There’s an unspoken argument in the world of market research software. Which is better? Software that is driven by commands, usually known as scripting, or software driven by easier to use, menu driven systems, usually known as a GUI (pronounced goo-ey) or graphical user interface software.

Learning how to use a new software product can often be frustrating. At MRDC Software, we like to be up front and tell you just how much effort will be needed on your part to go through the familiarisation and learning process. In fact, what this guide will offer is a breakdown of the likely time taken to become familiar with software, the likely time to become proficient and the time it takes to become an expert…

If you type the title of this blog into ChatGPT, it will rightly tell you that the cost of software to handle your surveys may vary from a few hundred dollars to many thousands per year. With so many survey processing platforms available, choosing the one that meets your budget and gives you what you need at the right price is important.

Choosing the right online survey platform to meet your needs is difficult as there are some big hitters out there, with prices ranging from free or almost free to high-ticket items. In this blog article, we explore the BIG EIGHT – things you should consider so that you can set your budget sensibly.

Market research software is in some ways no different from other software, but you are likely to need and understand detailed features for survey data collection, analysis and reporting. These detailed requirements mean that you will want to care about productivity, best practices and, often, learning the full scope of any software product.

If you type ‘survey software’ into Google, you will be presented several alternatives – for example, Qualtrics, QuestionPro, SmartSurvey, SoGoSurvey, SurveyGizmo, SurveyMonkey, SurveyPlanet and SurveySparrow.

I heard someone at a US conference in 2001 say that by 2010 there will be no more paper surveys; all surveys will be online. Predictions are dangerous, and the speaker was wrong, of course.

Online data collection has become the most common methodology for most market research surveys around the world. However, in some countries, for example, in Asia Pacific, where we operate extensively, data collection online still represents less than 50% of all fieldwork.

In my experience, I find that most people who buy research software spend most of their time considering the look and feel of the software and the features it contains…What is often given little or no consideration is how productive the staff using the software will be.

Market research software products have expanded over the last 20 years….there are software packages or platforms that cover one or more of these different tasks. Should you buy and end-to-end product?