I like surveys

So I was tickled to find this morning in my work email two invitations to separate work-related surveys. Of course I went and did them, posthaste, and then I wrote an email to the group dispensing one of the surveys to tell them why certain multiple-choice answer options probably wouldn't get them entirely accurate or useful responses. (Yes, in addition to doing surveys, I also like to tell people how to run them better.)

Just like week, I also did a big-ass survey at work. That one was old-school: we had to colour in little ovals on an optical answer sheet --- the ones that get fed through a machine for the results to be read and that I remember were a big deal when they were introduced in school in the early '80s. I felt like I was taking a test, except that I did know all the answers for once (or could, at least, readily make them up).

I should qualify my blog post title by saying that I like surveys about stuff that I like answering questions about, which is why I once happily spent twenty minutes standing at the door, answering questions about what I feel is the inadequacy of family-friendly policies in our economic system, with someone who'd come a-knocking on behalf of the government. And I happily plugged the MIT Weblog Survey some months ago.

I will not, however, stop along Orchard Road or any other public place where random people wave fliers in my face and try to interest me in a "survey" that will mysteriously lead to offering me a credit card or a vacation home in Malaysia. And back in school, when it seemed that for weeks on end we were subjected to a battery of surveys about health, careers and who knows what else, I remember diligently colouring patterns into the optical answer sheet, without referring to the questions at all. Factor that into your survey results, why don't you.

Er ... I think I should go do some work now.

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