Does alternative medicine work?

A recent medical editorial, entitled "The end of homeopathy", argued that doctors should recognise the absence of real curative powers in homeopathic medicine.

Around 42% of doctors in England will consider referring patients to a homeopath and in Scotland homeopathy has proved very popular, 86% of doctors are said to be in favour of it.

With many people today willing to try, and more doctors willing to prescribe, alternative medicine has gained ground on mainstream treatments.

Have you, or would you be willing to try alternative treatments?

If you would like to participate in this survey click on this link Does alternative medicine work?.

Advanced Notice of Server Maintenance and Upgrade

Please note that our hosting company will be performing major maintenance and upgrades to their servers over the period Friday 26th August until 08:00 Tuesday 30th August.

During this period the Survey Galaxy website will be not be available for some periods although all downtime will be kept to a minimum.

We apologise for any inconvienience that this may cause.

Are you ever too old?

The majority of the Rolling Stones are now in their 60's and are all old enough to be great-grandfathers. However that hasn't deterred them and 2005 sees them take to the stage for yet another world tour.

The original bad boys of rock have lived through the addictions, drug busts and deaths to produce some of genre's finest moments. Forty years on they still seem intent on growing old disgracefully. With the Rolling Stones firmly in mind we ask are you ever too old to rock and roll?

If you would like to participate in this survey click on this link Are you ever too old?.

Was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary?

On August 6 and 9 1945, atomic bombs were dropped and destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The bombings led to the Japanese surrender and the end of World War II.

Was the dropping of the first bomb necessary and did a second have to be dropped?

Did the awesome devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki inadvertently create a stand-off between the super powers that lasted for 45 years or would a stand-off have resulted anyway just knowing their destructive power?

If you would like to participate in this survey click on this link The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was it necessary?.

Loss of Service

We apologise for the non-availability of the website for a period of time earlier this afternoon.

The outage was due to a problem at our ISP Pipex that affected many of their customers and it took them a while before they were able to restore our internet connection.

We are sorry for the inconvenience that this would have caused some of our customers.

We are however please to confirm that all systems are now operating as normal.

What is Treason?

In the climate of renewed terrorism some Governments are considering passing new laws that will broadening the term treason.

Treason charges have rarely been used outside time of war however it is now a charge that is being looked at to see if it can be adapted to cover the latest forms of terrorism.

The British prime minister has recently outlined plans which would consider deporting any foreigner involved in listed extremist centres and websites.

Do you agree that such steps will help reduce terrorism or is the term 'treason' too vague and simplistic? We ask you where you would draw the line between free speech and treason?

If you would like to participate in this survey click on this link What is Treason.

Billboard Advertising

Piccadilly Circus

Wise Man Marketing

It’s a sunny morning and you’re sitting in your office. With a cup of hot coffee by your side and memories of your last holiday still fresh in your mind, even if you say so yourself, today at least, life is sweet.

You take a sip of new blend coffee and then feel a rush of cool air and a movement catches the corner of your eye. As if from nowhere there is now an impeccably dressed stranger sitting in the chair opposite. Sure you're surprised; you didn’t hear anyone knock and just as you are about to say something he begins in a calm and measured voice.

‘Here's the deal’

‘I am going to advertise your product on a billboard at the busiest junctions in every city of the world.'

‘I will tell you how many people see this advertisement and I will tell you their age, nationality and gender.'

‘I will tell you what they think of your product and in many cases I will give you their contact details. While they are reading the billboard I will make it possible for them to view your website and, if they feel the urge, make a purchase.'

‘I will have all this ready in two days and it will cost you less than a small advertisement in your typical trade journal.’

He pauses. ‘Interested?’

Now you might think that such an offer was too good to be true, you might think that you are going to wake up soon or maybe that it really is time to get a lock on that office door.

But let's just take a minute. If you are still reading this I am that man who has come from nowhere and offered you a deal.

The advertising site is on the Internet and the billboard I'm offering is the humble online survey.

Stop for one moment and start to associate an online survey not with 'market research' but with 'marketing'. Not any type of marketing but 'Marketing' with a capital 'M' and in flashing neon lights. Marketing that is quick, direct, effective and low cost.

Publish an online survey and advertise it on a website, or via email, and like a billboard by the side of a major road junction, your message will appear in front of people. But unlike a billboard where the number of people that see an advert has to be estimated (based on an arbitrary percentage of total volume of traffic), the online survey records the number of times a survey is started.

Surveys can ask demographic questions such as gender, age and nationality and in doing so you are obtaining metrics about the effectiveness of your promotion and are interacting with the respondent on a one-on-one level.

