How to WriteSurvey Questions

Good Survey Questions

• Survey Design• Set a goal• Who to ask• What to ask• How to ask• When to ask

Survey design entails a lot more than asking questions, if you want to collect meaningful results that you can act on.

It’s not just “what” to ask. You also need to consider:

• Why you are asking. • Who to ask.• How to ask.• When to ask.

Survey Goal

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One, if not the most important step you can take in designing your survey, is to set a goal.

Your goal explains why you created the survey.

Define Your Goal:

1 What do you want to know?

Why do you want to know?

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Seek stakeholder agreement on why you need a survey.

• What is the purpose?• What do you hope to achieve?

Involving stakeholders early on in the design process will ensure:

• Your survey is a success.• You have an actionable plan.

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Set a survey goal.

Create an action plan.

Determine who to ask.

Get buy-in and sign-off.

Collaborate to:

Create an action plan before launching your survey.

Get agreement from all stakeholders on the course of action based on the results.

Who To Ask

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Define your target audience:

Gender or age group? 1

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Existing customers?3

Existing customers?

Focus group?

Know your target audience.

• Your sample source should include all segments of the target population.

• Poor data quality results from a poor sample source.

When crafting questions:

• Make sure that they are relevant to your audience.

• Use the language that your audience uses.

What To Ask

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What to ask:

Only ask questions that meet an objective. 1

2 Never stray from your goal.2 Don’t ask if it strays from your goal.

Don’t ask if you are not going to act on it.3

Introduce Your Survey:

• Start with an introduction that welcomes respondents and explains the goal of the survey.

• Set expectations as to how long the survey will take and why their response is needed.

How To Ask

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Survey Question Type:

1 Quantitative Survey?

Or

Qualitative Survey?

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Use Qualitative Surveys To:

Define a problem.1

2 Explore nuances related to the problem.

Qualitative Surveys:

• Ask “Why”.• Are open-ended.• Require text analysis to interpret

results. • Subject to interpretation bias.

Use Quantitative Surveys To:

Quantify a problem.1

2 Understand how prevalent it is.

Quantitative Questions:

• Ask What and When.• Are closed answer options.• Reduce survey fatigue.• Are easy to report on.

Keep your questions:

• Brief• Relevant• Simple• Specific and direct

Avoid:

• Leading questions• Loaded or suggestive questions • Double-barrel questions• Fatiguing question types – large tables, lots

of open-text questions• Sensitive questions• Highly technical language

Question Sequence:

• Logical flow – start broad and narrow down.

• Consider the impact questions have on proceeding questions.

Specific

General

Use Survey Logic to:

• Keep questions relevant.• Shorten survey.• Improve data quality.• Reduce survey fatigue.• Increase survey completion rate.

5When To Ask

Know When to Survey:

Timing is key for collecting quality data. Seek feedback shortly after:

• Customer service interactions• Purchases• Events

The longer you wait to seek feedback, the less likely respondents will be able to recall the experience.

• Follow up immediately for low-priced items and interactions.

• Wait longer (days) before seeking feedback on higher-priced purchases (car, appliances, etc.) as it takes more time to experience these items.

Survey regularly and let your respondents know that you are taking action!

Their input:• Improves your business.• Builds trust and brand loyalty.

Survey Best Practices

Great Survey Design

Learn more about great survey design by signing up for one of our Ultimate Training courses.

We host this course in several locations.

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