Survey Services (SIN 874-3)
The SAIC Team understands the intricacies of providing survey services. We have extensive experience with providing expert consultation, assistance, and deliverables associated with all aspects of the survey process.
Planning Survey Design: The effectiveness of surveys is directly related to the quality of the survey design, intended target, type of response anticipated, level of proficiency of the respondent, and overall industry survey response rate. SAIC develops effective survey tools and techniques to determine the best survey plan and elicit the desired response from the target population, whether it be the agency's customers, its employees, or other agency stakeholder groups. Our survey planning services include providing demographic information and metrics of the targeted market place, designing the survey, and assisting agencies in gaining any required approvals.
Sampling: As part of the survey design plan, we identify the sampling plan to yield the desired response rate and statistical significance. Our survey experts provide the sampling strategy for the number of queries and the rate of response, and develop sampling plans based on accepted standard statistical tools and methodologies.
Survey Development: SAIC develops survey tools customized to the specific information requirements of Federal agencies. The survey development phase involves meeting with the customer to develop an outline of the survey focus, demographics, proposed sample, method of surveying, and the type of questions and response scoring. Once the approach is agreed upon, we design the survey and present it to the customer for final approval. If required, our survey consultants will submit the survey as an official government form to OMB for approval.
Pretest / Pilot Surveying: If the actual survey is to cover a large population, we recommend that a pilot survey be sent to a select number of recipients. Since some questions may not be clear, recipients may not respond to certain questions. This may result in scored results that may not meet the survey requirements. To resolve this issue, survey developers use pretest results to refine survey attributes before the final survey is sent out en masse.
Assessing Reliability and Validity: Survey results can be statistically skewed if the scoring spread, types of questions asked, size of the population, and reliability and validity of the design are not given careful attention. Therefore, it is extremely important to define the statistical method of sampling, scoring, and applying standard deviations and scoring curves that will be used to support the survey. SAIC consultants identify the desired confidence levels and the factors that could affect the reliability and validity of the results.
Administering Surveys Using Various Methods: SAIC recommends the use of a variety of data collection techniques to survey customers. Often times the methods used to conduct surveys are also a function of the budget. For example, it is usually more expensive to do a direct mail survey rather than use e-mail, fax, or telephone. However, the direct mail survey may yield more responses than other methods. Our survey design includes an analysis of the target marketplace and anticipated receptiveness to the survey. This analysis allows us to provide the most cost effective survey recommendation to our client.
Database Administration: An important part of the survey process is designing a database to hold the resulting data. We work with our customers to define the type of database that best meets their requirements. The database may be as simple as a Microsoft Word7 table or an Excel7 spreadsheet, or as sophisticated as a Sybase, dBASE, or FoxPro7 database. We work closely with our customers to define the output desired for each task.
Analysis of Survey Data: Our team analyzes returned surveys for trends, control points, and question-by-question scores. Our survey experts provide an executive summary and survey report defining the major statistics, results, trends, conclusions, and recommendations. We also include graphical representations with trend lines, regression analysis, and an explanation of unusual trends.
Production of Reports and Assistance Implementing Recommendations: The final step in the survey process is to document, publish, and assist Federal agencies in their use of the survey information. Our team works closely with the customer to develop plans to implement recommendations associated with the survey results.