Online questionnaires made easy

The reason for doing your survey is to collect some usable information from your people. The way you express the questions is important to achieving that goal, so consider the following suggestions when designing them.

1. Question Focus
   Questions need to be directed at what you want to know. Make them specific and not general.
2. Do not limit the options someone can choose from
   Make sure all possibilities are covered by including an ‘Other’ option at the end of a list of choices.
3. Keep questions brief
   Long questions can confuse people. If additional information is required then include it beneath the question in the ‘Instructions for this question (optional)’. Place some brackets around it to indicate it is secondary information.
4. Keep questions clear
   Avoid questions that use ambiguous words or can be misinterpreted, through the inclusion of more than a single idea or topic.  Use a simple vocabulary and avoid complicated sentences.
5. No leading or loaded questions
   Do not include questions that suggest or presumes a particular answer. Emotive terms and wording can also introduce bias to a response.
6. Don’t ask questions that can’t be easily answered.
   Expecting people to have impossible recall of information or asking a question that they cannot provide an answer to will yield unreliable information or create frustration. The end result may be an incomplete survey or worst, the submission of incorrect information.