Abstract:
In one aspect of a preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a system for providing an incentive for text entry, comprising: a server computer in communication with an electronic computer network; a database in communication with the server computer; an administrator computer in communication with the server computer; and an accounts payable computer in communication with the server computer; wherein the server computer is operable to transmit a form over the electronic computer network to a user computer; and wherein the form comprises at least one text input area; and at least one reward value display wherein a displayed reward value is related to an amount of text entered into the at least one text input area.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/493,908, filed Aug. 8, 2003. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to methods for providing real-time incentive for participants in electronic surveys, newsgroups, or other activity requiring text submission, to submit comprehensive and generously articulated ideas and passages. More specifically, the present invention provides incentive for respondents to answer open-ended survey questions fully and comprehensively.  
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0003]     Many surveys and newsgroup discussions are conducted electronically via the web. Depending on who is commissioning the survey, and the population being surveyed, the respondents may or may not receive monetary compensation. In the cases where they do receive monetary compensation it is often a fixed amount regardless of the quality or extent of the respondent&#39;s answers.  
         [0004]     Questions in surveys take many forms. Some are multiple-choice, others are numeric, and some are open-ended text questions where the respondent may be expected to enter a detailed response comprising a few sentences. For questions with discrete choices (e.g. multiple choice, or yes/no questions) it is simple and a standard practice to enforce, if required, the selection of one (or more in some cases) of the answer choices. When a similar rule is applied to an open ended question requiring a typed response in a text area, the rule is often simply that something need be entered in the text area, but there is no incentive for the respondent to type extensive commentary. There are often no repercussions or penalties for the respondent if they just enter a short or inadequate response. What is needed in the art is a method of providing incentive to survey respondents to fully answer open-ended questions.  
         [0005]     The Internet is host to many newsgroup discussions. Many of the discussions are public and open to any participants. People have various motivations for participating in such discussions. There are also private newsgroup discussions, where a sponsor may commission a discussion by qualified people on a topic relating to its product or service, for instance; this is likened to an electronic focus group. While some newsgroup respondents are compensated on a fixed basis (e.g., a set dollar amount per week) for a minimum number of postings, what is needed in the art is a method for providing incentive to newsgroup participants to fully discuss and explore their thoughts on a given subject extensively by linking the amount paid to the volume of text posted.  
         [0006]     The Internet also supports real-time chat sessions and instant message sessions. While most of these are elective, what is needed in the art is a method of compensating one or more participants for their submissions to such sessions based on the volume of text contributed to the discussion.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0007]     A preferred embodiment of the invention provides methods and systems for constructing a units-earned meter to be used to provide incentive to a participant in an electronic survey, newsgroup discussion, or other activity requiring text submission. The units will usually be a currency amount. The accrued units preferably are displayed in real-time as the volume of text typed increases in an adjacent text entry area. The directly-related instantaneous positive feedback during the submission process provides incentive for the respondent to type a full answer to the question (in the case of a survey), or a full response to another posting (in the case of a newsgroup discussion). The amount earned per volume of text is predetermined by the body commissioning the activity. The volume will usually be related to the number of characters (e.g. $0.05 per character). In some cases, the amount that can be earned will be capped, either in total or per response.  
         [0008]     In one aspect of a preferred embodiment, the invention comprises software for facilitating a positive feedback incentive for a user to enter text, wherein the interface comprises: a) at least one text input area; and b) at least one reward value display, wherein a displayed reward value is related to an amount of text entered into the at least one text input area. In various embodiments, the displayed reward value is directly correlated with a number of characters in the text input area; the displayed reward value is dynamically updated at each keystroke in the text input area; the displayed reward value is directly correlated with a number of words in the text input area; a plurality of text input areas are provided, and the displayed reward value is directly correlated with an aggregate number of characters in the plurality of text input areas; the displayed reward value is capped in total; and/or the displayed reward value is capped on a per-response basis.  
         [0009]     In another aspect, the invention comprises a system for providing an incentive for text entry, comprising: a server computer in communication with an electronic computer network; a database in communication with the server computer; an administrator computer in communication with the server computer; and an accounts payable computer in communication with the server computer; wherein the server computer is operable to transmit a form over the electronic computer network to a user computer; and wherein the form comprises at least one text input area; and at least one reward value display wherein a displayed reward value is related to an amount of text entered into the at least one text input area.  
