Add Keys

Sometimes, a survey owner needs specifically to add keys (such as with Auto-Generated Keys or with Custom Keys), and not to send out automated invitations from SuperSurvey™. For surveys with Custom Keys, survey owners give lists of keys or username/key pairs to validate. An example would be if you used employee IDs for your Custom Keys, and wanted to invite employees using your internal email system. In that case you would add the list of IDs to the custom keys using Add Keys. Along with sending out emails with enclosed keys, owners of surveys with Auto-Generated Keys have the option of generating any number of keys for their survey, for distribution by other means. For example, you may wish to have a method to hand out keys via printed paper slips, or by your own automated email process.

Auto-Generated Keys

Auto-generated keys are random strings produced by SuperSurvey for use as secure "keys" or passwords for controlled-access surveys. These keys are ten characters long and are composed of both lowercase letters and numbers, making the possible number of keys well above a trillion. Even with multiple computers set to try each key in the survey, it would take thousands of years to try all keys.

As part of our commitment to good methodology, keys are generated to be easy to type-in in the event that customers distribute keys through a method other than automated email (e.g., on paper, over the phone, etc.). Specifically, potentially ambiguous characters like l and 1 (L and one) are consolidated down to 1 (one), since studies have shown that respondents faced with ambiguous keys are less likely to successfully take a survey.

Once an auto-generated key is used, it is deactivated; in the case of anonymous surveys, no trace is kept which links the key to the respondent. Survey makers may have keys sent to a list of email addresses using Distribution Manager, or they may generate a list of keys to distribute via their own means.

Change Single Key

Please note that changing the Single Key will prevent anyone who is trying to take the survey using the old key from succeeding! Changing the Single Key once invitations have been sent should only be done thoughtfully and prudently.

Compose Invitation Emails

To make inviting survey takers and distributing keys easier, SuperSurvey™ includes an email composer system. In addition to a link that will take respondents to your survey, the composer will automatically include an Auto-Generated Key, or the Single Key. For no-key surveys, or for Custom Key surveys, a key will not be included.

Survey makers are free to use their own email programs or other means to invite survey takers. Because of concerns about spam, the survey maker can not alter the URL, or the survey keys sent out, for emails sent through the Composer. Also, each email will include the survey maker's real email address.

Messages sent through the composer are sent into a mailing queue, to be sent out within one hour.

Please note that BASIC surveys are limited to sending 25 invitation emails, to avoid abuse of the free system.

Custom Keys

Custom Keys come in two forms: standalone Keys, and custom Username/Key pairs. Standalone Custom Keys are useful when each of your respondents has some identifying information, such as an employee ID number, that you have in a list. By adding your list of employee IDs to the Key list, for example, every employee will be able to log in with his/her ID number.

Custom Username/Key pairs are best used when your respondents will all have a unique username/password pair, such as login name and PIN combinations. Naturally, we suggest that such information be transmitted under SSL security.

NOTE: Custom keys are not sent out when you use SuperSurvey™'s Composer. This is because Custom Keys are suited to identifying information which the respondents are presumed to possess.

Keys

Keys are like passwords to the survey. A survey can have a Single Key for all survey takers to share, Auto-Generated Keys, which permit a survey taker to respond only once, or Custom Keys, which allow you to specify a list of valid keys for SuperSurvey™ to accept.

Survey makers choose the Key type before activating the survey. The type of key mechanism chosen for your survey should reflect the access control needs of your survey. In general, we suggest Auto-Generated Keys as a simple, easy-to-implement solution to most access control needs.

Privacy

Privacy concerns affect distribution decisions both technically and methodologically. In accordance with SuperSurvey™'s Privacy Policy and User Agreement, we ask you to consider the following:

Single Key

Single Key surveys have one shared key that all respondents will enter in order to access the survey. This is a less secure form of access control, but it is sufficient for less formal surveys.

Spam

Spam is unsolicited, bulk commercial email. It is costly, annoying, and possibly illegal. Most spam is advertising for illegitimate products.

SuperSurvey does not tolerate the use of our mail facilities for spam; therefore, any use of SuperSurvey's distribution email system for purposes materially unrelated to survey invitations will result in a freezing of the account.

SuperSurvey also wishes to stress that, while research survey invitations are not necessarily commercial email, it is unwise to invite large numbers of people with whom the survey maker has absolutely no connection via email.

SuperSurvey honors requests by individuals to opt out of receiving any survey invitations from SuperSurvey's automated invitation system. To ensure privacy, opt-out email addresses are visible only as non-respondents to survey owners.

View Keys

View Keys permits owners of surveys with wither Auto-Generated Keys or with Custom Keys to check on the keys which have been validated for use. Survey owners can tell which keys have been used, and which have yet to be used. Also, unless the survey is at Anonymous privacy level, a survey owner can check the results from any particular key.

In the event that a custom key no longer should be valid, keys can be rescinded from the View Keys screen.

View Previous/Follow Up

View Previous Invitations allows the survey's owner to see to whom invitations have been sent. For non-private surveys using Auto-Generated Keys, the functionality is called Check Status/Follow-up, because survey owners can check which keys have been used and can send follow-up reminder emails to invitees who have not yet responded.