This is a temp format while we work to revamp our review system (part of a large scale site redesign). Did you guys ever use Yelp, CNET review, etc?
Put yourself through a reviewer's shoes. Are you more likely to spend 30 minutes answering 20 items questionnaire? Or more so if you have been presented with about 4,5 text boxes?
I would prefer a one box review for a toaster (does it work? is the toast even? does it set your house on fire? great.). I would prefer an in depth review for something more complex like an MFE program
Perhaps I am alone in this, but I obsessively researched every aspect of both undergraduate and graduate institutions. I checked rankings, professor research interests and pored over every bit of information that I could find - because I'm not buying a toaster, I'm making a decision with potential for drastic life-altering effects. I simply want more information.
Have I read CNET reviews? Not really. I find them not nearly in depth enough. If I'm looking to buy a phone I look at gizmodo or engadget. If I'm looking for laptop/computer parts anandtech is a good place to start.
As a matter of fact, the general "the more impact this will have on me, the more research I want to do and the more information I want to see" rule seems to apply to everything in life for me... crazy, I never realized this.
Consequently I would prefer more structured reviews of such things as they tend to be much more homogenous and allow for much easier comparisons. I would also prefer to fill out a more in depth and structured review. I'd probably start to fill out the review, get lost for words or begin to wonder what it is that I'm supposed to write, and then give up altogether...
Perhaps default to the more structured review with the option of going to the less structured one should one feel so inclined? Just a suggestion.
