Polls and surveys are a good way of finding out what the public thinks about a certain thing. Politicians love it, and so the journalists. But, will a person that you encounter on the street really answer your question the way it would while sitting on a computer and being more relaxed?
There are few cons of the traditional surveying, and the main one is the fact that people are not sure where their opinion will end and are they safe to answer the way they really think. Along with that, most people refuse to do it thinking that it will take their time away, while they get nothing in return. Luckily, with the rise of the internet, a thing called online poll has almost taken over all the regular methods. It is a much easier way to get a wider opinion on a public matter. But what are the exact advantages and benefits of the same? Let’s have a look!
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Contents
Advantages Of Using An Online Poll
- First and foremost the conducting an online poll is less expensive. The only thing you need to do is have a specific account, form your question and send out invites. On the other hand, when you are conducting a survey in person or via telephone, you will have to pay the conductor, as well as all the mailing fees that accompany the process.
- Along with that, it is likely that you will get more sincere answers. When not conducted in person or via telephone people won’t feel like they are judged if they answer in a way that is kind out of the box and not biased.
- It is much more effective due to programming logic. When you don’t answer a question, it is skipped and not counted in the final poll percentage.
- Along with that online poll is sure to be much more entertaining to the ones who answer. You can put a lot of interactive pictures, videos or even ads that will allow them to think through the answer and have some fun while doing the survey.
- Last but not least, an online poll is a much less time demanding as it can be done in less than few minutes!
Source: 123FormBuilder
All The Benefits Of An Online Poll
It is pretty clear that an online poll is better both for the one who is conducting the survey and the person answering, but how can it benefit the system?
- Once again it is important to express that an online poll is much cheaper, less time demanding and easier to conduct. There is nothing you need to invest, and you will be reaching the wider audience as well as in a matter of few hundred invites it will be spread all over the target group.
- The results are much easier to figure out as the system is calculating the most popular opinions, and the room for error is really low because all the data is directly entered into the programmed software.
- It is more flexible, and you can choose to target only a specific audience. Instead of wandering out on the street looking for whom to ask, by conducting an online poll you can invite and get the answers from the relevant group of people. Also, once done an online poll will be a great method of presenting the results in certain research.
- And one of the greatest benefits there is is the fact that the answer will be more objective. The interviewed person will not be under pressure or led to answer in a certain way, but will rather think and express an honest opinion.
source: mycroft.ai
Disadvantages Of Online Poll
Though it is clear that online poll is much better than the traditional survey methods, there are still a few things you need to take care of. Online polls aren’t able to reach the certain part of the population that doesn’t use the internet, which might be relevant, and along with that, some people are pretty suspicious entering online surveys as there are numerous frauds everywhere around. In the end, one of the biggest disadvantages of the missing interviewer is the fact that no one is there to determine the open-ended answers as those are directly entered to the system.
Summary
As mentioned above there are few minor disadvantages to conducting an online survey, but we still think the benefits hardly outweigh those, and that at the end of the day you will be getting more relevant and honest results!
