phpESP Web Hosting

phpESP Web Hosting

phpESP is an open source, user-friendly software package which is used for the creation, deployment and management of web surveys. The phpESP (Easy Survey Package) allows non technical users to create and administer surveys, gather the survey results and view the survey statistics. The designing and management of surveys is done through a web interface.

phpESP allows standard question types to be added, including text, radio buttons, check boxes and drop-down lists. A matrix-style question can be added for rating multiple statements along a common numeric scale. It facilitates quick implementation of simple web surveys and offers a moderate control over the survey’s appearance through a combination of interface options and the use of cascading style sheets. This application is OS independent (it runs on various UNIX flavors as well as Windows). All that is required on the server is PHP and MySQL.

The web surveys containing more advanced features (routing, data validation, randomization, special question types) may be created using SNAP survey software.

The entire response data is collected in a MySQL database and this can then be exported to a comma delimited file, which in turn can be analyzed by Excel, SAS or SPSS. These surveys can either be administered by a single designer or by several designers within a set or shared group. Specific usernames/passwords groups are assigned to access these surveys.
In order to obviate ballot stuffing or multiple voting; each respondent can be assigned a username and password and have them to log in. Moreover, the save/restore option on the survey access page allows the respondent to complete the survey halfway, log out and log back at a later time to complete the survey. The survey results can be made public by following the steps mentioned below:

Make a copy of public/survey.php then edit the copy to uncomment approximately on line 48:
//$results = 1; and then use the copied/edited page just like the survey.php page. It should then display results instead of the survey.

phpESP can support large number of respondents as well. In fact, large surveys (100 questions) and large respondent groups (4,000+) can be handled without a problem. Throughput issues are generally a function of the speed of the web server, the speed of the MySQL server, and available network bandwidth.

There are specific correct permission settings for phpESP files. In a UNIX environment, phpESP files should be set as 644 to be readable by Apache. For tighter security, phpESP.ini.php should be set 640, owner root and its group set to the Apache process’s group. The software has the following dependencies:

• MySQL 4.1.15 (recommended)
• PHP 5.0.4 (recommended)

The software is OSI (Open Source Initiative) approved and is available under the BSD license. The download and set up of phpESP is almost a breeze. Cross-analysis and cross-tabulation of survey results are useful and powerful features, allowing you to compare responses inside the survey. Through the management interface, users can perform various survey functions like

• Create a new survey
• Edit an existing survey
• Test a survey
• Copy an existing survey
• Change the status of a survey
• Change access to a survey
• View results from a survey
• Cross tabulate survey results
• View a survey report
• Export data to CSV
• Change password
• Manage Designer accounts
• Manage Respondent Accounts
• Manage Groups
• View the User and Administrator Guide

With all things considered; phpESP is a highly useful tool and user friendly tool and further enhancements are constantly made to it; making it more flexible and utilizable.