Summertime Survey Taking

summertime

Canadian Summers – Short but Oh So Sweet!

It’s officially summer in Canada, which means it’s time to make the most out of the next 2 or 3 months of warm weather before it’s gone!

If you’re like most Canadians, you’ll be going on a trip somewhere over the next few weeks. Banff, Grand Beach, the Okanagan, Lake of the Woods – remote or not, you might want to “unplug” while you’re away, which might mean taking a break from online survey taking.

What to do while you’re away
You can notify some survey panels that you’ll be away for a while by logging into your account, and finding a link that says something like “I am going on vacation”. Your account will continue to be active and any earnings will still remain for future redemptions, but you will not be e-mailed any surveys while you’re away. This can save you the inconvenience of having to delete dozens of e-mails containing invitations to complete online surveys you know have closed.

When you return, be sure to log back into your account to notify the survey panel that you’re available again to participate in studies.

Go Mobile
If unplugging completely is not up your alley, try taking surveys on your portable device such as a tablet or on your phone. Some survey panels like My Survey, Legerweb, Your Insights and Angus Reid Forum all have mobile surveys and/or apps available so you can continue to take surveys on the go. With mobile apps, you will be asked to provide your regular login credentials for the survey panel, so that the surveys you take are credited correctly to your account.

tabletIf you’re lucky enough to have a tablet, you should be able to take surveys normally, as tablets are similar enough to regular computers that they should not disrupt the regular survey taking process. In the event that you encounter problems accessing a panel’s website, or a particular survey, ensure that you load the desktop version of the website onto your tablet. Your tablet might prompt you to do this already, but if it doesn’t, do a simple search online for “force desktop version of website on *your device name*”. This should make your survey viewing experiences smoother.

Do remember however, if you choose to take surveys on your tablet, you may have to load programs such as a Flash Player in order to view certain files that may be contained within a survey. It is well known that the Apple iPad does not play Flash files well, or sometimes even at all. Try to avoid taking surveys with Flash files altogether if you have an iPad.

Enjoy taking a break!
Summers are generally a slower time of year for most businesses, including market research companies, so don’t be surprised if you receive fewer invitations for surveys during the summer months. Don’t fret too much though – fall weather won’t take long to get here, which means that before you know it, you’ll be indoors with plenty more surveys to take again!

Get outside and enjoy the weather!

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