Best Online Survey Tools for Collecting Data Efficiently

Students’ top online survey tools for efficient data collection

In today's data-driven world, the ability to gather and analyze information efficiently is crucial, especially for students. Consequently, accessing the right survey tools and platforms for academic research, class projects, or extracurricular activities can make all the difference. Unlike in the past when such systems were scarce and expensive, the current market is full of options. This makes it hard to choose the right tool, especially for first-time users. In this short article, we’ll explore some of the most effective, affordable, and user-friendly online survey tools for students. Keep reading to understand!

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Advantages of online survey tools for students

Technology has surely made the world a better place. While its impacts are felt across industries and disciplines, education is one of its greatest beneficiaries. If you’re below 40 years old, you might find it difficult to understand the challenges learners faced when collecting data for their projects. Some students died and others were gravely harmed in their data coaction exercises. Not to mention walking hundreds of kilometers, spending thousands of dollars, contracting diseases, and putting in uncountable hours of work for data entry. The development of online survey tools couldn’t come sooner!

The tools provide an efficient and effective means of collecting data without breaking a sweat. Today, a student can design, share, and collect data from hundreds of people in less than 5 minutes. This has simplified the process while saving learners thousands of hours of hard manual work. Moreover, some online surveys offer lifetime storage, which prevents damage and loss of critical data. Another advantage is that they promote collaboration. For example, you can work with a classmate, supervisor, or a professional essay writing service on a project and seamlessly share the data obtained from these services in real-time.

New online survey platforms have incorporated many extra services in their platforms, encouraging innovative approaches to gathering feedback and opinions. JotForm, for instance, allows its users to send a thank-you note to all participants upon completing a study. It allows direct messaging by participants, which can be invaluable for improving a pilot survey. Additionally, the platforms are flexible, which means students can make changes to their surveys in real time to improve completion and response rates. A good example is when many participants abandon a survey and the owner examines and finds ambiguous questions responsible for the said behavior and edits them. This is a form of empowerment that leads to making informed decisions.

Online survey tools also provide invaluable experience to students. There is no better way of learning how to use new tech than practice. While these tools are mainly for academic purposes, they help learners normalize using technology. This can translate into the adoption and use of other unrelated devices and gadgets, improving students’ lives significantly.

Top 5 online survey tools for students for collecting data efficiently  

BlockSurvey

BlockSurvey is a privacy-focused online survey tool that ensures the anonymity and security of respondents. Unlike traditional survey platforms, BlockSurvey is built with encryption and blockchain technology to protect sensitive data. This makes it an ideal solution for organizations and individuals who value privacy and security in data collection.

Features

Privacy by Design: BlockSurvey places a strong emphasis on privacy. The platform ensures that no data is collected without consent and that all survey responses are encrypted, preventing unauthorized access or breaches.

Complete Anonymity: Respondents can be assured that their identity remains anonymous throughout the survey process. This feature is critical for collecting honest feedback, especially in sensitive surveys such as employee engagement, mental health, or Web3 token holder feedback.

Customizable Surveys: BlockSurvey offers a wide array of templates tailored for different industries and survey types. Whether you are conducting employee feedback, health research, or community engagement surveys, you’ll find a suitable template.

Advanced Data Security: Data security is a priority with BlockSurvey. In addition to encryption, the platform utilizes decentralized storage to further secure data and prevent leaks or breaches, making it a leader in privacy-first data collection.

Token-Gated Surveys: For Web3 communities, BlockSurvey supports token-gated surveys, allowing only verified token holders to participate. This ensures the authenticity of feedback from community members, fostering trust and collaboration.

AI-Powered Analysis: BlockSurvey provides AI-driven insights for your collected data. The AI tool helps identify patterns, trends, and key takeaways from responses, giving users actionable insights faster than traditional methods. This makes data interpretation much easier and more efficient.

Verdict: BlockSurvey is an essential tool for privacy-conscious users. It’s a perfect choice for students, startups, or organizations handling sensitive information. Its robust encryption, customizable templates, and token-gated surveys make it stand out in the crowded survey space. For those prioritizing data privacy and respondent anonymity, BlockSurvey is a must-try.

Google Forms

This is probably the most famous online survey tool today. As of January 2024, the platform had over 395,222 active users. The US was its main market with approximately 198,680 users, translating to over 64.35% of the global footprint. As part of the Google Workspace suite, the tool allows its users to create surveys and questionnaires quickly and easily.

Features

User-friendly interface: The simple drag-and-drop interface is a winner. It allows students, even those without any technical skills, to use the platform with minimal effort. This means you can save a lot of time for other more important stuff.

Customizable templates: The one-size-fits-all approach to data collection that has dominated the survey world can be boring. Google Forms deviates from this by providing diverse templates that cater to various needs and tastes, improving users’ interest and enjoyment.