Unlike billboards where the message is often subliminal, or maybe just trying to achieve brand awareness, with online surveys you have the opportunity to connect with the public to find out what they really think about your product, how it relates to them, how it is perceived.

Using a website like Survey Galaxy it takes only minutes and hours to create a survey and using the power of the Internet an online survey can reach hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis.

Throw in a prize as an incentive for people to complete the survey, maybe some Pay Per Click advertising to capture an even wider, or more focused audience and you are still talking low cost effective marketing.

"So tell me. Do we have a deal?"

What are the Best Ever Children Films?

There are some children movies that have stood the test of time and are loved as much by the latest generation as they were when their grand parents first saw them.

Does Disney still hold the crown or do film makers like Pixar now have their fingers firmly on the pulse of the young generation?

In this weeks public survey we ask you to vote for your all time top three children's movies and also your top three animated feature length children's movies.

To paticipate click on this link What are the Best Ever Children Films?.

Account Management Facility(AMF)

Survey Galaxy's Account Management Facility(AMF) is a free module that can be used with the Pay-as-you-go or Enterprise Subscription payment plans. With AMF an organisation can have a single billing account and grant access to an unlimited number of users.

So that the account management responsibilities can be shared AMF will allow organisations to nominate multiple account administrators. AMF also allows for optional content approval procedures to be implemented so that surveys can not be published until they have been approved internally.

AMF is available on request or as part of the Enterprise subscription.

Is a "Shoot to kill" policy ever acceptable?

With the London bombings still fresh in the minds of all Londoners terrorist tried to inflict further devastation but this time their bombs failed to explode. As the bombers fled and London's police force launched a full scale man hunt, armed police shot dead a Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes.

Eyewitness reports indicated that the police chased and then caught Menezes and then shot him eight times suspecting that he was a suicide bomber.

The police have since issued a statement that they are now satisfied that Jean Menezes was innocent of any connection to the London bombings.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that he was "desperately sorry" about the killing, but added that the police were working in "very, very difficult circumstances."

Early reports seem to suggest that after being challenged by plain clothed policemen Mr Menezes fled into the tube station giving the impression to the chasing officers that he was indeed, as they had suspected, a suicide bomber.

Was this just a tragic event or have the authorities, by adopting a "shoot to kill policy", played into the terrorist hands and made London a city where the general public now have to fear the police?

If you would like to participate in this survey click on this link Is a "Shoot to kill" policy ever acceptable? .

Introducing Subscription Payment Option

We are pleased to announce that in addition to our low cost Pay-as-you-go payment option we have now introduce two subscription levels called Personal and Enterprise subscription.

Personal Subscription

If you intend to conduct regular surveys and as a sole user you will be interested in the Personal Subscription payment plan.

For a monthly fee you are able to conduct as many surveys as you like and download the detailed results as often as you like.

Included in the Personal Subscription is the respondent activity monitor.

Personal Subscription includes 2,000 monthly responses with any excess being charged for at the end of each month. Where excess charges apply no interruption to the service will occur providing payment for any excess is cleared by the specified payment due date

There are three bands of Personal Subscription to choose from for small, medium and large surveys and there are also discounts for taking out a subscription for longer periods.

Where discounts apply the discount will also be applied for any service not covered within the personal subscription plan.


Enterprise Subscription

The Enterprise Subscription offers the same features as the personal subscription but is specifically designed for organisations who wish to establish a single billing account for an unlimited number of users. Included with the Enterprise Subscription is Survey Galaxy's Account Management Facility(AMF) facility.

AMF will allow you to manage the enterprise account, add users and establish controls for content approval - more about the features of AMF in later entries.

With the Enterprise Subscription you are able to create any number of survey templates and make them available across the whole organisation.

As with the Personal Subscription the Enterprise Subscription includes 2,000 monthly responses with any excess being charged for at the end of each month and also like the Personal Subscription is available in three bands.

Do you believe in UFO's?

Earth is just one of billions of stars. Do you think it is conceivable that we are alone or does other life, similar to our own, exist elsewhere in the Universe?


Have you ever seen an extra terrestrial being?

Maybe you think they have visited Earth or are already here, integrated into our culture and maybe they have prominent and influential positions? After all have you ever thought why some people appear to be just too gifted?

Are you a UFO believer or not? Take part in this weeks free public survey.

UFO's Are you a believer?

The Beatles Paul, George, Ringo and John

The Beatles - Favourite song, album, film and Beatle

With a new generation growing up that may not have even heard of the Beatles, yet probably still know some of their songs, we asked people to vote for their favourite Beatle song, album, film and Beatle.

