Analyzing survey results can feel intimidating especially when you have hundreds or thousands of data. Below are some high level steps to guide your survey data analysis.
1. Clean and Organize Data:
Begin by cleaning the data. Take a glimpse and manually inspect the data to make sure the types of data are what you expected. While survey data will not be recorded unless the survey is completed in Hubble, make sure if there are any irrelevant or incomplete data.
Depending on the tool or program of your choice, organize the data into a structured format using tools like Excel or Google Sheets.
2. Define Objectives and Key Metrics:
Circle back to your original research or survey plan. Every question in the survey should be purposeful. Identify and align the key learning objectives for the survey and identify which key metrics or data you want to prioritize. Knowing what you're looking for will guide your analysis and interpretation.
3. Begin Quantitative Analysis with Descriptive Stats:
With quantitative analysis, you can easily start out with basic descriptive statistics, identifying mean, median, high, low, and mode. Visualizing the data will help you see the overall distribution and any patterns or trends.
4. Categorize and Segment Data:
Categorize responses based on relevant variables like demographics or usage patterns. Segmenting data allows you to identify patterns within specific groups and draw targeted conclusions.
5. Deep Dive with Cross-Tabulation and Statistical Tests:
Cross-tabulate variables to explore relationships between different factors. Search for any correlations and dependencies that may not be apparent in the initial analysis.
If applicable, conduct statistical tests to determine the significance of relationships or differences. Common tests include t-tests, chi-square tests, and correlation. Depending on the number of variables, multivariate testing and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) will come in handy.
6. Triangulate Data with Qualitative Analysis:
While the data types may vary depending on the learning goals of the survey, open-ended questions always provide the rich, contextual whys. Group similar responses to identify common themes, and rally back to how those findings relate to the quantitative findings. The qualitative insights will provide depth and context to quantitative findings.
7. Enrich the Findings with Data Visualization:
Create compelling visualizations, such as charts, graphs, and dashboards, to communicate key insights. You want to highlight the insights through easily digestible visualizations instead of showing detailed numbers and data table. Visualization enhances understanding and makes it easier for stakeholders to grasp complex information.