Today I’m reporting the results of the survey I ran for two weeks.

I asked five questions:

1. Is this blog making a difference in what you do?  (answer yes or no)
2. In which of the following ways is the blog making a difference.  (choose all that apply)
3. What is your opinion about the length?  (approximately 500 words–too long, too short, just right)
4. How often do you read the blog?  (weekly; regularly, depending on topic; rarely; archive only; never)
5. What topic would you like to see discussed (various with an option for other)

I don’t know how many subscribe (I am a technopeasant, after all) and that I blog at all is close to miraculous, so the results I report may or may not be reflective of what is actually happening.

So what are the results?

1.  Of those 22 people responding, 21 people (100% of those responding; one person skipped this question) said that the blog is making a difference in what they do.

2.  Of those 22 people responding, 15 (68.2%) said that they get new ideas; 15 (68.2%) said that they get new perspectives; 8 (36.4%) said that they get old information clarified;  13 (59.1%) said that they learn new information; and 11 (50.0%) said they review previously learned information.  No one responded that the blog has not made a difference. [Phew…:) ] [Keep in mind that percentages will not add to 100% because multiple responses could be selected.)

3.  Everyone who responded (N=22; 100%) said that 500 words is just right in length.

4.  When respondents were asked how often the blog was read by them, 4 (18.2%) said weekly, as it is posted; 17 (77.3%) said regularly, depending on topic; 1 (4.5%) said rarely [although they obviously read it to respond…:) ].

5.  When asked which topic they would like to see addressed in future blogs, 16 (72.7%) said methodology; 9 (40.9%) said quantitative data analysis; 12 (54.5%) said qualitative data analysis; 10 (45.5%) said data collection methods; 15 (68.2%) said survey development; 8 (36.4%) said program evaluation theory; and 8 (36.4%) said program evaluation models.  Three people (13.6%) offered comments.  [Keep in mind that percentages will NOT add to 100% because multiple responses could be selected.]

Comments were about the graphics (hard to read); could be eliminated.  I’ll talk to my tech people about that.  On my reading the graphics are clear.  May be the browser; may be something else, says the technopeasant.  The other comment was about getting new ideas even though the ideas have not been implemented yet.

So what does this tell me–given the small sample size, I am cautiously optimistic.   (If I find out  how many are subscribed, I’ll let y’all know.)   I will continue to blog.  I will figure out other ways to determine if I’m making a difference.  And thanks for all of you who took the time to answer the survey and all of you who take the time to read my musings.  Of the several things about which I am passionate, evaluation is close to the top.  (oh, and no graphics this time…)