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WO2000031666A1 - Systeme base sur un reseau informatique et procede permettant de collecter des donnees et de les editer sous forme d'etat - Google Patents

Systeme base sur un reseau informatique et procede permettant de collecter des donnees et de les editer sous forme d'etat Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2000031666A1
WO2000031666A1 PCT/US1999/027695 US9927695W WO0031666A1 WO 2000031666 A1 WO2000031666 A1 WO 2000031666A1 US 9927695 W US9927695 W US 9927695W WO 0031666 A1 WO0031666 A1 WO 0031666A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
survey
data
database
report
method recited
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1999/027695
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English (en)
Other versions
WO2000031666A9 (fr
Inventor
Daniel Short
Molly Riness
Wes Kempfer
Original Assignee
Information Works, Llc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Information Works, Llc filed Critical Information Works, Llc
Priority to AU19190/00A priority Critical patent/AU1919000A/en
Publication of WO2000031666A1 publication Critical patent/WO2000031666A1/fr
Publication of WO2000031666A9 publication Critical patent/WO2000031666A9/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to computerized market research tools, and in particular to a computer network based system and method for collecting and reporting data, preferably market research data, such as survey data.
  • a second example is 'SurveySite', which uses a pop-up invitation implemented in Java which acts as a link to an HTML survey hosted at a separate site A report is generated and delivered to the organization commissioning the research at the end of the survey's life, e g after a pre-determined number of surveys have been responded to
  • a final example, which employs a very different methodology to the previous examples, is 'RelevantKnowledge'/Nielsen Group A group of people (called a web panel or research panel) agree in advance to have their Internet usage monitored and then periodically a log of which Web Sites these people have visited is uploaded to a central collection point, and a report is generated
  • the present invention provides a computer network based system and method for collecting and reporting data, preferably market research data in real-time Whatever the application to which the invention is applied, particularly where it is market research oriented, the real-time feedback it provides can enable timely response to emerging issues, can enhance training/feedback for support staff and can give the ability to promptly see problem areas through the users' eyes From one aspect, the invention provides a computer network based, preferably
  • a software implemented data collection tool is deployed to a client on the computer network (for example a Web browser) to elicit data from a user accessing the computer network through that client
  • the collection tool returns the elicited data to a research database, which stores the elicited data
  • the research database is made accessible to one or more designated persons, typically a commissioner of the research work and/or someone with their authority
  • the data collection tool can be deployed to successive users of the computer network, accessing the network via the same or, more typically, a different client
  • the deployment of the data collection tool is initiated by the user visiting a particular pre-defined trigger page of information on the computer network, or any one of a number of such pre-defined trigger pages
  • each trigger page will be associated with a particular information site of the organization commissioning the research For example, where the system is implemented on
  • the system preferably has the ability to delay the actual commencement of data ehcitation
  • the data collection tool may have the ability to linger within the client for a period of time after its deployment, during which time the client device can be operated to perform other functions
  • the data collection tool will provide a survey or other data form, presenting the user with a series of questions to be answered For some questions the user may be presented with a series of possible responses from which they must choose one, or in some cases one or more Other questions may require a response by way of a value on a continuous scale, and another option is to allow the user to enter free text answers Where there is some control placed on the response to a question such that the response is predictable, the system may be designed to use the response to that question to decide whether a subsequent question in the survey be used Once all of the answers to the survey have been provided, the data collection tool delivers the answers to the research database for access by the reporting tool at the report site In addition to the answers themselves, the data collection tool may also collect and return other types of information, for example information indicating the state of completion of a survey, or other similar sample incidence information In some embodiments of the system, the data collection tool conducts one or more analyses of the data to produce one or more report results which are stored in the database The analysis or analyses may be used.
  • the research database is preferably accessible via a report site on the computer network which, if desired, can provide secure access to the database
  • the report site may be set up so that a pre-arranged password is required before the report site enables the research database to be accessed, the password only being made available to pre- autho ⁇ zed designated persons
