ONLINE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH SYSTEM

• US 20090070200A1
• Filed: 02/02/2007
• Published: 03/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Revelation, Inc. (Focusvision Worldwide, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Revelation, Inc. (Focusvision Worldwide, Inc.)
• Inventors: August, Steven H.
• Application Number:
  US12/278,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20090070200A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0203 Market surveys; Market polls

Abstract

An online research system delivers allows a researcher to script queries to be delivered to research participants, delivers the queries, collects research participant feedback, and aggregates the feedback for review and analysis by the researcher. Tools are provided which allow queries to be rapidly and easily scripted, and the researcher may situate the queries along a timeline to schedule their automatic delivery. Researchers may assign “tags” to feedback, wherein researchers may select content from feedback and apply a label, and thereafter rapidly access this content by referencing its label. As a result, researchers are able to rapidly catalogue useful content for use in compiling their findings regarding research participant feedback.

Claims

1. A method of conducting online research comprising the steps of:

a. securing research participants having desired participant characteristics;

b. providing the research participants with online queries seeking feedback from the research participants on one or more topics;

c. collecting the feedback online from the research participants, the feedback including one or more of text and images;

d. allowing a researcher to assign tags to the feedback from the research participants, each tag;

(1) being assigned to at least one of;

(a) a text string selected from text submitted by a research participant, and

(b) an image submitted by a research participant,

(2) having an associated tag label,

e. aggregating the text strings and images corresponding to each tag label.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein tags are assigned by a researcher to the feedback from the research participants by the researcher'"'"'s:

a. running a cursor over the text string, or

b. placing a cursor atop the image,

which is to have a selected tag label assigned thereto.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the text strings or images to which tags are assigned by a researcher are displayed to the researcher with a different appearance after the tags are assigned, whereby a researcher can visually determine which text strings or images have been tagged.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein both the tags and tag labels are not displayed to the research participants.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of visually displaying to the researcher at least some of the tag labels, wherein each of the displayed tag labels include a visually ascertainable indication of the number of text strings and images corresponding to the tag label.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the displayed tag labels are displayed at a size proportionate to the number of text strings and images corresponding to the tag label.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of:

a. allowing the researcher to select a tag label, and

b. upon selection of the tag label, displaying to the researcher at least some of the text strings or images corresponding to the tag label.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

a. grouping the research participants into two or more researcher-defined segments, each segment including one or more research participants;

b. allowing the researcher to select one or more segments for display; and

c. displaying the feedback from the selected segments to the researcher.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing the research participants with online queries includes the step of automatically periodically delivering online queries to each research participant, wherein each online query seeks feedback from the research participant on one or more topics.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of providing an alert to the researcher if a research participant does not provide online feedback to an online query within a predetermined time period.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of:

a. collecting from the researcher at least some of the online queries to be periodically delivered to each research participant;

b. storing at least some of the online queries in association with a scheduled delivery time; and

c. subsequently automatically periodically delivering the online queries to each research participant at scheduled intervals in accordance with their scheduled delivery times.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising the steps of visually displaying to the researcher:

a. the scheduled delivery times for each of the online queries, and

b. the online queries,

along a timeline.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the feedback collected online from the research participants in response to the online queries is also visually displayed along the timeline.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the timeline further includes a visual display of one or more of:

a. the number of research participants who have provided feedback to the online queries, and

b. the number of research participants who have not provided feedback to the online queries,

along the timeline.

15. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of rescheduling the delivery of at least some of the online queries by moving at least some of the scheduled delivery times for the online queries along the timeline.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

a. visually displaying a timeline to the researcher;

b. collecting the online queries from the researcher;

c. displaying the online queries to the researcher along the displayed timeline in accordance with scheduled delivery times for each of the online queries;

d. delivering the online queries to the research participants in accordance with their scheduled delivery times;

e. displaying one or more of;

(1) the feedback collected from the research participants in response to the online queries,

(2) the number of research participants who have provided feedback to the online queries, and

(3) the number of research participants who have not provided feedback to the online queries,

to the researcher along the timeline.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the steps of:

a. grouping the research participants into two or more researcher-defined segments, each segment including one or more research participants; and

b. displaying, for each segment, one or more of;

(1) the online queries,

(2) the feedback collected from the research participants in response to the online queries,

(3) the number of research participants who have provided feedback to the online queries, and

(4) the number of research participants who have not provided feedback to the online queries,

to the researcher along the timeline.

16. The method of step 9 further comprising the step of delivering a reminder to a research participant if the research participant does not provide online feedback to the online query within a predetermined time period.

19-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A method of conducting online research comprising the steps of:

a. periodically delivering an online query to a research participant at scheduled intervals, wherein the online query solicits one or more of;

(1) quantitative feedback from the research participant on one or more topics, wherein the quantitative feedback consists of at least one of;

(a) data selected from a predefined set of discrete values presented to the research participant, and

(b) data selected from a continuous range of values presented to the research participant;

(2) qualitative feedback from the research participant on one or more topics, wherein the qualitative feedback consists of text freely entered by the research participant at the research participant'"'"'s discretion;

b. collecting the quantitative feedback and qualitative feedback from the research participants;

c. assigning researcher-specified tags to the qualitative feedback wherein each tag;

(1) bears an associated tag label, and

(2) is assigned to a text string selected from the text within the qualitative feedback;

d. compiling within a database the tag labels and the text strings to which they are assigned; and

e. displaying at least a portion of the quantitative feedback in one or more of;

(1) tabular form,

(2) statistical form, and

(3) graphical form.

22. A method of conducting online research comprising the steps of:

a. collecting online queries from a researcher to be delivered to research participants, wherein each online query solicits feedback from the research participants;

b. storing each of the online queries in association with a respective scheduled delivery time;

c. automatically delivering the online queries to the research participants in accordance with their scheduled delivery times;

d. collecting the feedback online from the research participants, the feedback including text entered by the research participants;

e. visually displaying to the researcher along a timeline;

(1) the online queries,

(2) the feedback collected from the research participants in response to the online queries, and

(3) one or more of;

(a) the number of research participants who have provided feedback to the online queries, and

(b) the number of research participants who have not provided feedback to the online queries,

along the timeline.