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Using Google forms to survey community members

Google Forms – free for those with Google accounts – can perform many of the same functions as an online tool like Surveymonkey.  Since Surveymonkey charges a monthly fee for surveys over 10 questions long, it’s worth exploring Google Forms to find out if you can send out effective surveys for FREE!

Go to the Google Docs page http://docs.google.com (this requires the user to sign in with a Google account) and click on the “Create New” drop down menu.  Select “Form.”

From here, you can create a questionnaire or survey with a variety of answer types: text, multiple choice, check boxes, choosing from a list, scale, or grid.  As soon as you start setting up your survey, Google generates a live web form with an associated url that you can share or email to your contacts – the link is available at the bottom of the page.  A number of attractive templates are available to choose from, as well.

When someone fills out your survey/questionnaire, the time-stamped responses automatically fill in a Google spreadsheet.  It’s easy to export this spreadsheet into Microsoft Excel to perform a more complex analysis of responses.

Overall, Google Forms is a user-friendly, functional online survey tool.  Have fun!