Creating effective survey questions for research involves careful planning and adherence to best practices to ensure you gather accurate and meaningful data. The key is to ask the right questions in the right way.
Based on best practices, here are fundamental steps and considerations for crafting survey questions:
Key Principles for Crafting Effective Survey Questions
Designing survey questions requires precision. Following established guidelines helps minimize bias and improve data quality.
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1. Ask About the Right Things:
Ensure every question directly serves your research objectives. Before writing, clearly define what information you need to collect to answer your research questions. Irrelevant questions waste respondents' time and can lead to survey fatigue. -
2. Use Language that Is Neutral, Natural, and Clear:
Your questions should be easy for respondents to understand quickly. Avoid technical jargon, slang, or overly complex sentence structures. Wording should be neutral, free from bias, and not lead respondents towards a particular answer.- Good Example: "How often do you use this software?"
- Bad Example: "Don't you agree that this amazing software is easy to use?" (Leading and biased)
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3. Don't Ask Respondents to Predict Behavior:
It's challenging for people to accurately predict their future actions. Instead, focus questions on past behavior, current attitudes, experiences, or demographics.- Good Example: "How many times have you visited our website in the past month?"
- Bad Example: "How likely are you to visit our website next month?"
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4. Focus on Closed-Ended Questions:
Closed-ended questions (like multiple-choice, rating scales, or yes/no) provide predefined answer options. This makes them easier to analyze quantitatively, especially in large surveys. While open-ended questions can offer rich qualitative insights, they are more challenging to analyze systematically across many responses and can increase survey completion time. -
5. Avoid Double-Barreled Questions:
A double-barreled question asks about two different things but only allows for one answer. This makes it impossible for respondents to answer accurately if their opinion differs on the two points. Separate these into two distinct questions.- Good Example:
- "How satisfied are you with our product's quality?"
- "How satisfied are you with our customer service?"
- Bad Example: "How satisfied are you with our product and customer service?"
- Good Example:
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6. Use Balanced Scales:
When using rating scales (like satisfaction or agreement scales), ensure they are balanced. This means having an equal number of positive and negative response options, often centered around a neutral point. This prevents skewing responses.- Good Example (5-point satisfaction scale): Very Dissatisfied, Dissatisfied, Neutral, Satisfied, Very Satisfied
- Bad Example: Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent, Outstanding (More positive options than negative/neutral)
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7. Answer Options Should Be All-Inclusive and Mutually Exclusive:
For closed-ended questions, the list of answer options must cover all reasonable possibilities (all-inclusive) and the options should not overlap (mutually exclusive).- Good Example (Age Groups): 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55+
- Bad Example (Age Groups): 18-25, 25-35, 35-45, 45+ (Overlapping "25", "35", "45")
- Include an "Other (please specify)" or "None of the above" option when appropriate to ensure all possibilities are covered.
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8. Provide an Opt-Out:
For sensitive questions or those that may not apply to everyone, offer an option for respondents to skip the question or choose an answer like "Prefer not to say," "N/A" (Not Applicable), or "Skip." Making questions optional can also improve completion rates, although it may result in missing data for certain questions.
Summary of Survey Question Best Practices
Adhering to these principles from the outset significantly impacts the quality and reliability of your research data.
| Principle | Do | Don't |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | Align questions with research objectives | Ask irrelevant or non-essential questions |
| Language Clarity | Use simple, neutral, natural, and clear language | Use jargon, technical terms, leading or biased language |
| Behavior Questions | Ask about past or present behavior/attitudes | Ask respondents to predict future behavior |
| Question Type Focus | Favor closed-ended questions for quantitative analysis | Primarily use open-ended questions for large quantitative studies |
| Question Structure | Ask about one concept per question | Ask double-barreled questions |
| Scale Design | Use balanced rating scales (equal positive/negative options) | Use unbalanced scales |
| Answer Options | Make options mutually exclusive and all-inclusive | Provide overlapping or incomplete answer options |
| Respondent Experience | Offer opt-out/skip options for sensitive or non-applicable questions | Force responses or make sensitive questions mandatory without alternatives |
By following these guidelines, you can design a survey that is effective, ethical, and yields high-quality data for your research.
