Skip to content
Effortmark: Better forms and surveys (logo)

Effortmark

Better forms and surveys

Main Navigation

  • Home
  • Training
  • Speaking
  • Forms
  • Surveys
  • Design
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact me

Category: All

Surveys that work for the Harvard User Research Community

Caroline Jarrett 24 April 2024 19 January 2022
Surveys that work for the Harvard User Research Community

I was delighted to begin this year’s presentations by talking about my book, Surveys That Work, as part of the Brown Bag Book Club series organised by the User Research Center at Harvard University An encouragingly large group of HarvardContinue reading… Surveys that work for the Harvard User Research Community

All projects (and services) start in the middle

Caroline Jarrett 1 November 2024 17 November 2021
All projects (and services) start in the middle

I’m a big fan of the user-centred agile approach to service delivery that is gradually being adopted by most government departments in the UK, and many other organisations too. I mean – let’s turn those words around. Who would wantContinue reading… All projects (and services) start in the middle

Why plain language and Plain English are different

Caroline Jarrett 1 November 2024 16 November 2021
Why plain language and Plain English are different

When a user says to you “why can’t they write in Plain English?”, that’s a very reasonable request for us to think harder about how we are writing content. What I’m going to discuss here is the difference between “plainContinue reading… Why plain language and Plain English are different

Don’t be afraid of the big long page

Caroline Jarrett 1 November 2024 11 November 2021
Don’t be afraid of the big long page

This post is co-authored by me and Amy Hupe. Long pages of content can seem daunting, so to make them look shorter, designers and developers often reach for things that hide some of the content, such as accordions, tabs, carouselsContinue reading… Don’t be afraid of the big long page

Research needs space to breathe – an Effortmark poster

Caroline Jarrett 23 March 2022 10 November 2021
Research needs space to breathe – an Effortmark poster

‘Research needs space to breathe’ is a poster in my continuing collaboration with illustrator Julia Allum. The words come from a blog post by user researcher Amy Everett. In her post, Amy talks about setting expectations when doing research, aboutContinue reading… Research needs space to breathe – an Effortmark poster

How to prototype a digital form on paper

Caroline Jarrett 1 November 2024 9 November 2021
How to prototype a digital form on paper

Here are three ideas for creating paper prototypes of digital forms. Or any form, really. Print widgets onto stickers Long, long ago – in 1999! – Gerry Gaffney made a paper prototyping kit that is free to download. It’s aContinue reading… How to prototype a digital form on paper

Try a preliminary sift to streamline your card-sorts

Caroline Jarrett 6 January 2023 8 November 2021
Try a preliminary sift to streamline your card-sorts

Here’s my favourite tip for card sorting. I get each participant to first of all put the cards into four categories: Things I definitely need or would do right now Things I have done or needed in the past ThingsContinue reading… Try a preliminary sift to streamline your card-sorts

Sentence case or title case in forms?

Caroline Jarrett 16 April 2025 5 November 2021
Sentence case or title case in forms?

Is it better to use sentence case or title case in forms? If you think “surely there are more important forms questions than that one” then you are right. Never once, in all my many years of watching people fillContinue reading… Sentence case or title case in forms?

Why I no longer recommend “How to lie with statistics”

Caroline Jarrett 1 November 2024 4 November 2021
Why I no longer recommend “How to lie with statistics”

How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff is one of the bestselling-ever books about statistics and one I used to recommend. Its bright, readable style seemed to make it an accessible introduction to statistics, including what I believed toContinue reading… Why I no longer recommend “How to lie with statistics”

Measuring satisfaction: a round-up

Caroline Jarrett 11 October 2023 3 November 2021
Measuring satisfaction: a round-up

Measuring satisfaction is the topic that comes up more often than any other when I’m asked about surveys. It’s also one of the more complicated topics when it comes to creating surveys that work. This little post is to directContinue reading… Measuring satisfaction: a round-up

Posts pagination

Previous Page 1 … Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 … Page 35 Next

Primary Sidebar

Latest Blog Posts

  • Error rates and data quality – my 2025 topic12 May 2025
    In 2025, I’m focusing on error rates and data quality. My plan is to update this postContinue reading... Error rates and data quality – my 2025 topic
  • Getting forms right: how better words lead to better results3 December 2024
    Content design is crucial for good forms, so I was thrilled when Content Club in London askedContinue reading... Getting forms right: how better words lead to better results
  • Some thoughts about surveys for Olin College of Engineering Students 202420 November 2024
    Would you like a lightning introduction to the errors in Total Survey Error? I was delighted whenContinue reading... Some thoughts about surveys for Olin College of Engineering Students 2024

RSS Feed

Footer Menu

  • Home
  • Training
  • Speaking
  • Forms
  • Surveys
  • Design
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact me

@ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License

Theme by Suri