Survey system, survey method, server device, and program

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of posting, viewing, and answering a question on a timeline, and obtaining an answer meeting questioner's needs by selecting a respondent well-suited to the nature of the question.SOLUTION: A server device comprises: a question processing unit 11d-1 which receives question information and registers it in a storage unit; a respondent selection unit 11d-2 which selects an optimal respondent by referring to user information on the basis of the category related to the question information; a recruitment unit 11d-3 which recruits respondents by targeting those selected by the respondent selection unit; a question posting unit 11d-4 which posts a question on a timeline for respondents who have agreed to participate in response to the recruitment; a response processing unit 11d-5 which receives and processes response information from respondents and registers it in the storage unit; and an aggregation unit 11d-6 which aggregates the response information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology that enables posting, viewing, and answering questions on a timeline.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, various technologies for conducting questionnaires that meet the needs of companies and the like by asking questions on the Web and obtaining answers thereto have been proposed.

[0003] For example, in Patent Document 1, an acquisition unit that acquires the response results and questionnaire information of a questionnaire regarding brand awareness and the like implemented for consumers in the field of products and services to which the marketing target belongs, and respondents are at least based on the frequency of brand use. Among the segments regarding royal users and the like preset accordingly, each segment consisting of royal users and the like is assigned to any one of a plurality of segments consisting of a segment divided based on the intention to use the brand and a segment regarding brand non-cognizant users, and a tabulation unit that tabulates respondents by attribute, and an output unit that displays the tabulation result so as to be compared between different segments are disclosed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose anything about posting, viewing, and answering questions on a timeline, nor does it disclose any device for obtaining an answer that matches the needs of the questioner by selecting respondents suitable for the nature of the question.

[0006] This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to enable posting, viewing, and answering questions on a timeline, and in particular to provide a technology that allows users to obtain answers that meet the needs of the questioner by selecting a respondent who is suitable for the nature of the question. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, a server device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a receiving unit that receives question information from a terminal device; a storage unit that stores at least user information; a question processing unit that receives and processes the question information and registers the question information in the storage unit; a respondent selection unit that selects the most suitable respondent by referring to the user information based on the category related to the question information; a recruitment unit that solicits respondents from the respondent selection unit; a question posting unit that posts questions on a timeline to respondents who have agreed to become respondents in response to the recruitment; a response processing unit that receives and processes response information from the respondents and registers the response information in the storage unit; an aggregation unit that aggregates the response information; a generation unit that visualizes the aggregated results and generates display data; and a transmission unit that transmits the display data to the terminal device. The respondent selection unit then distributes the respondents based on the data boundaries of each item in the basic registration information for each question category, and selects the most suitable respondent by comparing them with a predetermined threshold.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a survey system comprising a terminal device and a server device, wherein the terminal device includes a transmission unit that transmits question information and answer information to the server device, a reception unit that receives display data from the server device, and a display unit that performs a display based on the display data, and the server device includes a reception unit that receives question information from the terminal device, a storage unit that stores at least user information, a question processing unit that receives and processes the question information and registers the question information in the storage unit, a respondent selection unit that selects the most suitable respondent by referring to the user information based on the category related to the question information, a recruitment unit that recruits respondents from the respondent selection unit, a question posting unit that posts questions on a timeline to respondents who have agreed to become respondents in response to the recruitment, an answer processing unit that receives and processes answer information from the respondents and registers the answer information in the storage unit, an aggregation unit that aggregates the answer information, a generation unit that visualizes the aggregated results and generates display data, and a transmission unit that transmits the display data to the terminal device. The respondent selection unit then distributes the respondents based on the data boundaries of each item in the basic registration information for each question category, and selects the most suitable respondent by comparing them with a predetermined threshold.