  • the results of the market research, or other data collection process can be made available only to the desired parties, for example the commissioner of the research or persons with their express consent
  • the report site preferably also provides a user friendly front end to the database, and comprises or works in conjunction with a software implemented report tool to extract relevant report results from the database and present them to the designated person(s) as an appropriately formatted report
  • the results will be presented graphically as bar charts, pie charts, tables or the like, but any one of a large number of other graphical or textual formats are possible
  • the report tool has the capability to manipulate the report results and/or carry out one or more analyses of them, in order to present the designated person(s) with a variety of differently focused reports
  • the system may allow the designated person to select one of a number of focused reports, or even to define the focus of the report themselves
  • the data collection tool can be deployed from a server (referred to hereinafter a "survey server") associated with the computer network, other than a server (referred to hereinafter as an "information server") on which the information site containing the trigger page or pages is located
  • a server referred to hereinafter as an "information server”
  • the research database is also preferably resident on a server (referred to hereinafter as a "report server") other than the information server, as is the report site and report tool
  • the research database, the report site and the report tool are preferably resident on a single report server which conveniently may be the same server as the survey server from which the data collection tool is deployed
  • the data collecting and reporting system elicits information from the users of a plurality of distinct information sites on the computer network, which may be resident on the same or different information servers For each information site the same data collection tool and/or the same report tool may be employed Alternatively, custom versions of one or both of these tools may be provided for use with one or more of the information sites served If different, customized collection and report tools are used for respective ones of the information sites served bv the system, thev are preferably each based on a respective one of a master data collection tool and a master report tool, which provide common functions generally required by most, if not all market research applications or, if applicable, other data collection applications to which the system applies In this way, the effort required to provide a custom data collection and/or report tool for any particular application can be minimized
  • all of the data elicited may be stored in a single research database, but access to the data is preferably controlled so that the report results associated with the distinct information sites are only accessible to the respective designated person or persons
  • each designated person may be given a unique access name and corresponding password which they use to enter the report site, the report site and report tool utilizing the unique access name, if verified with the corresponding password, to determine which report results should be made accessible to a particular designated person Brief Description of the Drawings
  • FIGURE 1 schematically illustrates a market research data collection and reporting system that operates in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 2 is a block diagram showing the structure of the client side component of the data collection tool of the system of FIGURE 1 ,
  • FIGURE 3 schematically illustrates the procedure by which the system of FIGURE 1 collects data
  • FIGURES 4 to 17 show screen shots from an exemplary survey conducted over the Internet using the inventive system
  • FIGURES 18 to 28 show pages from an exemplary report site according to the present invention Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
  • the present invention is a computer network based system and method for collecting and reporting data, preferably market research data in real time
  • data preferably market research data
  • the primary application of the invention is seen to be in the field of gathering customer feedback regarding the quality of services, information and products that are being provided by an organization doing business on the World Wide Web, and the following description of an exemplary illustrates such an application
  • the invention is also applicable to gathering other types of data, whether market research data or other informational data in any of a number of computer network environments In this sense it can be considered as a general purpose market research tool
  • a data collection and reporting system is implemented on the World Wide Web, data exchange between various components of the system being effected over the Internet 2
  • Visitors to a specific information site 4 on the Web typically a Web site of the research commissioner, are presented with a survey including a number of questions
  • the answers to these questions given by the visitors are stored in a database 6 and made immediately accessible to a designated person or persons, typically the research commissioner, by way of one or more user friendly survey reports available on-line over the Internet 2 at a report Web site 8
  • the survey remains active for a finite period defined bv the number of visitors to take the survey an overall time duration or a combination of the two
  • the results remain accessible to the designated person(s) for a further pre-defined post-survey time period
