A survey report is the final stage of a survey, where the conclusions and their interpretations are stated. Any survey report rises as a result of survey preparation and conduction. 

Reports may be created manually or with the help of specific tools and professionals. Professional services, like GrapeData, can greatly improve the quality and comprehension of the report by your employees or other involved parties. The following four steps will help you understand the basics of survey report creation.

Create a Survey Report Questionnaire

The first step is to create a survey questionnaire. So, you should ask yourself: what are the objectives and who is the target audience of the survey? If your objective is to collect customers’ opinions, then define their characteristics, like gender, age and/ or profession.

Once you’re done with objectives and audience, you have to choose the method – qualitative or quantitative. This would directly impact the results stated in the report. If you need the exact values (in number or percent) then choose quantitative, and if you need a professional opinion – choose qualitative.

The last part of a questionnaire creation process is to define the types of questions. You can choose from open and closed questions, rating or scale questions. If it is important, you may also include demographic questions.

Data Collection From Your Survey

Now that the questionnaire is finished, you can conduct the survey itself. There are some things that you need to take into account, as they influence the survey results: audience location, bias avoidance, and questionnaire type are among the most important factors. The audience can be located in a single organization, city, country, or macroregion. Additionally, think about the size of the target audience (number of people).

As the contemporary world becomes more connected, plural, and inclusive, it is important to avoid biases. These can be related to gender, social background, ethnicity, or level of income. Therefore, avoid disrespecting your audience, as this may influence the survey results.

Another significant factor to keep in mind is the type of questionnaire: paper or digital. These days most people have smartphones with internet connection. Still, it may be more convenient to use paper questionnaires. Once you are done with all the above – you conduct your survey.

Interpreting Survey Analysis

The third step is the analysis and interpretation of the obtained data. When you analyze the data, it is converted into information and then into valuable knowledge. First of all, you or the professional tool you’re using will have to export the data from questionnaires into an analytical tool, like Microsoft Excel, to work with it.

Data grouping and statistical analysis are the basics of data processing, though more thorough analysis may demand the calculation of some indicators. Whatever the complexity of analysis and interpretation, one thing remains unchangeable – data ought to be clean, transparent, and understandable, so data cleaning is applied.

Further, exported, cleaned, and grouped data undergo the process of interpretation, which demands text, audio, and visual content creation. You may create tables, diagrams, videos, and interactive presentations. You can choose any means that reveal the survey results the best.

Writing the Survey Report

The fourth step is the writing of the survey report itself. The type of the survey report should be chosen in accordance with the above three steps. There are different types of a target audience (employees, customers, or clients), therefore a survey report can relate to employee satisfaction, customer feedback or market performance.

The very final part of the report writing is the use of the analyzed data and visual content (like diagrams) into the comprehensible and motivated report with reasonable and well-grounded conclusions. Professional survey reports are the sources of information for market decisions, product placement, or brand development, so it may be better to ask for professional help.

We’ve shown that in order to create a survey report you ought to prepare and conduct the survey itself. If you want to make this easier, you should consider online services, which are very popular as they provide multiple benefits for their clients. For example, GrapeData is an AI-powered online tool, that facilitates the survey process, increases speed, and allows to reach remote target groups. It can be accessed through its website: grape-data.com. You will find tons of useful information, and GrapeData team members answer all of your questions.