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About the Poverty Law Survey Tool (v 2.0)

Submitted by Gene on Sun, 01/20/2008 - 11:19pm

The Poverty Law Survey Tool is a highly customized, Internet based survey creation tool designed specifically for the legal aid community. Over one hundred legal aid organizations create poverty law surveys using the Poverty Law Survey Tool. Many users have successfully created and administered surveys and provided positive feedback. The Poverty Law Survey Tool is a great alternative to commercially available, subscription-model Internet survey tools.

 

NTAP is pleased to offer use of this tool to legal aid programs at no cost. This tool aggregates many of the complex features available in commercial survey software while providing unique features for our community. The recent redevelopment of a more user-friendly interface and user-requested functions for creating surveys is nearing completion. NTAP provides training sessions on how to use this tool and user resources at lsntap.org.

 

(You can read more about the nuts and bolts of using the survey tool in NTAP's Tech Library section or sign up for an account.)

 

About the Poverty Law Survey Tool Project
In 2004, the Legal Services Corporation funded a grant to Legal Aid of East Tennessee to develop an Internet-based survey tool developed from public domain software exclusively to serve the Poverty Law Community. Pika Software developed the original tool using phpSurveyor version .98 (open source online survey software) following a set of software specifications developed with the help of our advisory group of poverty law community representatives. In 2007, NTAP received additional funding from LSC to enhance the tool’s interface and promote usage. The Poverty Law Survey Tool has been redeveloped by Openwave LLC, using LimeSurvey 1.48 (an updated version of phpSurveyor). Openwave followed recommendations and feedback provided by the Survey Tool Advisory Board and user feedback.

 

Background
In 2007, the Legal Services Corporation funded a grant to NTAP to:

  • Redevelop the Poverty Law Survey Tool to enhance both its user interface and feature set.
  • Increase national usage and continue providing support for legal services programs throughout the country.


After reviewing various options (including rebuilding the tool from scratch) LSNTAP chose LimeSurvey, an upgrade to PHPSurveyor, an open source application, for the redesign. Requirements and software specifications were fully vetted with the help of the Survey Tool Advisory Board. LSNTAP retained Openwave LLC, from New York City, for the redevelopment phase.

 

A primary benefit of using a survey tool for the poverty law community is to build a core set of survey templates that members of the community can reuse with minor modifications. Pivotal features of the redesigned Poverty Law Survey Tool include the improvement of the Public Survey Library and the inclusion of 13 poverty law-specific Survey Templates, which serve as guide for new surveys. These enhanced features will drastically reduce the amount of time spent in figuring out how to begin and reinventing the wheel.
Surveying can be a complex process. Creating a good survey from scratch requires some sound survey design knowledge and a fair amount of time. With the simple review of a template and the help features provided, users can create surveys in minutes. Users can also search all public surveys to review how other advocates tackled difficult topics.

 

Common uses for the tool include statewide website evaluations, evaluations of other tech projects, and statewide planning and information gathering.

 

Features
Features offered by the Poverty Law Survey Tool include:

  • Unlimited number of questions/question groups
  • Unlimited number of participants
  • User templates for easy reference
  • Integrated help features
  • Ability to modify the look and feel of the survey design using standard or customizable themes
  • Option to add your survey to the Public Survey Library
  • Ability to use and modify public surveys and pre-designed survey templates to easily create a survey
  • Ability to present survey questions one by one, group by group or all at once
  • At least 23 different question types, including the ability to add boilerplate text
  • Branching and conditional display of questions based on prior responses
  • Copy questions and its answer options within the same survey
  • A choice of survey administration options, from anonymous to invitation-based
  • Create customized label sets for often-used answer options
  • View individual responses or use a results filter option to view graphical summaries for specific questions
  • Export responses as CSV files that can be used in statistical applications or as Excel files
  • Export and backup entire survey, groups or specific questions as files on your hard drive