The Impulsimeter™

After several years of research, development, and field testing, the Impulsimeter™ is now available for deployment within online surveys designed by Pulsenomics.

What is it?

The Impulsimeter™ is a questionnaire design feature that enables online survey participants to record responses on a visual, interactive digital scale. It is especially well-suited to effectively capture attitudinal intensity and significantly reduce respondent fatigue.

How does it work?

For a given survey question, the Impulsimeter™ is presented as a simple horizontal line with an anchor label at each endpoint along with a response indictor (a draggable dot). Survey-takers register a response by positioning the dot anywhere along the scale continuum that reflects their in-the-moment attitude regarding each question presented to them; they do this using a fingertip (mobile device users) or cursor (desktop or laptop computer).

  • The Impulsimeter endpoint labels are typically diametrically opposite words or phrases
  • The default position of the dot is the midpoint of the line.
  • Respondents can leave the dot at the midpoint or reposition it anywhere on the scale in either direction from the midpoint.

The Impulsimeter™ is activated by the survey-taker’s touch (or cursor click); scale activation is required for every question and is confirmed visually for respondents (the horizontal line changes color once it is touched).

Here is an illustration of how the Impulsimeter could be deployed within a survey to gauge respondents’ outlook about stock prices one year from now:

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A person with a “somewhat positive” outlook for stock prices might drag the dot to the position depicted below.

The Impulsimeter systematically scores the survey-taker’s response on a predetermined numeric scale. For example, imagine a linear scale with a score range of minus-100 to plus-100. The illustration below depicts the Impulsimeter’s numeric translation of the respondent’s dot placement in the preceding graphic:

Impulsimeter features can be customized to optimize respondent engagement, cognition, and data value. For example, Pulsenomics can implement any number of Impulsimeter scale ranges and suppress display of the numeric scale and/or the score corresponding to the respondent’s dot placement.

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For more information about how the Impulsimeter™ can enhance the quality of your survey research project, contact us.