Open/close
all![[Skip instructions]](../generic/trans.gif){kind=small}
![[i]](../generic/instructions.gif){kind=small}
Click on the headings to open them. They will open on this page. Open the following link
for further
information about these headings if required.
Your browser does not support these headings. To ensure that the contents remain accessible, they have been automatically opened so that all the information on the page is displayed.
However, to take advantage of the headings and to ensure that the layout and design of this site are displayed correctly, you are recommended to upgrade to a current version of one of the following standards compliant browsers:
- Internet Explorer (http://www.microsoft.com/ windows/ie/downloads/ default.mspx)
- Mozilla Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/ products/firefox/)
- Opera (http://www.opera.com/download/)
CLOSEGlossary links are included within this page. If a word appears as a link, clicking on this link will show the definition of the word in a 'pop-up window'. Select the following link for information about these glossary links if required.
- Select the links see the definitions in a pop-up window.
- NB. If you use pop-up window blocking software, you will need to deactivate it for pop-ups on this site to use the glossary links. Alternatively, all glossary definitions can be seen on the 'Glossary' page in the 'Resources' section.
- Use of the glossary links is JavaScript dependent. If JavaScript is disabled, it will be necessary to open the 'Glossary' page to view the definitions. Opening this page in a new window may allow you to refer more easily to the definitions while you navigate the site.
Listings
of software and services for online questionnaire production
Evans, J. R. and Mathur, A. (2005) The value of online surveys, Internet Research, 15, 2, 195- 219.
An examination of the involvement in online surveys of the largest US-based and global market research firms. Provides an extensive list of the services offered as of late 2004.
The WebSM searchable database
![[External Link - opens in a new window]](../generic/external.gif){kind=small}
http://www.websm.org/index.php ?fl=0&p1=1123 &p2=82&p3=1086
&id=1086
Database of online questionnaire software and services
which has entries categorised by type, code, cost, language and
country.
The Association for Survey Computing searchable software
register
http://www.asc.org.uk/
Register/index.htm
Searchable register which includes information about
the software it contains such as listings of the features offered
and suppliers.
Web-based survey software
http://www.web-based-surveys.com/
Directory of software which can be browsed or accessed
using the 'software finder' which allows users to specify the features
they require.
Services
offering software plus hosting
The following examples are chosen as being representative of some of the different types of services available as of December 2005. In each case, a range of comparable options may be available.
Bristol Online Surveys
http://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/
Targeted at institutions requiring the option to have
a number of different surveys and survey administrators. Highly
customisable to the style needs of institutions including an option
to run surveys on their server with an address that appears to be
that of the institution.
Globalpark
http://www.globalpark.com
Provides 'EFS Survey' software which offers relatively advanced
features and a high degree of flexibility. Also makes the software
available to academic researchers for a nominal fee through
unipark providing excellent value for these users where advanced
functionality is required.
SurveyConsole/QuestionPro
http://www.surveyconsole.com/
/
http://www.questionpro.com/
Both are divisions of the
surveyanalytics
company and they use the same software and interface, but with different
pricing. May offer sponsored use for academic or not-for-profit
projects if certain conditions are met. Also offer a range of free
resources such as articles and question templates.
Surveymonkey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/
Compares well with many of the other available services
in terms of features, but is one of the cheapest commercial options.
Surveywriter
http://www.surveywriter.com/site/
Relatively expensive, but unusual in that charges are
not made per period of use, but per completed survey and email invitation
with a minimum of 200.
Surveyz!
http://www.surveyz.com/
A range of relatively sophisticated features. targeted
at individual researchers or at institutions. Offers academic pricing
and free use for academic projects if certain conditions are met.
Also has a range of resources such as articles on online questionnaires
and copyable templates of questionnaires and questions.
Websurveyor
http://www.websurveyor.com/
Relatively expensive, but with a wide range of features.
Offers both hosting and software only solutions.
Zoomerang
http://info.zoomerang.com/
Offers pricing for not-for-profit and educational institutions.
Also offers a range of research services such as questionnaire administration,
panel services and translation.
Commercial questionnaire software
The following are some examples of commercial software for online questionnaires. A range of other options are available.
