This post describes how to use the form feature of Google Spreadsheets to conduct a survey. But, before getting into that, I want to make these points:
- Before conducting a survey, you should always ask yourself what you are willing to change as a result of the survey. This means really knowing what you really expect to accomplish in the first place. I have more to say on this below.
- If you are going to be doing a massive survey, I am not convinced that Google Spreadsheets is the way to go. If you are going to be dealing with hundreds or even thousands of responses, pouring through a spreadsheet to make sense of them is not the way to go. You probably want software that does a lot of the work for you and that has a statistics package built into it as well. But, Google Spreadsheets can work well for smaller surveys.
As to my point about knowing what you really expect to accomplish before surveying, my recent reader survey is a perfect example of this. (The survey form is located here so you can see an example.) My heart was in the right place with it, and I put out the survey, thinking I would make whatever changes to my blogging style that seemed appropriate based on the results.
But, as the results started coming in, I saw that a lot of people want this to be a technology-only blog. And, the bottom line is: I am not willing to go there. I do not want to be a technology blogger. I’ll be 59 in June and my interest in technology is limited to how it helps me do what I want to do. Oh, I do love technology, mind you. I am a retired engineer after all. But it is not my primary focus in life.
So, I will continue to focus on articles related to managing your life, with some tips on how to use technology thrown in from time to time. I’ll probably also write a few other types of thought pieces.
I should have realized this before the survey. Realizing it after the survey makes it look like I blew off the results of the survey, and I did not. I paid attention to it, and I am glad I did it. But, my key point to you is: be sure you know what you really want to do before you ask others for input. Sometimes it takes both, though. Sometimes you have to ask for input to be able to figure out what you want to do, which was the case with me.
Now, for some details on how to use the form capability of Google Spreadsheets.
The first step is to set up a Google Docs account, if you don’t already have one. Just point your browser to docs.google.com to get started.
Once you have an account, choose Spreadsheets from the sidebar listing of document-type options and click to create a new spreadsheet. Once you do that, look at the menus along the top, and select “Share,” as illustrated below:
From this menu you will want to select “to fill out a form” and “Anyone can view this document at.” Clicking the latter will give you a link that you can give to those who are to participate in the survey.
Then you start filling out your form. As indicated in the picture below, you have an option for each survey item on whether you want it to be multiple choice, checkboxes, etc.
Then you just create each survey item. One of mine is shown below as an example.
That’s pretty much all there is to it. When you are done you just save the file and use the link mentioned above to make it available to participants. Then, as survey results come in, you can see them show up on the spreadsheet:
Pretty nifty, huh? And it does not cost anything to do it (except your time, of course).
Bill, glad you raised the question about exporting the data: it can be exported to Excel and to other formats as well (text, csv, openoffice, pdf, etc). It’s really a nifty tool.
“…I will continue to focus on articles related to managing your life, with some tips on how to use technology thrown in from time to time…”
That’s pretty much what drew me and keeps me here.
“As to my point about knowing what you really expect to accomplish before surveying…”
I used to be a “Research Director” for a business newspaper. I could write a book about the pitfalls of conducting surveys but I’d rather not.
“…how to use the form capability of Google Spreadsheets.”
Very helpful information! Having conducted surveys via paper, fax, and plain text e-mail “back in the day,” I used to dream of Web-based surveys with a spreadsheet or database for a back end! Can one export the Google spreadsheet data to MS Excel?
How do you edit a form that you have previously saved in Google Docs?
I have been looking for ages and can not see an ‘edit file’ or ‘edit form’ icon or text anywhere.
Its starting to drive me nuts!
Would be greatful for anyhelp.
Hi Guinness,
Open your published form within Google Docs, and at the top of the the form (the spreadsheet format) is a menu that has the options of File, Edit, View, Format, Insert, Tools, Form, Help.
Click on the Form menu item, and note that it has an Edit Form feature. Just click that and you’re all set to edit.
Wow that was a swift response!
Cheers for that Bruce! I was getting fairly cheesed off there for a while.
Thank you very much indeed.
Glad to help, Guinness. Today’s software has so many features it can be frustrating to find the ones you’re looking for. I’ve been frustrated by it many times, too.
Thanks for this blog!
I just wanted to thank you for this blog. I too had trouble finding out how to come back to a form after I had closed down the initial window to create it. I could open the spreadsheet format but did not find the Form. Glad I am not the only one
Thank you very much, Mike.
hey thanks for your post
I was able to use it for my college project
Thanks for the post Bruce !
Thank you Bruce! I was going crazy trying to get back to the survey and all I could get was the spreadsheet.
Thanks again for a very useful post. I love how you keep coming up with easy solutions (not to mentin free) solutions for stuff. I’ll try this one out next time I conduct a survey.
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All i want to do is regulate the timing for someone to fill a form.
as in i want the system to logout the person after let’s say 10mins
i also want google docs to enable a person fill the form 1ce in a day.
can i also make a question show in a page and then let the person click ‘next’ to go to the next page?
i would appreciate it if i can get a reply asap.
Hi Tousen,
Google forms is intended for simple, yet common tasks to help you avoid having to program your own forms. Once you start adding complexities to the design requirements, such as logging the person out after 10 minutes, you enter the zone where you need a specially-designed form, typically requiring the use of php, python, or perl to implement. Since you appear to have a few requirements that exceed the design basis of Google Forms, I recommend getting a programmer to help you out … perhaps a co-op student, for example.
Hello,
Nice post – I found it really useful. I have one question – I would like to conduct a simple survey people have to enter their full name and number between 1 to 5.. for example their answers are:
Josh Arison 4
Maria Clark 6
Amily Gold 2
Now, on the next week I want to send them the very same questions and to get their replays at the FIRST week spreed sheet . So after 2 weeks I want it to look like:
Josh Arison 4 3
Maria Clark 6 8
Amily Gold 2 4
Is it possible and how to do it?
Thanks allot!
Yefim.
Hi Yefim,
I’m not trying to be a smartass, but why not just try it out yourself and see if it works? You might discover some things that I haven’t or that I couldn’t adequately explain anyway.
Nothing is better for learning than jumping right in.
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
Thanks for your suggestion – the problem is that I have tried – but I haven’t found how to do it – I get it “row after row” – like
Alisa Malis 5
Alisa Malis 8
Though you know how to do it.
Thanks
Yefim.
Hi Yefim,
Sorry that it’s not doing what you want it to do. I really don’t know how to make it give you the results you want. I am sorry. It could take me a couple of hours of exploring to figure it out, and I might find out that even then I don’t know how to do it … sorry that I just don’t have the time to experiment with it.
Best of luck to you
Bruce
Bruce,
You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about – thanks for bothering answering me!
You have a nice site – good luck with it!
Best,
Yefim.
Thank you, Yefim.
My best wishes for you.
Bruce
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How do I get a notification on my mail if someone has filled my survey form?
Farnaza
I do not recall how to get emails when the form is update, and do not recall if it can even done that way. I just checked it a couple of times a day. I find that easier than dealing with 50 otherwise useless emails.
In response to Guinness’s question on June 17th, 2009 at 5:04 pm, you will want to do the following:
- Open the spreadsheet version of the form
- Select the ‘Tools’ drop down menu
- Select ‘Form’
- Select ‘Edit Form’
Hope this helps.