Real-time collaboration: Sometimes it takes more than one person to create a survey. This is common with group work. Google Forms allows multiple users to work on a form simultaneously, welcoming diverse inputs in the process.

Easy data analysis: Forget the days of typing in your data in a sheet manually. Google Forms collects responses and automatically saves them on a sheet in various formats, e.g. CSV, Excel, and PDF, allowing for easy data analysis. All you need to do is download the data in your preferred format and hit the ground running.

Verdict: This is undoubtedly a great product for all students. The fact that it’s free and integrates seamlessly with other Google services and devices, e.g. Android phones, Gmail, and thousands of the most popular apps on Play Store, makes it a must-try service by students. Not forgetting its collaborative features which makes it ideal for group assignments or projects where teamwork is essential.

SurveyMonkey

Founded by Ryan and Chris Finley in 1999, the company has grown from strength to strength to become one of the leaders in the online survey industry. The primary objective of the company was to make data gathering, especially feedback, more scalable, accessible, and feasible. Despite many operational hurdles, SurveyMonkey has undoubtedly achieved and surpassed its objectives, completing millions of surveys along the way.

Features

Variety of question types: While other platforms don’t allow mixing different types of questions, e.g., multiple choice, rating scales, open-ended questions, and more, SurveyMonkey does. This allows flexibility and improves user experience. The site even provides a grip for listing related questions, making them appear as few to participants.

Advanced analysis tools: SurveyMonkey is hands down the best online survey platform in terms of analytics. If you’re working on a project that requires descriptive statistics, you don’t need any other tool. SurveyMonkey will analyze your data and provide detailed output through graphs and charts. Moreover, you can download the output in various formats, including JPEG, PNG, JPG, and rich text.

Custom branding: Customization can be the difference between participants completing your questionnaires or not. Studies have shown that when people see something, e.g. a color, emblem, or image they can easily associate with, they become more engaged in an activity. SurveyMonkey can allow you to use your school’s logo, motto, or colors, improving your project’s completion rate significantly.

Mobile-friendly: The global population is slowly but steadily moving away from using desktops and laptops to more portable gadgets like smartphones and tablets. According to Market Research, approximately 9 in 10 (92.3%) of internet users use smartphones to access the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, some businesses and platforms are yet to make their sites mobile-friendly. SurveyMonkey isn’t one of them! Making the platform mobile-friendly increases response rates significantly.

Verdict: This tool is great for you; probably better than Google Forms. You can use it to create professional-looking surveys that can yield valuable insights. However, its charges can be prohibitive. If you’re on a budget, you might consider other free options.

Typeform

Typeform is a relatively new entrant into the online survey market. Established in 2012 by Robert Muñoz and David Okuniev in Barcelona, Spain, the company has gained considerable market space and become a major player. Its growth can be attributed to its unique design and user experience. Typeform focuses on creating engaging forms that provide a conversational feel.

Features

Interactive design: Show us any online survey company with more visually appealing and interactive forms and win a bucket of potation! In all seriousness, Typeform has got looks locked in. The company’s visually appealing and interactive forms keep respondents engaged.

Conditional logic: It’s common for people to create the same type of surveys over time. For example, a marketer conducting product surveys or a teacher seeking feedback. Typeform makes this process easier by allowing personalization based on previous answers.

Integration options: Just like Google Forms, Typeform is pretty flexible. It can integrate with various applications like Google Sheets, Mailchimp, and more for enhanced functionality.

Verdict: While we don’t consider it the best, it can serve you well. For example, its conditional logic feature can enable you to conduct more tailored surveys, which is particularly useful in academic research where specific data points are needed.

Microsoft Forms

This is another popular product in the online survey market. As part of the Microsoft 365 suite, it’s widely used in the corporate environment. However, it also has a free option for registered users of Microsoft products, especially Windows.

Features

Simple setup: Microsoft Forms’ intuitive interface allows users to create forms straightforwardly. The setup takes minutes if you’ve installed the Microsoft 365 suite.  

Automatic grading: For educational purposes, Microsoft Forms offers automatic quiz grading options. This is especially helpful for teachers running online classes or organizations conducting online training.

Cross-survey analysis: This feature is unique to Microsoft Forms and enables users to compare results across different surveys easily. Usually, such tasks require advanced knowledge of SPSS and other statistical packages.

Verdict: For students who are familiar with Microsoft Office products, this product provides a seamless experience. The automatic grading feature is especially beneficial for educators looking to streamline assessments.

Conclusion

Selecting the most appropriate online data collection instrument can greatly improve a student’s data gathering and analysis proficiency. Each tool discussed herein - BlockSurvey, Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Typeform, and Microsoft Forms - offers unique qualities, benefits, and strengths catering to different needs and preferences. Choose yours carefully and your web-based data collection will be a breeze!