This is a little different from what I usually post because I am
looking for not just an answer, but an answer written in a
professional way. The final answer to this question should be
formatted so that it takes no more than two pages if I cut and paste
it into a word document and should be written so that it is in a
near-final form for providing to our clients. If you have questions or
clarification ? put them at the beginning so I don?t have to edit them
out of the middle. Please do not cut and paste huge portions of text
from a site (although short quotes are certainly acceptable). Each
entry should be parallel in format (although you can define the
format). Now for the question:

We have clients who wish to post surveys to the web, but they are
often students or non profits and therefore have no funds. I am
seeking a short guide that I can give them that covers the 4-5 top
sights for free surveying. It should clearly note the scope ? most
free sites have limitations as to the number of questions, the length,
and/or the type of questions (for instance, can you ask open-ended
questions that have text answers) ? or they limit how long the survey
may be posted or how many respondents. Should note how they are making
money ? most free sites use adds and you might want to note if the ads
are intrusive and if they show up on every page. Should note if the
site is easy and intuitive to use. Thus, the usability and the
limitations of the free surveying options should be clear. Also, if
there is a premium package, perhaps add a one-line description of what
upgrading gets you and for how much.

Please note that we do not want free trial offers or free demos good
for only one-time use.

I am posting this at $40 because a good answer requires not only
identifying the sites, but also trying them out. There is a small
amount of reviewing inherent in this question ? I don?t want an
overall review, but integrated into the page could be info about ease
of use or problems. An excellent answer ? well researched and well
written ? will get a tip as well.

Here is one to start you off: http://www.zoomerang.com/Login/index.zgi

---

Clarification of Question by susank-ga on 07 Mar 2004 13:03 PST

Here you go - I actually have 3 more that would make the 4 needed for
review. Should also add some note as to what the analysis options are
with the surveys (can you download the data? in what format? does it
do any automated analysis?)
http://www.my3q.com/misc/register/register.phtml

http://www.response-o-matic.com/

http://www.createsurvey.com/comparison.htm

---

Request for Question Clarification by larre-ga on 07 Mar 2004 15:38 PST

Thank you very much for posting additional URLs.  

I've located approximately a dozen free survey services that meet your
requirements, and am in the process of trying them out. Some that look
nice on the outside have proven to be annoying, a couple have not
worked as advertised. I'll be happy to list all that I've checked when
I post an answer.

I should have an Answer ready to post shortly, however I've very
conscious of writing the reviews in "final draft" uniform format. I
will include mention of data analysis options for each service.

In accordance with our Google Answers Guidelines, I'll post the
complete Answer here in text format, plus a link to a download file in
Word .doc format.

---larre

---

Clarification of Question by susank-ga on 07 Mar 2004 15:48 PST

Thanks! That is exactly what I am seeking (please put the list of what
you tried at the beginning though) - I know that some of them are,
frankly, awful but I didn't have time to go try them out to figure out
what was going on with them. The only one that I would say definitely
should be included - unless you find something awful about it - is
zoomerang. I know that some of our clients have already been using
that one. I very much appreciate that you are taking the time to edit
your answer and put the responses in parallel format.

I would note that, unless you find this to be true, we aren't seeking
to suggest that one of the 4 or 5 is best - I am assuming (but maybe
it isn't true) that one would be best for some purposes and another
best for other purposes. The ones that you put in the final report
should all be viable (unless there are not 4-5 viable options), with
the worst of them weeded out from the 12. Thank you!

Thanks for asking!

I've composed a review of five free survey providers. Each service
and/or handler was chosen because their offering was a cut above
average in one aspect or another. Though I've made usage notations
indicating strengths of each site, I haven't ranked or recommended any
of the sites over the others.

The final five were selected from among these contenders:

Survey Share - http://www.surveyshare.com
Create Surveys - http://www.creatsurvey.com
Insightful Surveys - http://www.insitefulsurveys.com
My3Q - http://www.my3q.com
Survey Monkey - http://www.surveymonkey.com
Blue SQL - http://www.bluesql.com
Zoomerang - http://www.zoomerang.com
Advanced Online Surveys - http://www.advanced survey.com
Free Online Surveys - http://free-online-surveys.co.uk
Response-o-Matic - http://www.response-o-matic.com
Beeliner - http://www.beelinersurveys.com/
Cool Surveys - http://www.coolsurveys.com
Feedback Today - http://www.feedbacktoday.com
Opinion Seek - http://www.opinionseek.com
Freedback - http://www.freedback.com
PollCat - http://www.pollcat.com/

I honestly feel that the needs of your users can be met by the five
services selected. You might choose to offer a link to a listing of
the additional services without full descriptions. None quite measure
up in comparison to these excellent examples.

I've listed the selected sites in alphabetical order. Depending on
your intended usage, you may find it expedient to hyper-link the
Service Titles to their respective URLs. You'll find a Word formatted
document available for download at the following link:

http://68.15.21.151/uploads/researchers/314225.doc


Search Strategy
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Business.com Directory - Marketing Tools
HotScripts.com - Remotely Hosted - Polls and Surveys
CGI Resource - Remotely Hosted - Surveys and Polls

Google Search Terms:

"remotely hosted" surveys OR polls
"online surveys" free
"create survey"

I hope this meets your needs. If you have any questions about the
materials or links provided, or editing is needed, please, feel free
to ask.