[0009] A survey method according to another aspect of the present invention includes: a receiving unit receiving question information from a terminal device; a storage unit storing at least user information; a question processing unit receiving and processing the question information and registering it in the storage unit; a respondent selection unit selecting the most suitable respondent by referring to the user information based on the category related to the question information; a recruitment unit recruiting respondents from those selected by the respondent selection unit; a question posting unit posting questions on a timeline to respondents who have agreed to become respondents in response to the recruitment; a response processing unit receiving and processing response information from the respondents and registering the response information in the storage unit; an aggregation unit aggregating the response information; a generation unit visualizing the aggregated results and generating display data; and a transmission unit transmitting the display data to the terminal device. The respondent selection unit then distributes the respondents based on the data boundaries of each item in the basic registration information for each category of question, and selects the most suitable respondent by comparing them with a predetermined threshold.

[0010] A program according to another aspect of the present invention causes a computer equipped with a storage unit that stores user information to function as: a receiving unit that receives question information from a terminal device; a question processing unit that receives and processes the question information and registers the question information in the storage unit; a respondent selection unit that selects the most suitable respondent by referring to the user information based on the category related to the question information; a recruitment unit that solicits respondents from the respondent selection unit; a question posting unit that posts questions on a timeline to respondents who have agreed to become respondents in response to the solicitation; a response processing unit that receives and processes response information from the respondents and registers the response information in the storage unit; an aggregation unit that aggregates the response information; a generation unit that visualizes the aggregated results and generates display data; and a transmission unit that transmits the display data to the terminal device. The respondent selection unit, for each question category, distributes the respondents based on the data boundaries of each item in the basic registration information and selects the most suitable respondent by comparing them with a predetermined threshold. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to post, view, and answer questions on a timeline, and in particular, by selecting respondents who are suitable for the nature of the question, it is possible to provide a technology that can obtain answers that meet the needs of the questioner. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a questionnaire system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figures 2(a) and 2(b) show the configuration diagrams of the server equipment in the system. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the terminal equipment of the system. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the system. [Figure 5] Figures 5(a) to 5(d) show examples of screen displays. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] FIG. 1 shows and explains the configuration of a questionnaire system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] As shown in the figure, the questionnaire system is configured such that a server device 1, a terminal device 2 of a questioner, and a terminal device 3 of a respondent are connected wirelessly or wired to a communication network such as the Internet. As the terminal devices 2 and 3, various types such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a notebook personal computer, and a desktop personal computer can be adopted.

[0016] In such a configuration, the terminal devices 2 and 3 can post, view, and answer questions on the timeline by implementing an application program provided by the server device 1. More specifically, when a question is transmitted from the terminal device 2 of the questioner, the server device 1 processes this, selects a suitable respondent for the question, and recruits the selected respondent as a respondent for the question. Then, the server device 1 posts a question to the respondent who has given consent, receives an answer, and aggregates it. The server device 1 generates display data based on the aggregated results and presents the answer on the timeline.

[0017] FIG. 2 shows and explains the configuration of the server device of the questionnaire system.

[0018] As shown in the figure, the server device 1 has a control unit 11, a communication interface (I / F) 12, and a storage unit 13. The control unit 11, the communication I / F 12, and the storage unit 13 are communicably connected via a system bus. In addition to these configurations, an input unit such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display unit such as a liquid crystal display for performing various displays may be provided.

[0019] The communication I / F 12 is realized by, for example, a network interface card (NIC), and is connected to a communication network 4 such as the Internet by wire or wirelessly, and is a communication interface that communicates with the terminal device 32. The storage unit 13 is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or an optical disk device, and stores in advance a program executed by the control unit 11. Further, the storage unit 13 has a user information storage unit 14, a questionnaire information storage unit 15, a responder selection storage unit 16, a settlement information storage unit 17, and the like.

[0020] The user information storage unit 14 stores, in association with the user ID, in addition to basic registration information such as the user's gender, age, place of residence, nearest station, educational background, occupation, average smartphone usage time, hobbies, interests, etc., answer history information, posting history information, browsing history information, high evaluation (like) information, browsing history of the SNS provided by the server device 1, and settlement information. In FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, the terminal device 2 of the questioner and the terminal device 3 of the responder are shown separately, but the user can be either the questioner or the responder.

