With more than 15 years experience and expertise in survey research, analysis and data management, we can provide the following services:

SURVEY DATA (SPSS)

Create complete SPSS input programs, including:

• Import/translate data from text, Excel or other sources
• Create variable labels
• Create value labels
• Identify, label and define missing values
• Create/transform variables as needed
• Clean and validate data (e.g., enforce skip patterns)
• Prepare survey data for subsequent point-and-click SPSS analysis by your staff

DATA ANALYSIS (SPSS)

You have worked diligently and spent wisely to collect data to support your business decisions. Both quality data and quality analysis are essential. The most common mistake is to leap into analysis before understanding the basic shape and structure of the data.

Here is how we go about analyzing survey data:

• We consult with a knowledgeable person on your staff to understand the business need that drove the creation of the survey
• Determine the analytical needs and processes that will support the decisions that must be made based on survey results (e.g., market segmentation, customer loyalty, satisfaction vis-à-vis competitors, etc.)
• Explore and understand the survey’s strengths and weaknesses
• Validate the logic of skip patterns, question order, and response values
• Examine (through programming steps) the raw data for input errors
• Explore the basic descriptive statistics for each variable
• Drill down through appropriate statistical testing
• Apply multivariate, parametric and/or non-parametric statistical techniques
• Focus on fulfilling the business need that drove the creation of the survey while revealing unanticipated relationships not readily apparent in a cursory examination of the survey or the resulting data; and
• Report results in a clear, non-technical fashion

DATA MANAGEMENT (SPSS)

Good data management includes, but is not limited to, the following tasks

• Create/transform variables as needed
• Combine/Aggregate/Merge data sets
• Clean and validate data
• Compute new time and date variables (e.g., time between events)
• Export data to Excel or other formats
• Write macros and scripts to make processing tasks more efficient
• Modify or update existing programs to include new data or meet new needs

OTHER (SPSS)

All of our programs include the following features and benefits:

• They follow the best practices in SPSS programming (e.g., original data is always preserved and protected)
• Abundant documentation assists later users in interpreting code
• Code is concise, efficient, well-structured and error free

The science of survey research design can protect your substantial investment in time and resources, improve the reliability and validity of your survey instrument, reduce the costs of collecting, analyzing and reporting results, and make those results more action oriented.

• What decisions are depending on the results of the research?
• What do you need to know, and what’s the best way to get the answers?
• How can you prevent bias from creeping into your survey and clouding the results?
• What analytical processes will be used, and will the survey results support such analysis?
• What’s the best method of collecting data (e.g., intercept, mail, telephone, e-mail, online, etc.)?

You are the expert on your business and your customer. We will work closely with you to create the best survey instrument and methodology available within the constraints of your budget and deadlines...and follow up with additional services as needed.

Our specialty is the statistics associated with the analysis of survey research data. Our aim is to de-mystify the profusion of statistical processes made possible by computers. In order to help you make decisions in the face of uncertainty, we will

• Find out what you need to know from your data
• Determine how best to answer the essential question or questions
• Describe and explain our choice of statistical techniques
• Clearly illustrate the resulting statistics in tables, graphs, succinct prose or a combination of these techniques
• Drill-down and otherwise follow-up based on questions that you may have after examining the preliminary statistics

• Because you need to make important decisions based on your survey research, it is important to question as many people as necessary to provide valid and reliable results.
• The expense of sampling makes it important not to question more people than necessary to provide the statistical power for confident, reliable decision making.

The Gallup Organization states that “The fundamental goal of a survey is to come up with the same results that would have been obtained had every single member of a population been interviewed.” An excellent description and justification of the need for random sampling can be found in a Gallup FAQ.

We can help you design and draw a survey sample appropriate to your budget and your research needs while enhancing the reliability and validity of your survey research.

Barring any changes in the job requirements, the estimate will be your final fee. The fee for additional services, if asked for, will be added to the assignment confirmation and provided on a pro-rata basis.

One-half of the estimated fee is payable in advance, with the balance due on completion of the assignment. Alternative billing arrangements can be made by prior agreement.

We provide a substantial discount to students for tutoring in SPSS and consultation.