         [0010]     In another aspect, the invention comprises a method for providing a real-time incentive for text entry, comprising the steps of: electronically calculating a first number of characters in a text box located on a computer screen; receiving an electronic signal indicating that a keyboard key has been pressed while a cursor is located in the text box; electronically calculating a second number of characters in the text box; electronically calculating a difference between the first number and the second number; electronically calculating a compensation amount based on at least one of the first and second numbers; and displaying the compensation amount on the computer screen. Various embodiments comprise: (1) a step of checking whether the difference is greater than a pre-determined positive number and, if the difference is greater than the pre-determined positive number, displaying a message on the computer screen warning a user not to paste text into the text box; (2) a step of checking whether the difference is greater than a pre-determined positive number and, if the difference is greater than the pre-determined positive number, causing the text box to revert to its previous state (when it contained only the first number of characters); and/or (3) causing the text box to revert to its previous state (when it contained only the first number of characters). In other embodiments, the compensation amount is calculated by multiplying a text rate times the difference, then adding the product of the text rate and the difference to a previously calculated compensation amount; and/or the compensation amount is calculated by multiplying a text rate times the second number. In a still further embodiment, the contents of the text box are saved to a database. In any of the above embodiments (where applicable), the text rate may be per character and/or per word.  
         [0011]     In another aspect, the invention comprises a method for providing a real-time incentive for text entry, comprising the steps of: receiving an electronic signal indicating that a keyboard key has been pressed while a cursor is located in a text box; electronically calculating a number of characters in the text box; electronically calculating a compensation amount based on the number of characters; and displaying the compensation amount on the computer screen. In one embodiment, the compensation amount is calculated by multiplying a text rate times the number of characters. Various embodiments comprise: (1) a step of checking whether the number of characters is greater than a pre-determined positive number and, if the number of characters is greater than the pre-determined positive number, displaying a message on the computer screen warning a user not to paste text into the text box; (2) a step of checking whether the number of characters is greater than a pre-determined positive number and, if the number of characters is greater than the pre-determined positive number, causing the text box to revert to the state immediately before the keyboard key was pressed; and/or (3) causing said text box to revert to the state immediately before said keyboard key was pressed; key was pressed. In a still further embodiment, the contents of the text box are saved to a database. In any of the embodiments, the text rate may be per character and/or per word. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates a network arrangement of hardware, software, and user components for implementing a method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  illustrates a process flow whereby a survey administrator enters and executes a survey with standard text responses and incentive text responses;  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  illustrates a process flow whereby a member in a population participates in a survey that they were invited to, and is paid for such participation;  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  shows an exemplary form (registration form) whereby a person registers to become a member of a population.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  shows an exemplary form (survey initiation form) used by an administrator to begin authoring a survey;  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  shows an exemplary form (header and sample specification form) used by an administrator to author a survey;  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  shows the initial survey draft display before questions are added;  
         [0019]      FIG. 8  shows an exemplary form (question construction form) where the question entered is a Standard Text question;  
         [0020]      FIG. 9  shows the survey draft display once one Standard Text question has been added to the survey draft;  
         [0021]      FIG. 10  shows an exemplary form (question construction form) where the question entered is an Incentive Text question;  
         [0022]      FIG. 11  shows the survey draft display once one Standard Text question has been added to the survey draft followed by an Incentive Text question;  
         [0023]      FIG. 12  shows an exemplary form (send invitation form) used by the administrator to set the base compensation for a survey and initiate the sending of the email invitations;  
         [0024]      FIG. 13  shows an exemplary email invitation to a prospective survey participant;  
         [0025]      FIG. 14  shows an exemplary initial web page (welcome page) viewed by a prospective survey participant when they click through to take the survey;  
         [0026]      FIG. 15  shows the live survey form with answers for Standard Text and Incentive Text questions as seen by a survey respondent;  
         [0027]      FIG. 16  shows a confirmation page seen by the survey respondent once they complete and submit the survey form;  
         [0028]      FIG. 17  shows the survey results as viewed by the survey administrator;  
         [0029]      FIG. 18  shows exemplary script in the form of Javascript that is used to update the Incentive Text question&#39;s additional compensation amount earned box;  
         [0030]      FIG. 19  illustrates a process flow whereby Incentive Text question additional compensation amount is dynamically updated with each keystroke. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0031]     A preferred embodiment of the invention comprises methods for designing a survey to be filled out electronically that contains one or more incentive text questions, inviting a population sample to fill out a survey for a specified compensation level with the opportunity to earn over and above that amount by means of incentive text questions, generating a survey form with real-time feedback of additional compensation earned, and calculating and processing individualized payments.  