  • the survey results can be down-loaded from the survey database 6, in order that a permanent record may be kept by the research commissioner Additionally, any of the graphical user's page, or the post-survey period.
  • a single surve) server 14 operating the inventive system may be used to simultaneously conduct more than one survey, each survey being associated with the same or a different Web site or page on the World Wide Web For each Web site or page the same fundamental data collection tool is employed, although an expanded survey (including additional questions) or otherwise customized survey (e g including revised questions and/or graphic images) may be used Where multiple surveys are being conducted, the survey results from each survey are stored in the database 6 in a manner identifying them with their respective survey, in order that the report site 8 and report tool 10 can distinguish them It is also likely that the designated person(s) will be different for the different surveys Consequentlv, each designated person is assigned a unique user name, verified by a password, for accessing the report site 8 and hence the survey results stored in the survey database 6 In this way it is possible to restrict access to the survey results associated with particular surveys only to respective authorized designated persons
  • the survey applet 16 conducts a validation operation to determine whether to proceed with the survey, in which it is determined, for example (a) whether the implementation of the survey is supported by the visitor's Web browser 18, (b) whether the survey has been previously executed in the current browser session, and (c) whether the IP address from which the visitor is accessing the network is on a list of addresses excluded from participation in the survey If these and/or other validation tests are passed, that is to say, for example, the visitor's browser 18 will support the survey, the survey has not been previously executed and the visitor is not excluded, the applet 16 proceeds to the next step in the procedure If any one of the tests is failed, the survey applet 16 exits without ever presenting itself to the user Also in this preferred implementation, the frequency at which the survey is presented to visitors to the trigger page 12 can be controlled That is to say the survey need not be presented to each visitor who passes the above validation operation This frequency control is
  • the survey applet 16 also has the capability to provide a further front end filter to the survey If desired rather than launching straight in to the full survey itself, the visitor can be presented with an invitation to take the survey This invitation can give the visitor the opportunity to decline to take the survey (such a decision to decline itself being recorded as the survey data), can be used to "screen" for a specific type of visitor (e g visitors with a specific connection speed or other screening information), and can also be conveniently used to offer the visitor an incentive for completing the survey
  • the survey applet 16 presents the visitor with a "START SURVEY” icon, along with instructions on the completion of the survey and, if desired, a suggestion to them that they complete their business at the Web site before taking the survey, in order that their responses might be based on a more complete review of the Web site
  • the "START SURVEY” icon exists in its own window separate from the main browser window, so it may be minimized or lowered while the visitor continues to browse the information Web site 4
  • they When the user is ready to commence answering the survey questions, they simply activate the "START SURVEY” icon as they would any other icon (e g by clicking on it with their mouse), and they are presented with the first question
  • the data collection tool comprises both server side and client side components, which communicate via the Internet 2 using the standard HTTP protocol
  • the server side components are resident on, and are executed by the survey server 14 They are currently implemented as a series of servlets, which run under the JavaWebServer 1 1 environment Thev could however, be implemented to run under any HTTP server that supports Java servlets or other equivalent applets
  • the survey servlet 20 which, at the request of the client side component 16, extracts the appropriate survey configuration data from the survey database 6 and posts it to client side component 16
  • the survey servlet 20 is first passed a pre-assigned unique survey job code by the client side component 16
  • the client side component 16 itself obtains the unique survey job code from the trigger on the trigger page 12, the code being one component of the trigger
  • the survey servlet 20 retrieves the approp ⁇ ate configuration data from the survey database 6, puts it in name-value pair format and posts it to the client side component 16
  • the configuration data includes the following elements
  • “Survey class name” this is a class file that determines the question set for each survey Each different survey may be associated with its own unique survey class, in which case the text of the questions, which make up the survey can be coded into the class However, in a preferred implementation a generic -13-
  • survev class is used for a number of different surveys, the generic class configuring itself for any particular survey by retrieving the respective question set from the survey database
  • the survey class name will be the same for all surveys sharing the generic survey class "Survey Job Code" - this is the key to retrieving the correct survey configuration for a particular survey It is passed to the client side component 16 of the data collection tool as a parameter from the trigger