ProntoSurvey
http://www.bebosoft.com/
Shareware tool from Bebosoft which can be downloaded for Mac as
well as windows. Relatively inexpensive and straightforward to use
with clear and extensive documentation and tutorials.
Questionmark Perception
http://www.questionmark.com/uk/home.htm
An educational assessment tool which offers many of the key features
needed to create basic online questionnaires and has some of the
more advanced features such as randomisation of questions and conditional
branching. Potentially useful option if the software is available
through the researcher's institution.
SelectSurveyASP
http://www.classapps.com
Relatively inexpensive. Offers 'classic' and 'advanced' versions
with different levels of features at different prices. Has a working
online demo and a useful example survey which includes comments
on the features illustrated by particular questions. Offers a free
installation service and free technical support.
Snap Surveys
http://www.snapsurveys.com/
Extensive options for mixed-mode surveys, offering a 'core product',
Snap Professional, with add-ons for questionnaires via internet
and PDAs, and to allow scanning and multiple data entry. Expensive
example of 'high-end' options.
StatPac
http://www.statpac.com/
The online questionnaire software does not include analysis tools,
but it can be purchased alongside the statistics tools offered.
Has basic statistical tools or an advanced version allowing multivariate
statistical techniques. Technical support and updates are available
free for three months, but are chargeable via annual support/maintenance
agreements thereafter. A fully-functional version of the software
can be downloaded and used for free, limited to 35 respondents for
each survey. Download includes tutorials and extensive user guide.
Open-source
software
General
information
SourceForge.net
http://sourceforge.net
Searchable repository of open source projects.
Freshmeat.net
http://freshmeat.net/
Listing of new software releases.
OSS Watch: Top Tips For Selecting Open Source Software
http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/
resources/tips.xml
Page from the website of OSS, a JISC-funded open source advisory
service. Offers guidance on selecting open source software.
Examples
of questionnaire software
The following are some of the main examples of open source software for online questionnaires (generally the more established and/or sophisticated options). A range of other options may be available.
LE Survey
http://le-survey.sourceforge.net/
Designed as a tool for running questionnaires as part of longitudinal
studies. Allows respondents' responses to be matched to responses
to previous questionnaires while maintaining confidentiality.
In early stages of development at the time of writing.
phpESP
http://phpesp.sourceforge.net/
Well-established software with a working demo available allowing
the features and user-interface to be tested.
Lime Survey
http://www.limesurvey.org/
A range of relatively sophisticated features. Well-established
with useful documentation. Working demos are available allowing
the features and user-interface to be tested. Offers low cost hosted services.
Mod_Survey
http://www.modsurvey.org/
Well-established with sophisticated features such as dynamic
content generation depending on previous answers. Requires
the user to learn to use XML syntax particular to the software.
VTSurvey
http://vtsurvey.sourceforge.net/
Easy to use and particularly useful for straightforward questionnaires
as only the four main types of questions are supported (Multiple
choice with radio buttons and Check boxes, and short and long
text entry boxes).
HTML
Getting started with HTML
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/.
A good basic introduction to HTML from the World Wide Web Consortium.
(W3C).
HTML Goodies
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/.
A range of short tutorials designed to help you with specific aspects
of web design.
HTML Reference
http://www.w3schools.com/tags/ref_byfunc.asp.
List of HTML tags organised by their function, from W3Schools.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) HTML Validator
http://validator.w3.org/.
Enter a link to your web pages or upload a local file to check that
your HTML meets web standards and guidelines.
HTML Tidy
http://www.w3.org/People/Raggett/tidy/.
Automatically cleans up HTML to correct any problems caused either
by mistakes or automatic production of invalid HTML by web editors.
WC3 Links Checker
http://validator.w3.org/checklink.
Automatically checks for broken links in an HTML document.
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/Style.html.
An introduction to Cascading Style Sheets from W3C.
CSS Reference
http://www.w3schools.com/cssref/default.asp.
A reference to the properties and possible values that can be applied
to different elements of an HTML page from W3Schools. Also offers
further information on the use of different properties.
W3Schools CSS Tutorial
http://www.w3schools.com
/css/default.asp
Tutorials which include examples and quizzes.
The Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)'s CSS page
http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/
Offers a wealth of information on CSS.
