One thinks one is out of luck unless one is budgeted for an expensive online survey service or a programmer who charges by the line. Incidentally, a small computer program may require thousands of lines of code. Wrong. One does not have to pray for a miraculous someone or something that can do the dirty job of data entry quickly, neatly, and cheaply. With Message Parse, there is no need to look elsewhere.

What is Message Parse?
Message Parse is a web utility program created by Cypress Technologies for extracting common data from the results of web forms sent through e-mail and for converting the extracted data to formats usable by applications such as MS Excel and SPSS for data analysis.  One only needs to install the software, set up the templates (otherwise called user defined output files) to fit one’s needs. Everything else is done automatically. Message Parse is capable of filtering selected messages and searching for specific keywords and phrases. Its user-friendly interface “makes it easy to create templates that define how to get and store the information you want” (Cypress Technologies). Learning how to create the templates is a matter of reading the Help file while experimenting with the program for a few hours. Don’t have the time to learn before you need to do the analysis? No problem! At the time of purchase, Cypress Technologies, producer of Message Parse, offers to help its customers set up their first template free! Figure 1 is a flow chart that describes the process of how Message Parse converts web form data to an exportable text file using the templates.

Can we do the analysis ourselves? 
Before proceeding to analyze one’s data, one needs to decide how sophisticated one wants the report to be. To get numbers, percentages, means and standard deviations, it is not necessary to spend big bucks for a top-flight analysis software package. Most libraries have a copy of either MS Excel or Lotus 1-2-3. Believe it or not, that is all one needs. Figure 2 illustrates how the text file Message Parse produces can be imported into MS Excel for analysis.

How did Western Kentucky University Libraries conduct web-based surveys?
After a committee created the web-based survey form (located at <www.wku.edu/Library/LibSurvey/libsurvey.htm>), 
we downloaded the trial version of Message Parse and put it to the real-life test through two pilot surveys. Each ran for a week, from November 29, through December 12, 1998. We dubbed the first of the surveys “Passive,” as we did nothing more than add an icon to the WKU Libraries homepage <http://www.wku.edu/Library> linking to the survey form. The second one was “Active” because we required our patrons to decide if they would like to do the survey before they could access the library’s homepage. The effect of these two approaches dramatically affected the number of patrons who took the surveys. Our first regular web-based Library Satisfaction Survey was conducted “actively” and successfully during National Library Week, April 12-18, 1999.  The impact of the pilot and regular surveys is, of course, beyond the scope of our discussion about Message Parse.  The point is that if Message Parse worked for us, it will work for you.  Test the trial version in a real-life situation before your purchase.
 

How can we get Message Parse?
Cypress Technologies can be accessed at <http://www.cypressnet.com>. The Message Parse utility can be found at <http://www.cypressnet.com/Products/msgparse/msgparse.htm>.  A trial version of Message Parse for Win95/NT4.0 can be downloaded at  <http://www.cypressnet.com/Download/Download.htm> and will expire in 30 days. At the time of purchase, one will get the latest version. Pricing is scaled downwards from $79.95 depending on the number of users.

Haiwang Yuan, a member of the LIRT Computer Applications Committee, is Assistant Professor, Web Site & Virtual Library Coordinator at the Western Kentucky University Libraries & Museum.