  • the visitor is presented the survey questions in a question frame which contains two panels (1) a question panel in which the question text is displayed, and ( ⁇ ) a response panel in which the visitor makes their response
  • the "Question Color” parameter determines the background color of the question panel
  • the second server side component of the data collection tool is a data grabber servlet 22
  • This servlet accepts the survey data from the client side component 16 and updates the survey database 6, which is preferably a relational database, with this data More specifically, the client side component 16 sends the survey data to the survey server 14 over the Internet 2 as survey data post requests The data is posted in name-value pair format
  • the data grabber servlet 22 accepts the HTTP request, extracts the survey data and posts it to the survey database 6 using, in the currently preferred embodiment, the JDBC API (a standard feature of JDK1 1)
  • a question servlet 24 which accepts question text requests from the client side component 16, extracts the approp ⁇ ate question text from the survey database 6 and returns the question text to the client side component 16
  • the question data is returned to the client side component 16 in string format via an HTTP response
  • the client side component 16 parses the string formatted data and uses it to initialize Java question objects
  • the question text itself is designed with a view to the particular survey being undertaken
  • the currently envisaged application for which the exemplary system according to the invention is designed is the gathering of customer feedback regarding the quality of services, information, and products that are being provided by an organization doing business on the World Wide Web Suitable standard, core questions for this application are given in Appendix I, although in any particular case it may be desirable to add further, custom questions, or to modify some of the standard questions to provide the desired focus for the market research being undertaken
  • it may be returned using object serialization if the programming environment allows, for example if the survey applet is running under JDK1 1 Object serialization allows an object instance to
  • the final server side component of the data collection tool is a counter servlet 26 which accepts data packages from the client side component 16 containing survey progress data, that is data indicating the progress of the survey, rather than data representing the survey answers themselves It is envisaged that this data could be used to detect when a visitor reaches particular milestones in the completion of the survey, and would enable analysis of the actions of visitors who start the survey but drop out prior to completion
  • the survey server 14 also holds a copy of the client side component 16 of the data collection tool, which is deployed to, and executed within the visitor's Web browser 18
  • the client side component 16 is implemented as an applet written in the Java language and will be referred to as the survey applet 16 It provides the interface with the visitor through which the survey data is collected More particularly, the survey applet 16 once downloaded and executed within the visitor's browser 18, presents the visitor with a series of questions one at a time, in a window separate from the browser 18 The visitor responds to each question in turn and once they have committed a response the applet 16 does not allow the response to be changed
  • the applet 16 initially records each response on the client side, and then when all of the survey questions have been answered, the responses (l e survey data) are posted to the survey server 14
  • a further advantage is that since the server applet 16 runs in a separate window, it can be minimized allowing the user to explore the Web site 4 they are visiting before starting the survey This may increase the likelihood of a more informed evaluation of the site by the visitor
  • the use of the Java applet also provides a more versatile and robust user interface, for example it is not affected by connectivity problems once up and running, and offers a superior development environment that results in both source code that is easier to debug, maintain, and modify incrementally and research results that are methodologically more reliable than in other known on-line survey tools.
  • FIGURE 2 is an object diagram for a preferred implementation of the survey servlet
  • the APPLET LOADER 30 is the component initially downloaded from the survey server 14 by the visitor's browser 18 when the visitor requests the trigger page 12, containing the trigger, from the information server 4 Its functions are to download from the survey server the necessary Java classes, to present the invitation to take the survey to the visitor, and to instantiate the CLIENT SPECIFIC SURVEY 32 and call the doSurveyQ method, when the INVITER 34 indicates a positive answer by a visitor to the invitation
  • CLIENT SPECIFIC SURVEY 32 for which the WEBMETRICS class 36 is a superclass overrides the doSurveyQ method, and instantiates the QUESTION FRAME 38, the concrete QUESTION objects 40 and CGI POST 42 In addition it passes, in turn, a reference to each QUESTION object 40 to the QUESTION FRAME howf) method, to cause each question of the survey to be presented in turn
  • the survey may be configured so that the presentation of certain QUESTION objects 40 is dependent on an answer to a previous question For example, one might only wish to ask the visitor what industry sector they work in if they have already indicated that they were visiting the information site of the research commissioner for business purposes Skip logic such as this, and other similar question controls are not available in conventional HTML survey tools