W3C CSS Validator
http://jigsaw.w3.org/
css-validator/.
Makes it possible to check that your CSS meets web standards and
guidelines by entering a link to your CSS file, uploading your file
from your computer, or pasting your CSS into a text box on the page.
Writing Efficient CSS
http://www.communitymx.com/
content/article.cfm?cid=90F55
A useful article by John Gallant and Holly Bergevin
on using CSS 'short hand' properties to reduce the size of CSS files
and increase efficiency.
JavaScript
JavaScript Primers
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/jsp/.
30 short JavaScript lessons with learning activities.
JavaScript examples
http://JavaScript.internet.com/.
Over two-thousand examples of JavaScripts organised into sub-sections.
JavaScript use in forms
http://www.irt.org/
script/form.htm.
A range of JavaScript examples with source code specifically related
to web-forms.
Accessibility
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative guidelines (WAI)
http://www.w3.org/
WAI/intro/wcag.php
Document which explains how to make Web content accessible to
people with disabilities. Includes checkpoints of actions that will
improve accessibility
and gives each checkpoint a priority rating according to its importance.
Also has links to explanations of how the checkpoints can be achieved
with HTML and CSS.
Vischeck
http://www.vischeck.com/vischeck/
A service which simulates the appearance of pages to users with
different forms of colour blindness to allow pages to be tested
for suitability for colour-blind users.
DEMOS Project - Guide to accessible web pages: User control
http://jarmin.com/demos/
access/control.html
A guide to making changes to the display of web pages in different
browsers.
TechDis
http://www.techdis.ac.uk/.
A Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)-funded advisory service
on accessibility issues in education. Contains useful resources
and 'how to' guides on accessibility.
Macromedia (now Adobe)'s Accessibility Resource Center
http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/.
Offers general guides to accessibility and accessible design as
well as specific guidance on how to increase the accessibility of
HTML and multi-media produced with Macromedia products such as Dreamweaver
and Flash.
Design
issues
Usability news: Wichita State University Software Usability
Research Lab
http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usability_news.html.
Newsletter providing a range of articles with information on research
into software and website design and usability.
Usable Information Technology
http://www.useit.com/.
Leading site on usability and user studies by Jacob Neilson.
Web-safe colours
http://www.lynda.com/hex.html.
Offers tables of web-safe colours organised by either hue (colour)
or value (lightness). Makes it easier to design appropriate colour
schemes.
W3C Browser information
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/default.asp
Information on the main browsers available at the time of writing
is available on the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) website along
with statistics on the usage levels of each (though it should be
noted that the statistics are based on users of the site and should
thus be generally considered to be skewed in favour of more technically
proficient users).
MOOCK Flash Player Inspector
http://moock.org/web
design/flash/detection/moockfpi/
Provides a good explanation of Flash detection (and its limitations)
along with free scripts to carry it out.
Form
validation
Client-side
validation using JavaScript
Form Validation Using Javascript
http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/webtech/091998-1.shtml
An example of form validation using JavaScript with explanations
from the 4guysfromrolla.com site.
Javascript form validation – doing it right
http://www.xs4all.nl/~sbpoley/webmatters/formval.html
Interesting discussion of validation using JavaScript aiming
to point out some of the main pitfalls.
Server-side
validation
Depending on the technology used, the following links may provide a useful source of information, tutorials and examples on how to add server-side validation.
PHP/MySQL
Common Form Validations
http://www.codewalkers.com/c/a/Miscellaneous/Form-and-Spelling-Validation/
A PHP tutorial which covers a range of different validation
activities, leading to an example of a complete form validated
via PHP.
Books
Coggeshall, J. (2005) PHP Unleashed.
Indianapolis. SAMS.
Chapter 4: Working with Forms in PHP.
Chapter 5: Advanced Form Techniques.
http://www.samspublishing.com/
title/067232511X
Sklar, C. (2004) Learning PHP.
Sebastapol, CA. O'Reilly.
Chapter 6: Making web forms.
http://www.oreilly.com/
catalog/learnphp5/
Sklar, D. and Trachtenberg, A. (2003)
PHP Cookbook. Sebastapol, CA. O'Reilly.