[0021] The questionnaire information storage unit 15 stores, in association with the question ID, the category of the question, the user ID of the questioner, the question content, the posting date and time, the user ID of the selected responder candidate, the user ID of the responder who actually obtained the answer, the answer content, the answer date and time, high evaluation (like) information, and the settlement ID.

[0022] The respondent selection memory unit 16 stores feature quantities pre-calculated by the learning unit 11e using all columns associated with the respondent's user ID, feature quantities pre-calculated by the learning unit 11e using columns associated with the user ID of the respondent who provided the selected answer, and scoring results (ranking and evaluation) for each user in each category calculated by the learning unit 11e using those feature quantities. This memory unit is referenced when the respondent selection unit 11d-2 selects a respondent suitable for the question category. Furthermore, the respondent selection memory unit 16 stores a table for evaluating whether a respondent is suitable for a particular category based on their relationship to the threshold (e.g., below the threshold, above the threshold), by calculating the variance of respondents for each question category using statistical methods, determining a threshold, and evaluating whether they are suitable for that category based on their relationship to the threshold.

[0023] The payment information storage unit 17 stores the question ID, the questioner's payment information, the respondent's payment information, and payment status information, all linked to the payment ID. The questioner's payment information includes payment information related to the question, and the respondent's payment information includes payment information related to the answer.

[0024] The control unit 11 is implemented using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), etc. The control unit 11 may be composed of an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Array). By executing the program stored in the memory unit 13, this control unit 11 functions as a main control unit 11a, a transmission unit 11b, a reception unit 11c, a survey execution unit 11d, a learning unit 11e, a settlement unit 11f, and a generation unit 11g, etc. The survey execution unit 11d further functions as a question processing unit 11d-1, a respondent selection unit 11d-2, a recruitment unit 11d-3, a question posting unit 11d-4, a response processing unit 11d-5, and a tabulation unit 11d-6.

[0025] In this configuration, the transmitting unit 11b transmits various display data and the like to the terminal devices 2 and 3. The receiving unit 11c receives various information transmitted from the terminal devices 2 and 3, such as the user's basic registration information, question information, and answer information.

[0026] The survey execution unit 11d executes the survey. More specifically, the question processing unit 11d-1 receives and processes the question information transmitted from the questioner's terminal device 2 and received by the receiving unit 11c, registers the question information in the user information storage unit 14 in association with the questioner's user ID, and registers the question information in the survey information storage unit 15 in association with the issued question ID.

[0027] The respondent selection unit 11d-2 selects the most suitable respondent based on the categories related to the question information. Specifically, it refers to the respondent selection storage unit 16 and selects the respondent based on the feature quantities pre-calculated by the learning unit 11e using all columns associated with the respondent's user ID, the feature quantities pre-calculated by the learning unit 11e using the columns associated with the user ID of the respondent who provided the adopted answer, and the scoring results (ranking and evaluation) for each user in each category calculated by the learning unit 11e using those feature quantities. Alternatively, the respondent selection storage unit 16 may select the most suitable respondent by dividing the respondent by the data boundaries of each item in the basic registration information for each question category and comparing them against a predetermined threshold (below the threshold, above the threshold, etc.).

[0028] The recruitment unit 11d-3 recruits respondents from the respondent candidates selected by the respondent selection unit 11d-2. The question posting unit 11d-4 posts questions on the timeline to respondents who have agreed to respond to the above recruitment. The response processing unit 11d-5 receives and processes the response information from respondents, registers the response information in the survey information storage unit 15, and also registers it as a response history in the user information storage unit 14. The aggregation unit 11d-6 aggregates the received and processed response information. Specifically, for each answer option, it calculates the number of respondents who selected each option, the percentage of the total, etc.

