What are online surveys used for?
Whenever structured feedback is needed, an online survey is the right tool. A hospital asks patients about their experience after discharge, a university evaluates a seminar, and an event organiser wants to know how well a conference was received. The reasons for conducting a survey vary widely, and so do the questionnaires. Who is invited, how long the survey can be and which data protection rules apply all depend on the particular use case.
Typical applications include surveys in healthcare, education, events, churches and social organisations, as well as surveys of customers, employees, members and citizens. Forms, polls, elections and tests can also be created using the same questionnaire technology.
Here you will find an overview of the most important survey use cases, grouped by purpose, target audience and survey type. Each use case has its own page with practical examples, data protection guidance and free questionnaire templates that you can copy directly to your LamaPoll account.
Survey use cases at a glance
These are the areas in which LamaPoll is used most often. They differ less in the technology than in the conditions around them: a hospital faces different obligations from an event organiser, and a school has different needs from a church congregation. Each page covers typical applications, the relevant legal requirements and suitable questionnaire templates that you can copy.
Surveys by target audience
Some surveys are defined less by their purpose than by the people who are being asked to respond. Whether you survey customers, employees, members or citizens affects the tone, length and invitation method. For these four target audiences, you will find detailed guides with sample questions, templates and legal guidance.
Other applications
Not every data collection project is a traditional survey. The same questionnaire editor can also be used for registration forms, tests, polls and self-assessments because the underlying task is always the same: collecting structured information and analysing it properly. Alongside conventional surveys, these are the applications our customers use most often.
What changes depending on the use case
The questionnaire is only one part of the work. Response rates and the quality of the findings usually depend on how well a survey fits its setting. Four factors vary considerably between use cases.
Questionnaire length and structure
A patient will rarely answer more than ten questions after discharge, while an employee survey can be considerably longer because it is completed during working hours. Speed matters at events: a five-question follow-up survey sent the next day will attract more responses than a detailed questionnaire sent two weeks later.
Invitation method
You can reach employees and members via known email addresses, which allows you to issue personal access links and send targeted reminders. Patients, citizens and guests, by contrast, are usually reached anonymously via a QR code, a notice or a link on a website. This affects how effectively you can manage the response rate.
Anonymity
In employee surveys, anonymity is essential for honest answers and is generally also a requirement of the works council. A medical history form is the exact opposite: every answer must be clearly assigned to a particular person. Between these two cases lies the option of using pseudonymous codes to compare developments across several surveys.
Legal requirements
Health data falls under Article 9 of the GDPR and requires special safeguards. Employee surveys may be subject to the works council's co-determination rights. Public-sector surveys must be accessible. Clarifying these points before creating the questionnaire prevents time-consuming revisions later.
I am more than satisfied, both with the customer service (thank you again for the quick help in sorting things out with our data protection officer!) and with creating and analysing the survey. Your tool is really helpful. I found everything I needed straight away and was able to implement my ideas well. Thank you very much!
What is LamaPoll?
LamaPoll is an online survey tool for creating employee surveys and measuring employee satisfaction. With us, you can create, conduct, and analyse all types of employee surveys.
Set up your employee survey in just a few steps, customise it with your company's corporate design, and invite your employees conveniently by email or via your intranet. You'll gather insights to boost employee satisfaction in no time. Sign up for free with our online survey tool. You can then run surveys for up to 50 employees immediately and with no obligation. If you need more responses for your online employee survey, simply use our monthly plans. You can also make use of our templates and examples for employee survey questionnaires.
