Home > Special Features

Buzz Channel Technology - Special Features

In this section you can review the special functionality that is available within the Buzz Channel system.

 

Question Rotation

Allows you to randomly change the order in which questions or blocks of questions are presented to each respondent. Answer options within questions can also be rotated.

This is commonly used to avoid position bias.

Random Assignment of Respondents to Questions

This feature is useful to reduce sample costs.

As an example, imagine you had three different concepts or ideas to test and could afford a total sample of 600 respondents.

This feature would enable you to take all respondents through some questions but then randomly assign 200 respondents to each of the three sets of concept questions.

Automatic Change of Survey Branding

Some studies, particularly public consultations, involve respondents coming in from different sources.

For example, you may have some people coming into your survey through an online portal, others from an online research panel and a third group from an email list of employees or customers. This feature allows you to set up multiple 'looks' to your survey and our system automatically recognises the source of the respondent and presents the correct survey 'look' or brand to them.

Email Campaigns; Drawing in of External Data

This is very useful functionality.

When you use our email campaign tools we are able to pull in external data that is included in your email list.

For example, for surveys sent to customers you might pull in Customer ID, location, your branch and salesperson's details, the customer value to you, the services they use or products they purchase.

For employee surveys you may pull in their employee ID, management level, team, location, length of time with the company, salary band.

There are three common reasons for pulling in external data:

1.  You can use the information to control the flow or logic of the survey so that respondents see different questions.

2.  You can show the extra data in the reporting and use it for your analysis e.g. for cross tabulations or as filters.

3. When you export the data, you can use fields such as ID number to match survey responses back to your internal records.

Multi-Lingual Surveys and the Buzz Translation Portal

Buzz Channel technology is unique in how it set ups and runs multi-lingual surveys.

The first task is to finalise the survey in English.

Once approved, translators for each of the languages log directly into our system and are presented question by question with the English survey, for their direct translation beneath. This includes the translation of question instructions.

The benefit of this direct translation approach is that the room for transcribing error is removed.

Once translated, respondents choose their preferred language as they start the survey.

The second unique feature of our approach is that all the responses are still received as one data set thus still allowing clients to view results in real-time. Data can be easily separated into the different languages if required.

Buzz Channel have translators already trained on using our system or we can train a clients translators to use our Translation Portal.

Branching

Where groups of respondents are to receive sets of quite different questions, we set up different survey branches.

You are able to bring people in and out of the different branches using straightforward logic.

Random Pairing of Variables

This functionality allows users to set up a list of variables that are then randomly presented to each respondent in pairs, to be compared and rated.

Each variable will be presented the same number of times.

Extraction

Extraction allows you to take a respondent's answers from a previous question and pull them into following questions as the answer options.

Our technology allows you to extract responses to the side or top of a subsequent matrix style question.

The purpose of extraction is to make a survey relevant and intuitive for each respondent by only asking them about things that have indicated they are aware of, interested in, or have experienced.

Advanced Extraction off Multiple Questions

Advanced Extraction but this allows you to take responses from more than one question to form a subsequent question.

As an example, in one question a person may have selected novels and movies as their preferred form of entertainment, from a longer list of 10 items.

In the next question they may have selected newspapers as their most regular media choice for current affairs.

A third question may then ask them how much they spend each month on novels, movies, and newspapers.

Our functionality allows you to extract answers to the top or side of a subsequent matrix style question.

Piping

Piping allows you to take a response from one question and use this in a subsequent question. This is a good technique for making the respondent feel they are part of a one-to-one conversation and that you, as the survey writer, are closely listening to them.

You are able to pipe responses from more than one question into a subsequent question.

For example, if a respondent says that detective novels are their favourite type of book, and in a later question selects 'on the bus' as their favourite time to read, a subsequent question with piping might say "You've said you like to read detective novels on the bus. Tell us why this is one of your favourite pastimes."

Pop Up Website Surveys

These surveys pop up on a website on selected pages and invite website visitors to provide feedback.

We are able to programme a delay in the pop up so they only appear to people who have spent a period of time on a page.

Non Pop Up Pop Ups

The Buzz Channel Pop Ups look and act like Pop Ups and are useful devices to enable respondents to read more information if they choose to, without leaving the flow of the survey.

However, the draw back with traditional Pop Ups is that they are blocked by many browsers. The Buzz Channel pop ups are not blocked.

These are a very useful device for Public Consultation projects.

Video Streaming

Buzz Channel have been streaming video for many years and are closely aware of the limitations of people with slower Internet connections.

We encourage our clients to use video in surveys to introduce topics and information in a compelling and engaging way.

We are also able to link to YouTube videos within the survey and will advise you on the best approach.

Audio

Audio files can be used in some novel ways and add significantly to the respondent experience.

Examples include placing voice-overs on early stage advertising concepts to more realistically present the concepts, testing advertisements with different voices (is a local voice required for international creative?), or even testing taped voices for your phone system to make sure that the first impression your organisation makes is warm and professional.

