html select - Get selected value in dropdown list using JavaScript

How do I get the selected value from a dropdown list using JavaScript?

I tried the methods below, but they all return the selected index instead of the value:

var as = document.form1.ddlViewBy.value;
var e = document.getElementById("ddlViewBy");
var strUser = e.options[e.selectedIndex].value;

Answer

If you have a select element that looks like this:

  test1
  test2
  test3

Running this code:

var e = document.getElementById("ddlViewBy");
var strUser = e.options[e.selectedIndex].value;

Would make strUser be 2. If what you actually want is test2, then do this:

var e = document.getElementById("ddlViewBy");
var strUser = e.options[e.selectedIndex].text;

Which would make strUser be test2