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20 Top Tips to Writing Effective Surveys

This article by Martin Day, Director of Survey Galaxy Ltd, sets out some sound advice for constructing effective surveys online. Find the first 10 tips below. Check back for the other 10 in the next few days.

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 can help you write more 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 lose sight of its purpose.

2. Title the survey
The survey title is a golden opportunity to instantly summarize 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 minimize 'nice to know' information.

4. Use plain English, avoid jargon and acronyms, maintain consistency and dont 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 from 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 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 "Dont know", "Cant say" or similar response option.

9. At the same time that you compile the survey, consider how compiled data is going be analyzed
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 summarize. 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.

Next time, tips 11 - 20...

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