Bespoke Questions

Buzz Channel are able to develop bespoke questions and associated reporting and place them in your own log in area for only you to use. Only people who you have given permission to view these questions types will see them when they log in.

Clients set up bespoke questions when they have intellectual property in the way in which they ask a type of question, and they want this set up for their use but not our other clients.

Visual Questions: Drag 'n Drop

The Buzz Channel Drag n Drop is exactly the same as a Radio Button Matrix in terms of reporting.

However for respondents it is engaging, can be fun (always good!), and breaks up the monotony of 'click- the- button' style questions.

Buzz Channel can help you source suitable images and get them ready for use in the survey.

There are several options with Drag n Drops, including whether you want the options to disappear when dropped on the destination boxes, whether you want them to remain showing, and whether they should drag behind or in front of the destination boxes.

Visual Questions: Image Options

Images can be use as answer options instead of words and phrases and there are many times when using images in this way can make it much easier for respondents.

For example, if you are asking people to pick a logo or packaging that they prefer you can ask them to click on the preferred image rather than show all the images above the question and asking them to click on a label.

Visual Questions: 100% Slider

This is a sliding scale matrix that presents respondents with a list of items that they then rate, with the result across all items adding up automatically to 100%.

The fact respondents see a visual representation of their score can help them give an accurate score. It also helps that the system rather than the respondent does the maths!

Quota Management

The Buzz Channel system manages sample quotas automatically, to ensure your respondent sample matches your requirements.

This means that as each quota cell target is achieved, the system automatically filters out subsequent respondents of the same profile. Other respondents are directly into the survey, until their quota cell target is also met. The benefit of this automated approach is that your sample requirements are closely met and you don't pay for any additional respondents.

Our system can implement Hard Quotas and Soft Quotas but you need to be aware of the cost implications of Hard Quotas or low incidence quotas when working with online research panels.

Email Templates

When you run an Email Campaign with Buzz Channel tools we are able to design attractive branding graphics for your email which are then loaded into your client area.

When you run future email campaigns, you can choose the 'look' or template at the click of a button from those we have set up for you in your area.

Bounce Reporting

An important part of any email campaign is understanding who hasn't received your email.

You may wish to simply understand the success rate of your email campaign, or to actually follow up the bounced emails.

Our reporting will enable both these actions.

Integrated Email Campaign System

Integration is one of our central design principles. The fact that one comprehensive system manages everything from panel recruitment and rewards, through to survey scripting , email campaigns, and analysis and reporting greatly aids the ease of use and flexibility for our clients.

Using the Buzz Channel integrated email campaign tools to send out your survey is vastly more powerful than sending the survey link out through a third party system:

1.   We are aware of and cater for security issues associated with getting bulk emails through firewalls and security settings;

2.   We can automate reminders to people who haven't started or completed the survey;

3.   You are able to change the  branding of your emails at the click of a button;

4.   We can produce Bounce Back reports and statistics;

5.   We can draw in external data to influence the survey logic, your reporting capability, and to enable you to match survey responses to your internal customer or employee data.

BuzzWatch

View surveys in their entirety by individual respondent. This is a useful feature when respondents state "see my response above".

It is also essential for online consultations.

Respondent Copy of Survey Responses

This feature enables a respondent to print off a copy of their survey responses for their own records on the conclusion of the survey.

The responses are nicely formatted for printing.

For some consultation projects this is an important feature. If you wish to go back to the same respondent with different questions over time, you can also use this feature to refresh them on their answers to earlier surveys, before taking them into a new set of questions.

Presenting and Uploading Documents

A central principle of Buzz Channel is that surveys should be intuitive and enjoyable for respondents.

Some surveys and consultations need to present large amounts of information, perhaps for legal reasons, or perhaps to ensure that respondents have access to information if they need it.

In these situations, we recommend using our Buzz Channel Pop Ups or setting up links in the survey that give respondents the option to read more if they choose to, before responding. This approach means respondents do not lose the flow of the survey, compared to sending them off to a different website and then expecting them to come back to the survey.

Another frequently used function is the ability of respondents to upload their own documents to support their submission or response. Buzz Channel functionality will label uploads to enable them to be matched to responses and make the uploads available electronically to our client.

Online Portals

As projects require, Buzz Channel will set up and host online portals through which respondents can enter a survey.

This is obviously a straightforward task however it is often simpler to work with us to provide this service alongside the research technology, than to involve a third party or an overworked internal technology team.

Tailored Reporting

Our in-house development team use powerful reporting tools to build dynamic management reporting for clients.

This includes dashboard reporting using the latest graphic tools.

Tailored reporting is particularly useful for Trackers, where research costs can be dramatically reduced by using automatically updating online reports for ongoing monitoring, with skilled researchers providing periodic analysis and insight.

Our reporting approach is integrated with our permission based system access so you can have different managers in your organisation accessing different levels and views of reports as they log in and view them in real-time at their desks.

Report Builder

The central design principle of Buzz Channel is simplicity of use for our clients. Nowhere is this principle better demonstrated than our analysis and reporting tools.

Our tools have simple top-line report functionality for an instant view of feedback.