---larre


---------------- SNIP 'N PASTE BEGINS HERE ------------------


Free Online Survey Services   

All of the survey tools and services listed offer free, multiple
question surveys, and ability to collect information from the
responders. Two different methods are used. Some services host the
surveys for you, others offer HTML snippets that you can copy and
paste into your own web pages. You don't need programming knowledge.
All the survey sites provide guidance and customization tips and the
tools you'll need to create your surveys on the spot. All provide
instructions for distributing your surveys via e-mail or on your web
pages. All surveys may be customized to a greater or lesser degree. 
None of the sites permit their services to be used for spam (bulk).
Check the Terms of Use for each service.


Insiteful Surveys ? http://www.insitefulsurveys.com
---------------------------------------------------

Insiteful Surveys offer a  many advanced survey features at an
unbeatable free price. Choose from over a dozen free question formats,
and take advantage unlimited survey editing. Insiteful offers the use
of a large Question Library, or you're free to design your own
questions. There is a limit of 10  questions per survey, and 50
responses per month. Insiteful provides a unique URL for each survey.
Responses are stored on Insiteful's servers and can be viewed at any
time in text or graphical format.

Upgrade to Premium Service ($24.95/month) adds question logic
branching, data analysis and filtering, plus unlimited responses, and
100 questions per survey..


PollCat Surveys Lite and Pro- http://www.pollcat.com/
-----------------------------------------------------

PollCat offers branded surveys with a variety of question format
options. A 30-Second Tutorial gets you off to a quick start with your
first PollCat survey. A clearly written and illustrated user manual is
also available. PollCat Lite offers a nice selection of survey
creation and editing tools, plus a nice clean and professional look
and feel. Choose from multiple choice, short or long free form
answers, or all that apply. Options include requiring an answer to any
question, and allowing individual responses when multiple choices
don't cover all possible options. Deploy PollCat surveys with OneClick
Publishing. Add your own Header, Footer, and Page Titles, or use
standardized templates. Additional features include: unlimited survey
length (questions or pages), unlimited length of data collected,
direct links from your web page to a survey with auto or defined
return, anonymous questionnaires, linkage of extra data to responses
for custom tracking and reporting, response data downloadable in MS
Access, XML, HTML, and Excel formats. PollCat Surveys are
remotely-hosted. Each PollCat poll has a unique URL that you can
e-mail to survey takers, or post as a link on your website.

Lite and Pro versions are free with registration. Upgrades are offered
on a feature by feature basis. PollCat branding removal, for instance,
is $9.95.


Response-O-Matic ? http://www.response-o-matic.com 
--------------------------------------------------

Response-O-Matic is a form creation tool that creates individual
surveys. Response-O-Matic provides customized HTML form coding that is
added to your own web page(s). The forms are processed by
Response-O-Matic ? you receive response data via email, however there
are no data analysis tools provided. Write your own questions, select
colors, form fields, and allowable responses. Just five simple steps:

--  Use the Form Wizard to create a form template. 
--  Save the form template to your hard drive. 
--  Modify the form to ask your visitors any questions you want. 
--  Upload the completed form to your website. 
--  Test the form to make sure it works properly. 

Basic use of Response-O-Matic  is free. An upgrade that removes the
Response-O-Matic logo is available at a cost of $50 per year.


Survey Monkey - http://www.surveymonkey.com
-------------------------------------------

SurveyMonkey offers an instructional starter survey that brings new
users quickly up to speed.   You may customize surveys with your  own
logo, personal welcome and thank yous. Offers multiple choice answers,
the ability to allow responders to compose their own text answers,
plus surveys that allow respondents to rate their opinions on a scale
of selected choices. Very simple to customize and deploy. Reporting
options include custom filters, data export, as well as several
standardized reports. Membership required ? Basic (Free) Service
allows 10 questions per survey, and up to 100 responses. No banner ads
on the surveys. Registration/Membership is required. Upgrade is
available to Professional versions with unlimited number of surveys
and questions and 1000 responses, for a subscription of $19.95 per
month.


Zoomerang  -- http://www.zoomerang.com 
--------------------------------------

A full-featured online survey service. Basic (free) Membership
required.  Features: 30 questions per survey, multiple pages allowed,
reports limited to 100 responses per survey, data is stored for 10
days. Zoomerang provides an extensive choice of templates in Business,
Personal, and Community categories. It's easy to select and customize
any template. The Basic service level is Zoomerang branded on each
page. No banner advertising. Allows use of your own e-mail client and
addresses (no advertising) to send survey notifications or you may
select Zoomerang branded e-mail, and use the Address Book provided.
Surveys are taken on the Zoomerang site, and data stored there. View
Results online or via e-mail. Limited analysis capability, however
allows comparison between two survey questions at a time. Extensive
support knowledge base available, however it opens in a new, strangely
sized window. Once you select you own browser viewing preferences,
it's very helpful.

Zoomerang's extensive template library and advanced features make it a
bit more time intensive.. You'll need to allow yourself time to
customize, launch and manage surveys.  Upgrade available ? the Pro
Version is a  $599/12 month subscription lifts response limits and
provides much more extensive data analysis option.

Good answer! Missing a bit of copyediting in the text and a little
more promotional than I would have liked 'unbeatable free price' -
they are all free! But this is what I was looking for and the research
was well done.