logic to be added.

 It is not possible to jump respondents to questions on the same page nor have a

question(s) immediately pop-up based on a previous answer.

Skip Logic Principles

View a basic example of creating logic in a survey.
Advanced logic scenarios.

Advanced Logic:

GOLD and PLATINUM users have access to these additional Advanced Logic features:

 Random Assignment
 Question and Answer Piping
 Question Randomization and Flipping

Random Assignment:

SurveyMonkey‟s Random Assignment feature (also known as A/B splits) allows
researchers to randomly put people into different groups to show them different images
or different text. The benefit is to introduce experimental variation into surveys. A
stimulus (free text, image, or question wording) is varied, and the difference with how
users respond to the stimuli is measured in the analysis.

View the following to learn more about this feature: What is Random Assignment?

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Question and Answer Piping:
SurveyMonkey's Question and Answer Piping feature allows you greater control and

precision over question wording by automatically including the answer choice as part of
a question. You can also pass a previously selected answer as a new answer choice
into a follow-up question. This feature makes designing a survey easy! It also helps
respondents feel more comfortable when answering your survey, thus it yields optimal
data quality.

View the following to learn more about this feature: What is Question and Answer

Piping?

Question Randomization and Flipping:
Using the Question Randomization feature helps to alleviate question order bias. You

can choose to show all questions on a page or just a few selected questions on a page
in a random order. If you don't want to randomize the questions, you can choose to flip
them instead.

View the following to learn more about this feature: What is Question

Randomization?

Analyze Section Presentation of Logic Patterns & Data:

When using Skip Logic to route respondents to different "surveys" within one design,
the tool combines all responses in the Analyze section. You may need to create a filter
to look at the responses associated for a specific "survey" or logic route. Learn more.

You can also create a custom report to make only specific pages of questions visible.

Learn more.

EXAMPLE: If you have one initial question asking respondents which survey (or in this
example, which language survey they want), then you can create a Filter by Response.

 Pick that language question in the filter query and then select the answer choice

of English.

 When that filter is toggled on and active, you will only see the respondents who

picked the English survey. Export the data with that filtered applied.

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B. Editing an Existing Survey

Once you have created a survey, you can come back at any time to edit it even after it
has started collecting responses. The following section covers the editing capabilities
once your survey has been created or distributed.

11. Copy or Move a Question

After you have designed a survey or during the design process, there is the ability to
copy or move pages and questions within it. While in the Edit Survey mode, you will
notice the Move or Copy buttons associated at the top of each question or page.

If you want to Copy a question/page:

 Select the [Copy] button associated with the question/page.
 Then the [Paste Question Here] button will appear above and below each

question. Just click on the one where you want to paste that question.

Repeat the same process to move a question or page.

Step 1: Select the [Move] button associated with the question/page you want to move.
Step 2: Then choose the [Move Question Here] located in the survey design to where

you want to move that question.

Step 3: The [Move Question Here] button is located above or below an existing

question. Now you can move the question into that location.

(Follow the same principle to move a page. The [Move Page Here] button is

located above each page.)

12. Add a Page or Insert Page Break

You can add a page into your survey by clicking on the [Add Page] button directly
above or below an existing question.

To do this, please use the following steps:

Step 1: Click on the Design icon next to the survey title on the My Surveys page.

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