[0029] The learning unit 11e periodically refers to the user information storage unit 14 and the survey information storage unit 15 to calculate features using all columns associated with the respondent's user ID, and to calculate features using the columns associated with the user ID of the respondent who provided the accepted answer. Based on these features, it performs scoring (ranking and evaluation) for each user in each category and updates the scoring results registered in the respondent selection storage unit 16. Furthermore, for each question category, the learning unit 11e calculates the distribution of respondents at the delimiters of each item data in the basic registration information, and then updates a table for selecting suitable respondents by comparing them with predetermined thresholds (below the threshold, above the threshold, etc.), and registers this table in the respondent selection storage unit 16.

[0030] The payment unit 11f executes electronic payments, such as payments to questioners based on the level of their questions and payments to respondents based on the level of their answers. At this time, it refers to the payment information stored in the user information storage unit 14, and the details and status of the payment are registered in the payment information storage unit 17. The generation unit 11g visualizes the results aggregated by the aggregation units 11d-6 and generates display data. The SNS execution unit 11h realizes interactions between users on the timeline, etc. In addition, the main control unit 11a is in charge of overall control, such as user authentication.

[0031] Figure 3 shows and explains the configuration of the terminal device for the survey system.

[0032] As shown in the figure, the terminal device 2 includes a control unit 21, a communication interface 22, an operation input unit 23, a display unit 24, a location information acquisition unit 25, and a storage unit 26. Each unit 21 to 26 is connected via a system bus for communication. The communication interface 22 is implemented, for example, by a NIC, and is a communication interface that is connected to a communication network 3 such as the Internet by wired or wireless connection, and communicates with the server device 1, etc.

[0033] The operation input unit 23 is implemented using a mouse, keyboard, or the like, and accepts various operation inputs from the user. The display unit 24 is implemented using a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays various screen information. The operation input unit 23 and the display unit 24 may be integrated as a touch panel. The storage unit 25 is implemented using, for example, semiconductor memory elements such as RAM or flash memory, an HDD, or an optical disc drive, and stores the program executed by the control unit 21.

[0034] The control unit 21 is implemented using a CPU or MPU, and may consist of an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA. The control unit 21 functions as a main control unit 21a, a transmission unit 21b, a reception unit 21c, and a display control unit 21d by reading and executing a program stored in the memory unit 25.

[0035] In this configuration, the transmitting unit 21b transmits basic user registration information, various requests for questions and answers, question information, answer information, etc., to the server device 1. The receiving unit 21c receives display data, etc., from the server device 1. The display control unit 21d then displays various screens on the display unit 24 based on the display data. In addition, the main control unit 21a is in charge of controlling the entire terminal device.

[0036] The following describes in detail the processing flow of the questionnaire system according to an embodiment of the present invention, with reference to the flowchart in Figure 4. Here, examples of screen displays in Figures 5(a) to 5(d) will be referenced as appropriate.

[0037] On the questioner's terminal device 2, various questions and answers are displayed on the timeline, as shown in Figure 5(a). On screen 100, code 100a is the "newest first" button, code 100b is the "recommended first" button, code 100c is the "top search results" button, and code 100d is the "most respondents first" button. The display can be changed by selecting any of these buttons. Code 100e is the "paid question details" button, and code 100f is the "show / hide options" button. In addition, code 100g is the "show question only" button, code 100h is the "show question and options" button, code 100i is the "show question and answer results" button, and code 100j is the "create question" button. When the questioner selects the "create question" button 100j, the screen switches to screen 101 shown in Figure 5(b), where the questioner selects either the "single question" button 101a or the "multiple question" button 101b, and then enters the question details as text. When a question is entered by operating the operation input unit 23, the transmission unit 21b, under the control of the main control unit 21a, transmits the question information to the server device 1 via the communication interface 22 (S1).

[0038] In server device 1, the receiving unit 11c receives question information from terminal device 2 (S2), and the question processing unit 11d-1 receives and processes the question information transmitted from the questioner's terminal device 2 and received by the receiving unit 11c, registers the question information in the user information storage unit 14 in association with the questioner's user ID, and registers the question information in the questionnaire information storage unit 15 in association with the issued question ID (S3).