  • CLIENT SPECIFIC SURVEY 32 calls the getResponseQ method of QUESTION 40 and the addPostVah ⁇ e() method of CGI POST 42 to retrieve the visitor's response to the question and update CGI POST 42 with the response Finally, once all of the survey questions have been answered, CLIENT SPECIFIC SURVEY 32 calls the CGI POST postQ method to return the answers to the survey server 14
  • QUESTION FRAME 38 contains QUESTION 40 and displays QUESTION 40 when its showQ method is called by CLIENT SPECIFIC SURVEY 32 QUESTION FRAME 38 also handles action events from NEXT BUTTON 44, which accepts the visitor's indication that they have answered the current question A NEXT BUTTON event handler within QUESTION FRAME 38 calls the sioreResponseQ method of QUESTION 40 and updates PROGRESS METER 46 as each question is answered If the visitor attempts to move on to the next question without having competed the answer to the current question, the NEXT BUTTON handler causes an appropriate error message to be displayed to the visitor, or takes other corrective action if the survey methodology so indicates QUESTION 40 contains a QUESTION PANEL 48 in which the question text is presented to the visitor, and a RESPONSE PANEL 50 which presents question response choices to the visitor and interacts with the visitor to capture their responses When its storeRespomeO method is called by QUESTION
  • CGI POST 42 functions to send the captured responses in name-value pair format to the data grabber servlet 22 of the survey server 14 from ts post () method
  • the data collection process is initiated when the visitor requests a trigger page 12 on a Web site 4 associated with an enabled survey, as they would request a page on any other Web site
  • the trigger page 12 can be any ordinary HTML page on the Web site 4, additionally containing the survey trigger
  • this survey trigger is an applet tag, which the web master can simply insert into the HTML source for one or more of their web pages
  • this applet tag, or one like it can be small (for example only 5 by 5 pixels) and colored to match the Web page 12 it resides on, thus avoiding any disruption of the appearance of the page
  • FIGURE 3 illustrates the complete process
  • FIGURES 4 to 17 show screen shots taken during the process
  • the visitor 52 accessing an information web site ("customer Web site") 4 via a Web browser 18, requests the trigger page 12 from the Web site 4 (typically the Web site of the research commissioner) 2)
  • the Web site 4 returns the requested trigger page 12 which contains an applet tag similar to the example given above 3)
  • the codebase parameter for the applet tag on the trigger page 12 directs the visitor's browser 18 to request the survey applet ("WebMet ⁇ cs applet) 16 from the survey server (“WebMet ⁇ cs server”) 14 4)
  • the survey applet 16 is returned to the browser 18 by the survey server 14 along with related Java classes
  • the survey applet 18 requests survey configuration information from the survey server 14 The configuration information is requested on the basis of the unique survey codebase included in the applet tag -20-
  • the applet 16 executes a validation sequence to determine whether or not to present the visitor 52 with an invitation to take the survey It checks whether or not it is supported under the visitor's browser 18, whether it has been previously executed in the current browser session, and whether or not the visitor ' s IP address has been blocked If all those tests pass, the survey applet 16 finally determines whether or not to present a survey invitation to the visitor based on the configured invitation frequency, / which is downloaded as part of the survey configuration in step 7
  • the value of/ is an integer that determines the probability that the visitor 52 will be presented with an invitation — the greater the value of/ the lower the probability If/ is equal to 1 , then every visitor whose browser and IP address pass the initial validation will be presented with an invitation If the validation sequence fails, the applet quietly exits 9) If the validation succeeds, the visitor 52 is presented with an invitation 60 to take the survey (see FIGURE 4)
  • the survey applet 16 posts the fact that an invitation 60 was presented to the survey server 14 (step 9a)
  • the invitation 60 may or may not
  • the requested classes are downloaded to the survey applet 16 from the survey server 14
  • the visitor 52 is presented with a status window for the normally brief duration of the download Delaying downloads of some of the classes up until this point reduces the time taken to initially download the survey applet 16 -21-
  • the survey server 14 returns the survey questions to the survey applet 16
  • the visitor 52 is presented with a status window for the normally brief duration of this download Delaying question download up until this point reduces the initial download time of the survey applet 16
  • the visitor 52 is presented with survey instructions 66 (see FIGURE 5) followed by a start survey icon 68 (see FIGURE 6) The visitor is instructed and encouraged to continue with their visit to the information web site 4 before continuing with the survey
  • the visitor 52 explores the information web site 4
  • the start survey icon 58 meanwhile exists as a separate window on the visitor's desktop As such, it may be minimized or lowered while the visitor interacts with the browser (see FIGURE 7), and effectively "floats" with them as they browse 17)