         [0032]     Components of a preferred system embodiment are depicted in  FIG. 1 . Members  101  of a population  102  may have previously expressed interest in receiving survey invitations by way of email. They may do this by means of a web form  400  (see  FIG. 4 ) on website  104  via the Internet  103  where they indicate their preferred email address  401  and qualifications (certifications  403 ) for being included in said population  102 . Member email addresses  401  and qualifications (certifications  403 ) are stored in a SQL Database  105 .  
         [0033]     With reference now to the flowchart in  FIG. 2 , an administrator  106  can, via the Internet  103  and a web form  400  (see  FIG. 4 ) on a website  104 , at step  201  initiate the authoring of a survey by indicating the population to be surveyed through the selection of certification criteria  501  (see  FIG. 5 ) from a standard dropdown box on a population selection web form  500 . The administrator  106  then continues by clicking the Submit button  502 .  
         [0034]     At step  202  the administrator  106  enters, on a web form  600  (see  FIG. 6 ), the Title  601  and Description  602  of the survey. On the same web form at step  203  the administrator enters the Sample Size  603 , which will be used to determine whether to allow a respondent to fill out the survey, or refuse their entry if the Sample Size has been attained. Additionally, on the same web form  600  the administrator  106  also enters the number of invitations to be sent  604 . The administrator  106  then proceeds by clicking the Next button  605 .  
         [0035]     At step  204  the administrator  106  views a web page  700  (see  FIG. 7 ) that displays a survey draft  701  with the entered Title  702  and Description  703 , and displays a button, Add Question  704 , which the administrator  106  clicks to proceed to step  206  if they wish to add a question at step  205 .  
         [0036]     At step  207  the administrator  106  views a web form  800  where it is required that the question be entered in area  801 , and the type of question be selected in area  802  at step  208 . The question type options in area  802  include a Standard Text  803  question type. By way of example the administrator  106  may at step  208  select a Standard Text  803  question type before clicking the Enter button  804  to proceed. In this case at step  209  the question type selected at step  208  was not Incentive Text so the system moves back to step  204 .  
         [0037]     At step  204  the administrator  106  now views a web form  900  (see  FIG. 9 ) similar to web form  700  (see  FIG. 7 ). Only now the first question  904  has been added and is displayed below the Title  902  and Description  903  of the survey. One skilled in the art will appreciate that all questions will be appended to the survey draft  901  and displayed in a similar manner to the way the first question  904  was added. There is also both an Edit link  905  and a Delete link  906  on the web page. By way of example the administrator  106  may now continue at step  205  by deciding to add another question and click Add Question  907  at step  206 .  
         [0038]     At step  207  the administrator  106  enters the question text on a web form  1000  (see  FIG. 10 ) in space  1001 , and then at step  208  may select the question type in area  1002  as Incentive Text  1003 . As the Incentive Text  1003  radio-button option is selected, a box  1006  appears on the web page by means of Javascript, DHTML, or other client side script familiar to those skilled in the art. The box  1006  allows the administrator  106  to complete steps  209  and  210 . The specification of parameters is done either by accepting or changing the default settings in box  1004  of $0.05 per character typed and $20 in box  1005  as the maximum payout for the answer. The administrator  106  completes step  210  by clicking the Enter button  1007 , and returns to step  204 .  
         [0039]     At step  204  the administrator  106  now views a web form  1100  (see  FIG. 11 ) similar to web form  900  (see  FIG. 9 ). Only now the second question  1105  has been added and is displayed in the survey draft  1101  below the Title  1102 , Description  1103  and the previously added question  1104 . Of note is the Additional Earned notification box  1108  that appears next to the text box  1106  in which the respondent types their response. Said Additional Earned notification box  1108  will, in the currency display box  1109 , at the time the survey is run, dynamically display the incremental compensation earned as the respondent types their response. The Incentive Text question  1105  also differs from the Standard Text question  1104  as it contains a notification  1107  that the respondent will earn additional compensation, and the given parameters by which this is earned.  
         [0040]     At this time the administrator  106  may terminate the construction of the survey draft at step  205  by electing not to add an additional question with button Add Question  1110 , but rather clicking the Next button  1111  at step  211 .  
         [0041]     At step  212  the administrator  106  enters the Base Compensation amount for each survey respondent in box  1201 . The Base Compensation amount is that amount the survey respondent will be paid if they do not fill in any text in the Incentive Text question answer boxes  1503  (see  FIG. 15 ). The administrator then completes step  212  by clicking the Send Invitations button  1204  which initiates the automated sending of invitation emails to a random selection of members  101  from the selected population  102 .  
