Online Survey Capabilities

Experience

Clarion is a pioneer in conducting online research. We conducted our first online project in 1997 and have conducted hundreds of online studies since then. We have conducted online research:

• In the U.S. and worldwide. 
• In English and in numerous other languages.
• Among a wide variety of targets including consumers, business people, medical professionals and educators.
  

We have conducted online research using a variety of sample sources, including our clients’ customer lists, purchased lists from our list partners, and also using panelists provided by various panel partners as called for by the research design.   

In recent years, some of our online surveys have been done in conjunction with telephone surveys, because mixed methods are sometimes required to reach all of the appropriate audiences. We have also used telephone screening to bring respondents to an online survey when e-mail lists were not available for use. Clarion is a pioneer in the use of mixed methods.   

Our Approach To Online Research

Clarion’s online surveys are flexible and respondent-friendly.  We employ cutting-edge technology to make the online survey experience as close to real-world as possible.  Our surveys are carefully designed to collect high quality information in the most effective and efficient manner possible, and to take all necessary steps to insure that the results are valid, reliable and actionable.  We also believe that it is essential to provide respondents access to support if they have a question or technical issue, and therefore we include an 800 number as well as a help e-mail address for all of our online surveys. 

Online Survey Capabilities

Our online survey capabilities are sophisticated and state-of-the-art, including: 

• Questionnaire functionality
• Automatic Skip Patterns
• "Piping" Responses Into Subsequent Questions
• Randomization of Lists & Attributes
• Constant Sum & Allocation Verification
• Re-Direct to Websites
• Drag & drop into buckets to improve ease of sorting exercises
• Toggle switching to allow capture of points of interest to respondents


• Graphics Capacities
• Photo & Graphics Inclusion - For Branding, Concept Testing or Package Testing
• Virtual Reality type “handling” of products, packaging etc.


• Security, study management and reporting
• Respondent Security & Authentication (passwords, unique links)
• Quota Group Screening & Control
• Real-Time Online Results Viewing
  

Quality Control

Online survey questionnaires are designed by senior Clarion staff and are pre-tested to insure that the questions are clear and easy to answer.  The surveys are thoroughly beta tested prior to survey launch, and test results are checked to ensure that the data collection is functioning properly. In addition, we typically run a “soft launch” where data is collected from a small portion of the sample before inviting all survey participants, to insure that there are no issues.   

We often include a question at the end asking respondents for comments on taking our survey, and typically get very favorable “reviews”, even when our surveys are long and complex.  

After all data has been collected, we take the important added step of reviewing answer patterns for signs that respondents may have been completing the survey simply for the incentive - including factors such as the total time spent on the survey, straight-lining of answers, inconsistent or contradictory responses at different points in the survey, incomplete or nonsensical open end responses, etc.  We create a custom “demerit” system for each study, and purge respondents who are clearly not responding in good faith. As a result, the end product, the analysis, is based on sound data from legitimate respondents. 

Reporting

Regardless of the methodology, our final reports are actionable and theme-focused, clearly answer the questions at hand based on sound research, and include strategic marketing recommendations. 

For more information about any of Clarion’s quantitative research services, please contact Diane Traiger at 212-664-1100 or diane.traiger@clarionresearch.com.