  • the visitor 52 is presented with the question frame, also in a window separate from the browser 18
  • the question frame 70 presents the user with one question at a time, examples of which are seen in FIGURES 8 to 13
  • Each question frame displays a banner 72, in which the name of the research commissioner can be displayed for example, a question panel 74, in which the question text is displayed, and a response panel 76 in which the response options are given where applicable and in which the visitor enters their response
  • the question frame 70 displays a progress bar 78 indicating the visitor's progress through the survey, and a "NEXT" button 80 which the visitor clicks, having made a response, to move on to the next question
  • FIGURES 8 to 13 shows a list of mutually exclusive possible responses alongside respective option buttons 82 that the visitor can click on to make their selection of response
  • FIGURE 9 the response panel displays a free format text box 84 in which the visitor is invited to type comments
  • FIGURE 10 illustrates a response panel with two sliders
  • Step 19a The visitor enters a response to each question in turn and after responding clicks the "NEXT" button 80 to move to the next question
  • the response is stored locally, for example in the memory or other storage device associated with the device on which the visitor's browser is running, and the question frame 70 presents the next question and awaits an answer This question and answer procedure continues until the last question is answered Step 19a shows mid-point progress updates being posted to the survev server 14
  • the visitor clicks the "NEXT" button 80 without having completed a response they are presented with an appropriate error message For example, they might be told they have not entered a response at all (see FIGURE 14), or that an element of a multi-part response (see FIGURE 15)
  • the visitor is also prompted to enter “Importance” before entering “Performance” if they attempt to move the "Performance” slider without having moved the “Importance” slider first (see FIGURE 16
  • FIGURE 17 When the user clicks the "NEXT" button 80a, the survey servlet 16 posts all of the question responses to the survey server 14 where they are used to update the survey database 6 The survey servlet 14 then exits, leaving the visitor
  • the counter servlet 26 also makes/updates a record of the following attributes (referred to as sample incidence information) number of hits to the trigger applet tag, number of qualified hits (by browser type), 1 e those which pass the initial validation step, number of invitations produced, number of invitations accepted, and number of surveys offered that were completed.
  • sample incidence information referred to as sample incidence information
  • number of hits to the trigger applet tag number of qualified hits (by browser type)
  • 1 e those which pass the initial validation step
  • number of invitations produced number of invitations accepted, and number of surveys offered that were completed
  • the report site 8 allows designated persons, typically the research commissioner to review the results of an on-going, or recently completed survey via a web browser 1 10 (FIGURE 1 ) In this way, remote access to the real time results is possible from anywhere with Internet access
  • the report site 8 is implemented entirely in the Practical Extraction and Report Language (PERL) and relies on CGI It retrieves data from the relational database 6 and formats it to present the visitor with meaningful reports
  • the report site effectively encompasses a report tool 10, because it is able to manipulate the survey results stored in the database 6 to present the desired format and focus of the report
  • FIGURES 18 to 28 When a designated user accesses the report site 8, they are first presented with a login page 1 12 (FIGURE 18) Each designated person is given a user name and password with which to login, and on entering these in the respective boxes 1 14, 1 16
  • the second report type available from the Executive Summary contents page is "Site Performance" Clicking on the respective button 126 takes the designated person to the report seen in FIGURES 24A and 24B This report displays the visitors' "importance” and “performance” ratings for seven key basic elements relevant to most, if not all Web sites
  • the final report accessible from the Executive Summary contents page is the "Demographics" report This is a full report of the demographic indicators of the visitors who responded to the survey, including indicators such as job occupation, frequency of Internet usage, age and income Each indicator is rated as a percentage of total responses This report is seen in its entirety in FIGURES 25A through D
  • the second option is "Counts and frequencies"
  • Clicking on this button 134 takes the designated person to a report giving a question-by-question display of answers to all questions in the survey, with the exception of free text answers
  • the answers are displayed in an appropriate graphical form, for example where the question gave the option of a limited choice of answers, the percentage of each answer chosen as a percentage of total answers to the question is displayed as a bar graph
  • FIGURE 26 shows an extract from the "Counts and frequencies" report
  • the next report type available on the main contents page is the "Verbatim" report 136
  • the visitor in response to some questions in the survey, the visitor is given the opportunity to give a free text, open-ended response
  • the answers to these questions are stored verbatim in the survey database, and are accessible through the "Verbatim" report, question by question