[0039] The respondent selection unit 11d-2 selects the most suitable respondent based on the categories related to the question information. Specifically, it refers to the respondent selection storage unit 16 and selects the respondent based on the feature quantities pre-calculated by the learning unit 11e using all columns associated with the respondent's user ID, the feature quantities pre-calculated by the learning unit 11e using the columns associated with the user ID of the respondent who provided the adopted answer, and the scoring results (ranking and evaluation) for each user in each category calculated by the learning unit 11e using those feature quantities. Alternatively, the respondent selection storage unit 16 may select a suitable respondent by dividing the respondent by the data boundaries of each item in the basic registration information for each question category and comparing them against a predetermined threshold (below the threshold, above the threshold, etc.) (S4).

[0040] The recruitment unit 11d-3 recruits respondents from the respondent selection unit 11d-2 (S5). The question posting unit 11d-4 posts questions on the timeline to respondents who have agreed to become respondents in response to the above recruitment (S6). On the respondent's terminal device 3, the receiving unit 21c receives display data related to the question, and under the control of the display control unit 21d, the display unit 24 displays the question on the timeline (S7). When a response is entered by operating the operation input unit 23, the transmission unit 21b transmits the response information to the server device 1 under the control of the main control unit 21a (S8).

[0041] The response processing unit 11d-5 receives and processes the response information from the respondent, registers the response information in the questionnaire information storage unit 15, and also registers it as a response history in the user information storage unit 14 (S9). Next, the aggregation unit 11d-6 aggregates the received and processed response information. More specifically, for example, it calculates the number of respondents who selected each option, the percentage of the total, etc., for each answer option (S10).

[0042] The generation unit 11g visualizes the results aggregated by the aggregation unit 11d-6 and generates display data (S11). The transmission unit 11b transmits this display data to the questioner's terminal device 2 (S12). On the questioner's terminal device 2, the receiving unit 21c receives the display data (S13), and under the control of the display control unit 21d, displays the aggregated results and other information on the display unit 24 (S14). This completes the series of processes.

[0043] An example of the display on terminal device 2 is shown in Figure 5(c). On screen 102, the display mode can be changed using the graph display button 102a, the comment posting / viewing button 102b, and the percentage display / vote count display switching button 102c. Additionally, the display of results by attribute button 101d can be used to switch to displaying respondent responses related to attributes such as the respondent's gender, age, place of residence, education level, occupation, annual income, and smartphone usage time, and the display of results by option button 102e can be used to switch to displaying results by option.

[0044] Furthermore, the SNS function provided by server device 1 allows users to view SNS comments on screen 103, etc. On screen 103, code 103a is the "Newest First" button, code 103b is the "Posted First" button, code 103c is the "Recommended First" button, and selecting the comment submission button 103d brings up the comment input screen, where users can submit comments.

[0045] According to the questionnaire system and the like of the embodiment of the present invention described above, it becomes possible to post, view, and submit questions on a timeline. Furthermore, it is possible to select the most suitable respondents according to the category of the question, solicit responses, and post questions to respondents who have given their consent, thereby enabling the implementation of questionnaires that better meet the needs of the questioners.

[0046] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various improvements and modifications are possible without departing from its spirit.

[0047] For example, when the respondent selection unit selects respondents, if the columns of the user's basic registration information have a large number of dimensions, it is certainly possible to use untrained machine learning to reduce the number of dimensions to be handled and regenerate columns divided into several groups to derive useful features. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0048] 1...Server device, 2...Terminal device, 3...Terminal device, 4...Communication network, 11...Control unit, 11a...Main control unit, 11b...Transmission unit, 11c...Receiving unit, 11d...Question execution unit, 11d-1...Question processing unit, 11d-2...Respondent selection unit, 11d-3...Recruitment unit, 11d-4...Question submission unit, 11d-5...Answer processing unit, 11d-6...Aggregation unit, 11e...Learning unit, 11f...Settlement unit, 11g...Generation unit, 12...Communication unit, 13...Storage unit, 14...User information storage unit, 15...Questionnaire information storage unit, 16...Storage unit for respondent selection, 17...Settlement information storage unit, 21...Control unit, 21a...Main control unit, 21b...Transmission unit, 21c...Receiving unit, 21d...Display control unit, 22...Communication I / F, 23...Operation input unit, 24...Display unit, 25...Location information acquisition unit, 26...Storage unit.