Chapter 9: Forms.
http://www.oreilly.com/
catalog/phpckbk/
Zandstra , M. (2005) Teach Yourself
PHP in 24 Hours, 2nd Edition. Indianapolis. SAMS.
Chapter 9: Working with Forms (available as a sample chapter)
http://www.samspublishing.com/
title/0672323117
ASP.NET
Microsoft's ASP.NET framework offers a number of ready-made web controls designed to carry out server-side and, where available, client-side validation of web forms. These include controls that check required fields have been completed, that check that data in particular ranges or patterns has been entered (e.g. in the format of a telephone or credit-card number), and that compare data from one form element for consistency with that from another.
ASP.NET Quickstart tutorials: Validating Form Input
Controls
http://www.asp.net/ QuickStart/aspnet/ doc/validation/default.aspx
A useful tutorial on how these controls work with code
examples.
Form Validation with ASP.NET - It Doesn't Get Any
Easier!
http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/
webtech/090200-1.shtml
Another step-by-step guide.
Books
Mitchell, S. (2003) Teach yourself
ASP.NET. Indianapolis. SAMS.
Chapter 12. Validating User Input with Validation Controls.
http://www.samspublishing.com/
title/0672325438#
Walther, S. (2003) ASP.NET. Unleashed.
Indianapolis. SAMS.
Chapter 2: Building Forms with Web Server Controls.
Chapter 3: Performing Form Validation with Validation Controls.
http://www.samspublishing.com/
title/0672325438#
PERL/CGI
Form Validation with Perl/CGI
http://www.elated.com/
tutorials/ programming/ perl_cgi/ form_validation/
An introductory tutorial for adding validation using
PERL/CGI.
Books
Colburn, R. (2003) Teach yourself CGI.
Indianapolis. SAMS.
Chapter 7: Validating user input.
http://www.samspublishing.com/
title/0672324040
Guelich, S., Gundavaram, S. and Birznieks, G.
(2000) CGI Programming with Perl. Sebastapol, CA.
O'Reilly.
Chapter 4: Forms and CGI;
Chapter 8: Security (available as a sample chapter).
http://www.oreilly.com/
catalog/ cgi2/ toc.html
Server-side processing
technologies
General
Books
A good source of information is through the websites of key publishers in the field of web development. These include the following publishers:
O'Reilly
http://www.oreilly.com/
Peachpit Press
http://www.peachpit.com/index.asp
SAMS
http://www.samspublishing.com/index.asp
These sites offer facilities to search for titles related to particular technologies and also offer sample chapters and articles. They also offer access to Safari Bookshelf, which is one of the most convenient access points for books on these technologies online. It offers searchable access to the titles of these and other key publishers in the field for viewing onscreen or for downloading.
Other publishers which are not included in Safari Bookshop offer similar searchable websites and online access to their catalogues, e.g:
WROX
http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/
Apress
http://www.apress.com/
Websites
W3Schools
http://www.w3schools.com/
Provides information and tutorials on a range of server-side
technologies including ASP, PHP, SQL, and ASP.NET.
Webmonkey
http://www.webmonkey.com/
General web-design resource. The programming section of
the 'How-to library' includes tutorials on ASP, PHP, ColdFusion,
and Perl/CGI
PHP/MySQL
Books
Coggeshall, J. (2005) PHP Unleashed. Indianapolis. SAMS.
Kent, A. and Powers, D. (2004) PHP Web development with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004. Berkeley, CA. Apress.
Naramore, E., Gerner, J., Le Scouarnec, Y., Stolz, J. and Glass, M. K. (2005) Beginning PHP5, Apache, and MySQL Web Development. Indianapolis. WROX.
Sklar, D. (2004) Learning PHP. Sebastapol, CA. O'Reilly.
Sklar, D. and Trachtenberg, A. (2003) PHP Cookbook. Sebastapol, CA. O'Reilly.
Ullman, L. (2005) PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites. Berkeley, CA. Peachpit Press.
Welling, L. and Thomson, L. (2004) PHP and MySQL Web Development. Indianapolis. SAMS.
Zandstra , M. (2005) Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours, 2nd Edition. Indianapolis. SAMS.