  • the final report option on the main contents page is the "Crosstabs" report 138
  • This report provides the designated person with a real-time interactive tool, which gives them the opportunity to select specific questions to generate a crosstab
  • the designated person first selects the "banner” from a scrollable list 140 (see FIGURE 27), which may be any one of the non-free text survey questions, and then selects the "stub", which can be any other one of the non-free text questions from the survey
  • the "stub” answers are then displayed crosstabbed with the "banner” answers, in both table 142 and bar graph 144 form with approp ⁇ ate statistical notations where applicable (e g mean, median standard deviation and/or standard error), as seen in FIGURES 28A and 28B respectively
  • the report site provides a very versatile, interactive tool for reviewing the survey results Furthermore, since the results are updated with the data from each newly completed survey, the report site provides real time feed back on the performance of the Web site
  • the report site may also provide access to a survey editor facility
  • the fundamental component of this facility is essentially a data entry tool via which the question data and/or survev configuration data in the survey database can be entered and/or amended Consequently, this facility enables, through means known to those of ordinaiy skill, the designated person(s) to edit an existing survey, or even create their own survey, for use with the data collection tool disclosed herein
  • the survey editor is a front-end component that enables the entry and modification of question content and survey configuration Using this front-end component, a user may enter the following information for each question contained in a survey question text, question type (for example, single response, multiple response or open ended), response text, response dependencies, and order of appearance within the survey.
  • question type for example, single response, multiple response or open ended
  • response text for example, response, multiple response or open ended
  • response dependencies for example, single response text
  • order of appearance within the survey The user can also enter or modify survey specific configuration data such as question and response color banner and start-up images, invitation frequency, and IP address blocking
  • Adopting a survey editor such as this will allow someone without skills in the relevant computer programming fields to create and modify questionnaires/surveys In this way, the commissioner of the research or other data collection procedure will be able to create their own surveys using this tool
  • the system described above can be implemented on conventional Internet compatible hardware
  • the server side components of the data collection tool reside on a survey server or servers connected to the Internet
  • the survey database, the report site and the report tool all reside on a report server or servers connected to the Internet
  • the survey server and report server are illustrated as being separate servers and may be resident on separate physical platforms, it is also feasible for a single physical platform and /or server to perform both functions
  • the currently preferred server configuration is a Sun SPARC hardware platform, running a Solaris 2 x operating system, but other hardware/OS platforms can be used, so long as they meet with the primary requirements of offering support for a robust RDBMS (such as those mentioned below), JDK 1 x, a web server that supports the Java servlet API, and PERL or equivalent platforms JavaWebServer 1 x is the currently preferred web server, although any web server that supports the Java servlet API could be used
  • the survey database is preferably an RDBMS such as Sybase 11, Oracle, Informix or Progress
  • the client to and on which the data collection tool is deployed will typically be a Java supporting Web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator running in a Windows environment, although the invention is also applicable to other browsers and/or operating systems
  • the performance requirements for the information server are dependent on the characteristics of the information site itself, rather than the characteristics of the system of the invention which, in the implementation described here, does not use any of the resources of the information server, only those of the client and the survey server
  • the data collection tool may be used as the front end to data reporting tools other than the inventive one described herein
  • the inventive data reporting tool and report site describe herein may be used in conjunction with a database that is populated with data elicited using a data collection tool other than the inventive tool described herein
  • Exemplary Core Survey Questions The following sets forth a set of exemplary survey questions suitable for gathering customer feedback regarding the quality of services and information that are being provided by an organization doing business on the World Wide Web Some of the questions are only to be asked if a particular response was made to a preceding question This is indicated with a Boolean statement at the beginning of the question See for example questions 1 1 and 12, which are only to be asked if the person taking the survey has selected the first or the third response option to question 10 ql Prior to beginning this survey, about how long did you spend exploring this site 7
  • the site ' s organization makes information easy to find.
  • the site contains valuable supplementary or educational resources
  • the site looks attractive
  • the site is easv to navigate