At the time of writing there is a dead heat for favourite song between Hey Jude and Let it Be.

For the albums it is neck and neck with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band just loosing out by 1% to The Beatles (White Album).

Maybe surprisingly the film It's a hard days night is in a strong lead over Help which is trailing in second place.

There are no surprises that John is leading the favourite Beatle, followed by Paul with Ringo and then George bringing up the rear.

For American respondents the favourite song is In my Life while the British respondents go for Let it be, while all other nationalities are going for Hey Jude.

While all male respondents go for Hey Jude the female respondents are less decided with nothing to choose between Let it Be and Yesterday.


If you would like to participate in this survey click on this link The Beatles - (Favourite Song, Album, Film and Beatle).

Have you fixed the broken window?

Left alone it doesn't take long for a building with a single broken window to rapidly become a building with many broken windows. Fixing problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into larger problems.

The same is true when considering the level of employee satisfaction. Dissatisfaction spreads like wildfire and in a surprisingly short period of time you’ve got morale problems of the kind that are notoriously hard to fix.

Ensuring your employees are happy is mostly about being tuned into what their problems are and, importantly, dealing with them early on. Keeping the initiative is really important and the secret is that it is better to give a little and often.

This turns out be a virtuous circle. Fixing the problem when it’s small is also when it’s easiest and when it’s cheapest. And taking the initiative without being prompted puts the manager in a position of strength, which also suits the employees. Staff like strong, confident management and this approach generates respect not least because someone has taken the time to understand some of the employees’ issues.

Compare that with managers who are out of touch. They arrive late at a problem so they are on the defensive, and with their credibility eroded they have to concede to demands which in turn leads to further and less reasonable demands. It’s not big and it's not clever.

The issue, then, is how to go about monitoring the morale of a company without a big budget and without much spare time?

The first port of call should be an online survey. They’re quick, easy to use, and a low cost solution. Surveys can be created in minutes and deployed in seconds, with the results compiled in real time; and by using email and websites they cost nothing to disseminate.

A corporate internet is the ideal delivery mechanism. By linking through to an online survey website such as http://www.surveygalaxy.com a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With an online survey’s ability to produce results in real-time the mood of the employees can rapidly be gauged and concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.

Using the survey results companies can quickly identify problem areas and follow-up surveys can be used to target specific concerns. With good information managers are able to get to the root of specific problems and prepare a considered response.

A major advantage of regular surveys is that it allows a company to address small problems in a timely manner avoiding 'the straw that broke the camels back' syndrome where a relatively insignificant incident unleashes a torrent of pent up concerns.

And don’t forget that the majority of employees appreciate being consulted so asking their opinion is not a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.

It’s unusual to find, but there it is – sometimes management problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won't break the bank.

Laura Webb a former work colleague that was lost to us all through senseless violence on July 7 2005.

London bombings July 7 2005

After a week that saw London host the Live 8 concert that brought together people in solidaity to campaign for an end to needless world poverty; a week that saw London celebrate winning the nomination for the 2012 Olympics; only to be followed the next day by a devastating and barbaric attack by terrorist who took innocent lives. London has in a single week seen the highs of lows of mankind.

This weeks public survey is focused on the terrorist attacks in London on July 7 2005 and attempts to gauge the mood of ordinary people from around the world to some of the views and statements that have been reported through the many forms of media.

How strongly do you agree with the selected statements that attempt to explain the root causes of the London bombings, the steps that could be taken to prevent them and the need or otherwise to change US and UK policy?

London under attack July 7 2005

Top Tip - Including an active email address

It is something useful to be able to provide respondents with the ability to send an email from within a survey.

Because Survey Galaxy allows HTML code to be included in a survey you are able to link to the respondents local email transport by using the following code, substituting name@domain.com with the required email address.

<a href="mailto:name@domain.com">name@domain.com</a>The following is a sample survey that demonstrates how an email address might be used:-

Start a Publishing Revolution Survey

(Please note that Survey Galaxy allow but do not guarantee support for HTML coding that is entered using invalid syntax).

Top Tip - Composing multiple surveys

With Survey Galaxy's composer modifications to the surveys are saved at each step so if for any reason your internet connection is unexpectedly terminated your changes will be automatically saved.

It is also possible to switch between surveys without leaving the composer menu by using the Composing other surveys... selection box located below the Preview, Publish and End buttons.

Pick a survey from the list of available surveys and the composer will end the current survey and switch to the selected survey. Please note that only surveys that are in preparation state will be listed.