Websites
Codewalkers
http://codewalkers.com/
Offers a wide range of reources on PHP and MySQL including
tutorials
PHP
http://uk.php.net/manual/en/introduction.php
An introduction to PHP from the official website which
includes a very useful introductory tutorial.
MySQL Tutorials
http://www.php-mysql-tutorial.com/
A series of tutorials on how to use PHP and MySQL to create
and administer databases.
ASP.NET / ASP
The resources below refer to ASP.NET which has been designed to supercede ASP. However, at the time of writing ASP remains a commonly-used server-side technology and a wide range of resources are available offering information and tutorials in its use.
Books
Duthie, G. A. and MacDonald, M. (2003) ASP.NET in a Nutshell. Sebastapol, CA. O'Reilly.
Hart, C., Kauffman, J., Sussman, D. and Ullman, C. (2005) Beginning ASP.NET 2.0. Indianapolis. WROX.
Kittel, M. A. and LeBlond, G. T. (2004) ASP.NET Cookbook. Sebastapol, CA. O'Reilly.
Martinez, J. and Parnell, R. (2003) ASP.NET Development with Dreamweaver MX. Berkeley, CA. Peachpit Press.
Mitchell, S. (2003) Teach yourself ASP.NET. Indianapolis. SAMS.
Walther, S. (2003) ASP.NET. Unleashed. Indianapolis. SAMS.
Websites
ASP.NET Quickstart Tutorial
http://www.asp.net/ QuickStart/aspnet/ Default.aspx
Detailed tutorials on using ASP.NET including information
on how ASP.NET controls are used with code examples.
4 Guys from Rolla
http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/
Searchable resource with articles and tutorials on specific
aspects of ASP.NET.
CGI/PERL
Books
Colburn, R. (2003) Teach yourself CGI. Indianapolis. SAMS.
Guelich, S., Gundavaram, S. and Birznieks, G. (2000) CGI Programming with Perl. Sebastapol, CA. O'Reilly.
Websites
CGI Programming 101
http://www.cgi101.com/
Tutorials aimed at beginners with information on how to
set up a development environment using CGI/PERL and how
to process forms and write data to files.
CGI Made Really Easy - or, Writing CGI scripts
to process Web forms
http://www.jmarshall.com/easy/cgi/
Basic introduction to collecting and formatting
information from forms.
Elated
http://www.elated.com/tutorials/ programming/perl_cgi/
Tutorials covering a basic introduction to CGI programming
with PERL along with issues such as validation and emailing.
ColdFusion
Books
Brooks-Bilson, R. (2003) Programming ColdFusion MX. Sebastapol, CA. O'Reilly.
Camden, R., Chalnick, L., Buraglia, A. C. and Forta, B. (2005) Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Web Application Construction Kit. Berkeley, CA. Macromedia Press.
DeHaan, J. (2004) ColdFusion Web Development with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004. Berkeley, CA. Apress.
Mohnike, C. (2003) Teach Yourself Macromedia ColdFusion in 21 Days. Indianapolis. SAMS.
Websites
Macromedia's Support Centre for ColdFusion -
Tutorials
http://www.macromedia.com/
support/coldfusion/ tutorial_index.html
A wide range of tutorials. Part of the ColdFusion Support
Center which includes resources, technical notes and a
forum.
EasyCFM Tutorials
http://www.easycfm.com/tutorials/
index.cfm?dirView=True
A comprehensive range of ColdFusion tutorials.
JSP
Books
Bergsten, H. (2003) JavaServer Pages, Third Edition. Sebastapol, CA. O'Reilly.
Brunner, R. (2003) JSP: A Practical Guide for Programmers. San Fransisco, CA. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
Holzner, S. (2002) Teach Yourself JavaServer Pages in 21 Days. Indianapolis. SAMS.
Perry, B. W. (2004) Java Servlet & JSP Cookbook. Sebastapol, CA. O'Reilly.
Websites
Caucho JSP Tutorials
http://www.caucho.com/resin-3.0/
jsp/tutorial/index.xtp
Covers topics including form processing and emailing form contents.
JSP Tutorial
http://www.jsptut.com/
Series of tutorials covering the basics of JSP and dealing with forms
processing, databases and emailing. States that users should have a
knowledge of HTML and Java.