Landscapes

  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
  • Development Economics (AREA)
  • Strategic Management (AREA)
  • Finance (AREA)
  • Game Theory and Decision Science (AREA)
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation (AREA)
  • Economics (AREA)
  • Marketing (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Information Transfer Between Computers (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un système basé sur un réseau informatique, et un procédé permettant de collecter des données, et de les éditer sous forme d'état, de préférence, des données de recherche de marché en temps réel. Un retour d'informations en temps réel permet de répondre à des questions émergeantes au moment opportun, améliore la formation/le retour d'informations pour le personnel de support, et permet de détecter rapidement les problèmes grâce à un utilisateur. L'invention permet de collecter des données et de les éditer sous forme d'état de recherche d'informations. Un outil de collecte (16) de données mis en oeuvre par un logiciel est installé chez un client (18) sur un réseau informatique (2), afin de fournir des données provenant dudit utilisateur. L'outil de collecte (16) renvoie les données fournies à une base de données (6) de recherche, qui stocke lesdites données. La base de données (6) est accessible à une ou plusieurs personnes spécifiées, typiquement un enquêteur mandaté pour le travail de recherche et/ou quelqu'un ayant son autorité.
PCT/US1999/027695 1998-11-25 1999-11-22 Systeme base sur un reseau informatique et procede permettant de collecter des donnees et de les editer sous forme d'etat WO2000031666A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU19190/00A AU1919000A (en) 1998-11-25 1999-11-22 Computer network based system and method for collecting and reporting data

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US10990898P 1998-11-25 1998-11-25
US60/109,908 1998-11-25

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2000031666A1 true WO2000031666A1 (fr) 2000-06-02
WO2000031666A9 WO2000031666A9 (fr) 2001-05-17

Family

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PCT/US1999/027695 WO2000031666A1 (fr) 1998-11-25 1999-11-22 Systeme base sur un reseau informatique et procede permettant de collecter des donnees et de les editer sous forme d'etat

Country Status (2)

Country Link
AU (1) AU1919000A (fr)
WO (1) WO2000031666A1 (fr)

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FR2812422A1 (fr) * 2000-07-20 2002-02-01 Ge Medical Tech Serv Preparation et remise securisees de rapports de donnees
WO2001055945A3 (fr) * 2000-01-31 2003-01-03 Steel Corp E Systeme et procede utilises pour telecharger des donnees de produit dans un serveur de bourse de marchandises
EP1412889A4 (fr) * 2000-06-28 2005-07-20 Right Angle Res Llc Procede de mesure de performance en matiere d'evenements de relations publiques, de publicite et de ventes
EP1342222A4 (fr) * 2000-10-11 2007-03-28 Assessment Systems Ltd Procede et systeme servant a mesurer une reaction
US7769626B2 (en) 2003-08-25 2010-08-03 Tom Reynolds Determining strategies for increasing loyalty of a population to an entity
US9589475B2 (en) 2001-08-08 2017-03-07 Geoffrey S. Lycas Method and apparatus for personal awareness and growth

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US5784562A (en) * 1995-10-10 1998-07-21 U S West Advanced Technologies, Inc. System for using a dialog session context to process electronic forms data on the world wide web

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US5784562A (en) * 1995-10-10 1998-07-21 U S West Advanced Technologies, Inc. System for using a dialog session context to process electronic forms data on the world wide web

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PROCTOR, ROBERT W.: "World Wide Web survey research: Benefits, potential problems and solutions", BEHAVIOR RESEARCH METHODS, INSTRUMENTS & COMPUTERS, vol. 29, no. 2, May 1997 (1997-05-01), pages 274 - 279, XP002923876 *
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Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2001055945A3 (fr) * 2000-01-31 2003-01-03 Steel Corp E Systeme et procede utilises pour telecharger des donnees de produit dans un serveur de bourse de marchandises
EP1412889A4 (fr) * 2000-06-28 2005-07-20 Right Angle Res Llc Procede de mesure de performance en matiere d'evenements de relations publiques, de publicite et de ventes
FR2812422A1 (fr) * 2000-07-20 2002-02-01 Ge Medical Tech Serv Preparation et remise securisees de rapports de donnees
US7085927B1 (en) 2000-07-20 2006-08-01 Ge Medical Systems, Inc. Secure data report preparation and delivery
EP1342222A4 (fr) * 2000-10-11 2007-03-28 Assessment Systems Ltd Procede et systeme servant a mesurer une reaction
US9589475B2 (en) 2001-08-08 2017-03-07 Geoffrey S. Lycas Method and apparatus for personal awareness and growth
US7769626B2 (en) 2003-08-25 2010-08-03 Tom Reynolds Determining strategies for increasing loyalty of a population to an entity

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU1919000A (en) 2000-06-13
WO2000031666A9 (fr) 2001-05-17

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