         [0042]     An exemplary email invitation  1300  (see  FIG. 13 ) contains the Base Compensation Amount  1302  and  1304  as well as the summation of the base with the total additional available compensation  1305  across all incentive text questions in the survey  1301 . It also contains a unique URL link  1303  that, when clicked by the member  101  at step  301  (see  FIG. 3 ) will cause the web browser to navigate at step  302  to website  104  (see  FIG. 1 ) with the identifying information in the URL link  1303  used to identify the member  101  and the survey to be taken by them. This identifying step is done by checking the SQL Database  105 . Such identification allows for the generation of a personalized web page  1400  (see  FIG. 14 ) where the member  101  verifies, and changes if necessary, their payment details  1401  as previously entered on form  400  (see  FIG. 4 ) and recorded on the SQL server  105  (see  FIG. 1 ) and clicks the Submit button  1402  at step  303  to proceed to the survey form  1500  (see  FIG. 15 ).  
         [0043]     The previously authored survey form  1500  (see  FIG. 15 ) is displayed at step  304 . The member  101  may fill the form out sequentially or in random order. When answering an incentive text question  1502 , the additional compensation earned  1505  is reflected in a box  1504  adjacent to the text area  1503  in which the response is typed. Typing in the text area  1503  triggers a Javascript procedure that updates the compensation amount  1505  in the adjacent box  1504 . With reference now to  FIG. 18  exemplary code  1800  for such a procedure is presented. It can be appreciated by those with skill in the art that such code can be modified to be included once in the HTML code for a survey form and be accessed by all the incentive text questions when typing is done in their respective text areas ( 1503 ). The algorithm preferably used in such code is outlined below. The member completes step  304  by clicking on the submit button  1506 .  
         [0044]     At step  305  a confirmation page  1600  (see  FIG. 16 ) is displayed. At step  306  the ASP code that dynamically generates the web site  103  sends an email to the Accounts Payables department  107  containing the name, address, social security number, and amount to be paid to the member. The amount preferably is recalculated on the ASP server based on the number of characters transmitted in the web form at step  304 . The Accounts Payables Department  107  in turn sends a check at step  307  to the member for their services. The value of the check is the aggregate value of the base compensation amount and the additional Incentive Text Question amounts.  
         [0045]     The survey results  1700  (see  FIG. 17 ) show the text responses of both the Standard Text question  1701  and the Incentive Text question  1702 . Viewing the results there is no indication that additional compensation was rewarded for the second question  1702 .  
         [0046]     Steps of a preferred algorithm for the real-time calculation of the Incentive Text additional compensation amount and display thereof are outlined in  FIG. 19 . At step  1901  the user presses a key in the text area of an Incentive Text question, such as area  1503  of Incentive Text question  1502  (see  FIG. 15 ). At step  1902  the calculation procedure is called, such as the procedure shown on in  FIG. 18 . At step  1903  the number of characters in text area  1502  is calculated. As it is only possible to add one character per keystroke, a test is done at step  1904  to see if more than one character was added since the last keystroke.  
         [0047]     If true, then a warning alerts the user not to “paste” text into the box at step  1907 . Furthermore, it changes the contents of the text area to the contents in the state before the key was pressed at step  1908 .  
         [0048]     If false, the compensation box  1505  (see  FIG. 15 ) is updated with the product of the rate/character and the number of characters at step  1905 . The rate/character is passed from the server to the web browser of the client. The number of characters is calculated by the Javascript procedure. At step  1906  the contents of the text area are then saved in an additional variable so that, if necessary, said variable may be used to restore the previous state of the text should step  1908  be called for.  
         [0049]     Thus, in one embodiment the invention comprises a system for facilitating positive feedback incentive for participants in a dialog, group discussion, or other process requiring text participating to input comprehensive answers or opinions, comprising software for providing: at least one text input area; and at least one reward value display related to the volume of the text entered in said text input area.  
         [0050]     In another embodiment, the invention comprises a method to be employed on a server to facilitate a dialog between two users of available instant messaging software, wherein incentive is provided to one or both participants by means of intermittent messages sent to said incentivized users notifying them of their amount earned.  
         [0051]     While the methods and systems of the present invention have been described in terms of the above illustrated embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described. The present invention can be practiced with a variety of modifications and alterations within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.