Sawtooth Software – using it for a straightforward job

Over the years I have used Sawtooth Software’s products on a large number of occasions, but almost always for advanced projects, for example to use their ACA product and their Hierachical Bayes modules.

But I have just finished a project using CiW for a straightforward online survey and was delighted with it.

Over the years, one of the strengths of the Sawtooth Software has been its robust performance and the power it gives the scripter in writing surveys. This helped ensure that on this occasion the survey was very straightforward to write, including the variant of MaxDiff we used in the survey (without resorting to MaxDiff specific software). Other positives included a really well written user manual, helpful (and free) support and the ability to script and test the questionnaire offline.

The main limitations of the software are that it does not include panel management and does not include the latest Flash and interactive styles of questions as built-in options (you can add them manually with the free format question). For some users, the need to install the software on a server would be a major limitation, but this can be a plus if you need to host a survey in a specific country (as we did for this study), compared with an ASP type solution, and similarly the need to be responsible for the reliability of the server will put some less technical people off (although Sawtooth do offer a hosting service).

However, because of their pricing model (you buy the software rather pay per interview) and the relatively modest price, Sawtooth’s CiW offers the savvy researcher chance to operate with very low cost per interview. I can certainly see myself using Sawtooth software again for straightforward jobs, rather than just using them for the advanced projects.

Comments

[Chris Stetson]

Ray, I fully agree. Even in surveys that don't use the advanced modules, complex programming issues can arise. Yet, with the good documentation that you mention and Sawtooth Software's excellent technical support (for which no annual fee is charged), one can generally use Sawtooth's CiW module to deftly handle those issues.