Claims

1. A receiving unit that receives question information from a terminal device, A storage unit that stores at least user information, A question processing unit that receives and processes the aforementioned question information and registers the aforementioned question information in the storage unit, A respondent selection unit that selects the most suitable respondent by referring to the user information based on the category related to the question information, A recruitment department that recruits respondents from those selected by the aforementioned respondent selection department, For respondents who have agreed to be respondents to the aforementioned call for submissions, there is a question posting section where questions are posted on the timeline, A response processing unit that receives and processes response information from the respondent and registers the response information in the storage unit, A compilation unit that aggregates the aforementioned response information, A generation unit visualizes the aggregated results and generates display data, The system includes a transmission unit that transmits the aforementioned display data to the terminal device, The respondent selection unit, for each question category, distributes the respondents based on the data boundaries of each item in the basic registration information, and selects the most suitable respondent by comparing them with a predetermined threshold. Server device.

2. In a survey system consisting of terminal devices and server devices, The aforementioned terminal device is A transmission unit that transmits question information and answer information to the server device, A receiving unit that receives display data from the server device, The system includes a display unit that displays data based on the aforementioned display data, The server device is A receiving unit that receives question information from the terminal device, A storage unit that stores at least user information, A question processing unit that receives and processes the aforementioned question information and registers the aforementioned question information in the storage unit, A respondent selection unit that selects the most suitable respondent by referring to the user information based on the category related to the question information, A recruitment department that recruits respondents from those selected by the aforementioned respondent selection department, For respondents who have agreed to be respondents to the aforementioned call for submissions, there is a question posting section where questions are posted on the timeline, A response processing unit that receives and processes response information from the respondent and registers the response information in the storage unit, A compilation unit that aggregates the aforementioned response information, A generation unit visualizes the aggregated results and generates display data, A transmitting unit that transmits the aforementioned display data to the terminal device, Equipped with, The respondent selection unit, for each question category, distributes the respondents based on the data boundaries of each item in the basic registration information, and selects the most suitable respondent by comparing them with a predetermined threshold. Survey system.

3. The receiving unit receives question information from the terminal device. The memory unit stores at least user information, The question processing unit receives and processes the question information, and registers the question information in the storage unit. The respondent selection unit selects the most suitable respondent by referring to the user information based on the category related to the question information. The recruitment department will solicit respondents from those selected by the aforementioned respondent selection department. The question posting section will post questions on the timeline to respondents who have agreed to answer the aforementioned call for responses. The response processing unit receives and processes the response information from the respondent, and registers the response information in the storage unit. The aggregation department aggregates the aforementioned response information, The generation unit visualizes the aggregated results and generates display data. The transmission unit transmits the display data to the terminal device. The respondent selection unit, for each question category, distributes the respondents based on the data boundaries of each item in the basic registration information, and selects the most suitable respondent by comparing them with a predetermined threshold. Survey method.

4. A computer equipped with a memory unit that stores at least user information, A receiving unit that receives question information from a terminal device. A question processing unit that receives and processes the aforementioned question information and registers the aforementioned question information in the storage unit, A respondent selection unit that selects the most suitable respondent by referring to the user information based on the category related to the question information. A recruitment department that recruits respondents from those selected by the aforementioned respondent selection department. For respondents who have agreed to be respondents to the aforementioned call for submissions, there is a question posting section where questions are posted on the timeline. A response processing unit that receives and processes response information from the respondent and registers the response information in the storage unit. A compilation unit that aggregates the aforementioned response information, A generation unit that visualizes the aggregated results and generates display data, and It functions as a transmitting unit that transmits the aforementioned display data to the terminal device, The respondent selection unit, for each question category, distributes the respondents based on the data boundaries of each item in the basic registration information, and selects the most suitable respondent by comparing them with a predetermined threshold. program.

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