However, for deeper analysis and easy dissemination, clients will soon have access to our Report Builder - tools which enable you to select the questions, format of the report (e.g. graph, table), apply filters or banners, select open ended responses that support your case, and to then save each report with a name, for later updating and printing.

Once set up, you will be able to choose to instantly export your formatted report to PowerPoint, Excel, or Word at the click of a button.

Exporting

Getting data and information from the Buzz Channel system to your preferred format is a streamlined and straightforward process.

Our research clients and those proficient with SPSS are able to export straight to this software, including exporting the Syntax file to correctly set up and label columns.

Business users often just 'cut and paste' tables or graphs into Microsoft Office and work further with the data in the area they are most comfortable.

The Export function enables you to select the questions, respondent groups, time of response, completes or all responses, and to export these to a .csv file instantly. If you apply filters to the data, these filters will stay applied during the export process.

Of course, many users use the Buzz Channel analysis and reporting tools to work with survey results.

Significance Testing

(In development)

When one looks at survey results, a 'test of significance' will tell us how likely it is that a difference between two figures occurred simply by chance.

You can read more about Significance Testing at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Significance_testing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-value

The Buzz Channel system will soon have built in significance testing can be applied to results to highlight whether you should be cautious in your interpretation of results due to their weak statistical significance.

Weighting On The Fly

(In development)

For many Buzz Channel studies we will use quotas to ensure the final sample meets our clients' requirements.

Other studies however need to be open to all who wish to participate e.g. public consultations or topical media studies.

With these studies we will soon be able to set up the desired sample profile as weighting factors (usually but not always demographics) and then, at a click of a button, weight the results to match the sample profile.

The weighting process is like applying a filter which can be toggled on and off, so you do not lose the original data.

This is a particularly powerful feature for fast-turnaround media studies, as it removes the need to export the data to weight it, and means users can still use Buzz Channel analysis and reporting tools.

Top Box

(In development)

Another tool in the Buzz Channel reporting kit will soon be Top Box analysis.

Turning on Top Box enables you to instantly aggregate the points on an n-point scale question together for simplified reporting.

For example, you may have used a 7 point scale in your survey for an 'overall satisfaction' rating.

When you turn on Top Box, you can summarise the results into 'strongly dissatisfied' - people who clicked 1 and 2; 'moderates' - people who clicked 3 to 5; and 'highly satisfied' - people who clicked 6 and 7.

Filters

If you wish to look at a subset of the results based on any questions, combination of questions, or other information, you can apply filters.

Once set up, filters can be toggled on and off. When filters are on or applied, the work across the results as you develop reports, do cross tabulations, or export the data.

For example, when running a study on the public's view of Government policy announcements, you may wish to focus on how the right-wing, rural view differs from the rest of the population. Assuming you have asked the right questions, you could build and apply a filter that grouped together voters of right wing parties, and people living in rural areas.

Another example using filters not based on questions is a media study where you may want to see a shift in audience perspective after media analysis and coverage. You could apply a filer based on date of response.

Permission Based Access

A powerful feature of the Buzz Channel system is the way in which we manage access to different parts of the system.

Within a client organisation, there may be some research champions who need access to the full system across all projects, including survey set up, the upload library, top-line results, tailored reports, and the report builder.

Perhaps there are several research people, with responsibility for HR, Marketing, and Distribution Channels respectively and each of these people only want to see and work on projects in their own areas.

At the other end of the spectrum, there may be team managers who can only access one of several tailored reports that show their team's performance against the organisation totals.

This access is controlled by our permission- based log ins that client can either manage themselves, or we can manage on their behalf.

An important feature of our system is that log in access can be set right down to individual question level. So, a research house may wish to run an omnibus survey on behalf of several clients, or an organisation may wish to talk to their suppliers about several different product categories. Our permission based access would enable log ins to be set up that presented question responses to certain people and not others.

Redirection on Conclusion

As respondents complete a survey we are able to send them to your website or a target URL as they close their survey browser.

The redirection can occur selectively for some respondents and not others.

Upload Manager and Library

As you become a Buzz Channel client and log in for the first time, you'll automatically have your own Upload Manager or library.

This is a place to upload and store all the image, video, and audio files that you wish to include in your survey.

The Upload Manager allows you to set up folders and link directly to your desktop.

Standard Questions

Standard Questions are questions that you wish to set up in their entirety (so both the question itself and the answer options) so that every time it is used, it is exactly the same.

This allows the comparison of results over time and over different surveys and can also reduce survey set up time.

By setting up a standard question, any user whose username is set up to view this question, can simply 'click the button' and it will drop into their survey.

This is helpful for research companies or large organisations where more than one person is involved in survey design and scripting.

Longitudinal Reporting

Longitudinal reporting allows you to report over time, survey by survey, the results to repeated questions.

This is a valuable feature for Trackers.

Email Campaigns: Scheduled Mailouts

Our Email Scheduler is helpful for large email campaigns where we can set up the system to send them in smaller batches.

This reduces the load on servers and can help meet project requirements where groups of respondents need to receive their emails at different times.

 

 

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