Review: Analyse and Report survey data

These are some simple steps to take when you look at your survey data:

Step one: Look at your high and low means

You can learn quite a bit simply from seeing where you are strongest and weakest in the averages for each of your items.

Step two: Look at the distribution of the responses

Sometimes, the most interesting insight can be gained from analysing how many people (or what percentage of people) selected each response option.

Step three: Look at the differences in the demographic disaggregation of the data

If you asked a demographic question, separate the data based on the demographic identifiers and compare and contrast them to see if there are differences in the experience of impact between segments of your demographic.

Step four: Identify the insights from the survey data (prove and improve).

Identify the most significant learnings or discoveries from the survey data. Those are your findings.

Click on the heading below to see an example of how survey data can be reported on.

In each of these examples, you will see two parts: discussion and visualization. Be sure to include both. People will need your commentary to understand what the data are saying and what the data mean. And people will also need to be able to see the data visualized to help them quickly grasp the main ideas. Here are two examples:

Example 1:

99% of the teachers responding to our online survey observed an increase in students’ sense of excitement or adventure when trying new foods or recipes (see Figure 1).

Example 2:

Difficulties accessing health information were also evident in our survey results (see Figure 2). Fewer than half of the respondents (44%) indicated that they had more information about ways to live a healthier life as a result of being involved in the BAH program, with another 44% reporting that they were “undecided.”

Review: Analyse and Report survey data

Step one: Look at your high and low means

Step two: Look at the distribution of the responses

Step three: Look at the differences in the demographic disaggregation of the data

Step four: Identify the insights from the survey data (prove and improve).

Examples of reporting on Survey Data