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Writing surveys is easy; or is it? The truth is that writing surveys is
easy but writing effective surveys is more difficult. The following are
twenty tips that if followed will help you write more effective surveys.
20 Top Tips To Writing Effective Surveys
 1. What is the purpose of the survey?
Surveys are conducted for many reasons. By phrasing the questions and
structuring the answers surveys can be used in a multitude of ways and
for a variety of reasons. When compiling a survey don"t loose sight of its purpose.
2. Title the survey
The survey title is a golden opportunity to instantly summarise a
survey's objective and grab the attention of invited respondents.
Respondents are going to invest time in completing the survey so make
them feel that their investment is worthwhile.
3. Do not make the survey any longer than it needs to be
Every question that is asked should be asked for a reason. Focus
on "need to know" questions and minimise "nice to know" information.
4. Use plain English, avoid jargon and acronyms, maintain consistency
and don"t ask questions that may result in ambiguous answers
Care must be taken in wording a question. If a question is not clear
then there is every chance that respondents may interpret the question
differently to that intended by the publisher making any analysis of
the data meaningless or at the very least misleading.
5. Avoid long questions
Try to use short sentences wherever possible. Long questions tend to
cause respondents discomfort and can lead to a higher level of
incidents where respondents abandon a survey.
6. Ask one question at a time
Avoid confusing the respondent with a question like "Do you like football and tennis?"
7. Avoid influencing the answer
It is important not to load the question. "Should irresponsible shop
keepers who sell tobacco to children be prosecuted?" is unlikely to
have any value.
8. Ensure that the answer format used allows the respondent to answer the question being asked
Allow the respondent to answer how they really feel or they may be less
inclined to complete the survey. As a last resort consider the benefit
of including a "Don"t know", "Can"t say" or similar response option.
9. At the same time that you compile the survey consider, when the
survey is complete, how the compiled data is going be analysed
If a question is asked that allows a free text open ended response
appreciate that such information is likely to be difficult to score
and/or summarised. Consider grouping answers. For example "How long
have you worked here?" - "less than 1 year", "between 1 and 3 years"
and "more than 3".
10. Ensure that the questionnaire flows
When asking questions group the questions into clear categories as this
makes the task of completing the survey easier for the participants.
11. Target your respondents
In
some cases you will want to target a specific group, in others a cross
section. If you can"t easily control the respondents consider including
questions/answers that will allow you to filter out respondents who
don"t fit your target profile.
12. Allow the respondent to expand or make comments
Allowing
the respondent to make additional comments will increase their
satisfaction level and will also give valuable feedback on the specific
questions and/or the survey as a whole. Remember though for a large
sample collection it may be difficult to analyse free text open ended
responses.
13. If the survey you are conducting is to be confidential ensure that your pledge is upheld
If
you have assured the respondents that the survey is confidential ensure
that the individual data is not to be shared with anyone and the
information is not going to be used for any other purpose.
Confidentiality must be maintained at all times and any identifying
information destroyed after the survey is complete.
14. Weigh up the benefits of allowing respondents to be anonymous or identifiable
If
your respondents are to be anonymous then appreciate that you will be
unable to follow up or match "pre" or "post" surveys. However in some
cases allowing people to remain anonymous will allow people to respond
without possible peer pressure.
15. Give careful consideration to the best response format
It
is good practice to maintain a consistency in the format used for
responses. Keep in mind that when analysing the data radio buttons are
easier to analyse than check boxes that offer the respondent multiple
responses. Do not use a check box if a radio response would do.
16. Give the respondent an idea of how much time the survey will take.
Respondent
drop out can occur if the survey appears to be a stream of never ending
questions. It is good practice to give an indication as to how long the
survey is likely to take so the respondents can choose the best time to
complete the survey.
17. Inform the respondents of the survey end date
Encourage
respondents to complete the survey as soon as possible but advice
respondents as to the surveys end date so that they have the
opportunity to schedule the necessary time.
18. Pilot the survey
Before
publishing a live survey publish a small pilot survey to check for
questions that are ambiguous or confusing and to ensure that the survey
is aesthetically pleasing.
19. Before publishing the survey proof read the survey several times
Check
and check again that the survey is grammatically correct and makes
sense. If possible get someone else to proof read the survey before you
publish, if no one else is available then take a break before checking
again.
20. Remember to say thank you
To
complete surveys respondents need to invest their time and should be
thanked either in a covering letter, at the end of completing the
survey or in a follow up letter. You may even want to consider
incentives such as a prize draw or reward.
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