How to Create an Access Database for Survey Results
By Louise Balle
One of the main purposes of using Microsoft Access is to create a file that allows you to keep track of important data. One application is for storing and managing survey results. If you conduct a survey with a group of people, whether it's a printed survey asking for feedback about a product or an online survey questionnaire asking what people think of your website, you can enter the results into an Access database. An Access database is made up of one or more tables containing your data.
Load Microsoft Access and click "Blank Database" to create a new file. Enter a name for the new database file when prompted and click "Create."
Double-click the box that says "Add New Field" at the top of the table and enter the first field from your survey. For example, if you have a survey about favorite television shows, you might ask for name of respondent, location, favorite TV show and reason why he likes this show. Each of these questions represents a field name in your Access Database.
Click the "Tab" key to move over to the next "Add New Field" box and continue entering field names from your survey. Continue the process until you reach the last field, then click inside of the box under the first field name you created. In this example, assume the field name is "Name of Respondent."
Start typing the first entry given by the first survey respondent into your Access database. Press the "Tab" or "Enter" key to move between fields. Access automatically assigned an ID number to each entry in your data table to make it simpler to track and reference your data (see "ID" field at the beginning of each row).
Click CTRL + S, which loads the table "Save As" dialog box. Enter a logical name for the table, such as "TV Show Survey Results" in this example. Click "OK" to save the new table within your database.
Click "Create" then "Table" on the Access main menu to start a new table. Repeat these steps for each set of survey results that you wish to record.
Louise Balle has been writing Web articles since 2004, covering everything from business promotion to topics on beauty. Her work can be found on various websites. She has a small-business background and experience as a layout and graphics designer for Web and book projects.