Here is a thought: Should we be moving towards using a standard set of questions when we survey users about innovations? Should we standardize the ways we break down demographic and other user data (age groups, etc)?
While I would hate to make life more complicated for those conducting pilot projects, and evaluating them, I am very aware how right now it is very hard to compare, say, customer satisfaction data from one innovation to another.
Right now, either people start from scratch, or they play with a similar project’s data collection instruments, but they do not do so in such a way that would take advantage of the use of the same questions/answer options to compare results.
An additional advantage of standardization would be the ability better to learn from our mistakes. Often it is only when a survey is being analyzed that the survey designer sees what is wrong with a question!
In the Self-Represented Litigation Network online library, www.selfhelpsupport.org, is a folder of data collection instruments from a number of courts and programs. (This is a membership site, free, for access practitioners). Also, in this folder of the library (which contains other materials) are a package of data collection tools and instruments drafted by John Greacen for the Self-Represented Litigation Network.
Any ideas or reactions?
Richard Zorza's Access to Justice Blog 
Here’s a link to the sample surveys – http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?10342. If someone is not yet a member of the SWEB Support Site, they can register using the Join link on the left.
Thanks for pointing this out. Can you point to those surveys/questions, so people could use them as models?
We have sought to do this on LiveHelp / live chat initiatives on statewide legal aid consumer websites. It has been very useful for assessment purposes. Most if not all LiveHelp projects supported by PBN use the same satisfaction scale in user exit surveys, so we are able to compare the same data point across 10 states and over time (for example, to observe consistent increases in satisfaction levels as projects mature.) Some LiveHelp projects also use the same survey questions about attitudinal / knowledge outcomes (e.g., “Do you feel now that you have the information you need to help your legal problem?”) and for demographic info. It would be very interesting to see how results compare across other types of innovations or web-based services.