Recently one of our Cvent staffers was asked to take a survey on the housing market. She was shocked by some of the questions, due to the insufficient answer choices. Take the sample survey question below:
Reading that question, you can likely understand the cognitive dissonance respondents may feel while completing the survey. Our first thought was, "How are we even supposed to answer that?"
As we've mentioned before, you need to keep in mind the respondent's time when designing survey questions. Questions should be simple, straightforward, and easy to answer without minutes of debate. The more thought the questionnaire requires, the more likely you’ll face high abandonment rates.
The biggest takeaway from this question, though, is PROOFREAD! PROOFREAD! PROOFREAD! If you're the survey designer, make sure someone else reads over the survey a few time before launching—and always remember to test! There's a reason Cvent's software lets you preview surveys and test launch them. Make the most of these features to ensure a logical, error-free online survey.
The organization who sent their survey out will have to throw out this question and won't gain any value from it. Don't let your questions meet the same fate.
Reading that question, you can likely understand the cognitive dissonance respondents may feel while completing the survey. Our first thought was, "How are we even supposed to answer that?"
As we've mentioned before, you need to keep in mind the respondent's time when designing survey questions. Questions should be simple, straightforward, and easy to answer without minutes of debate. The more thought the questionnaire requires, the more likely you’ll face high abandonment rates.
The biggest takeaway from this question, though, is PROOFREAD! PROOFREAD! PROOFREAD! If you're the survey designer, make sure someone else reads over the survey a few time before launching—and always remember to test! There's a reason Cvent's software lets you preview surveys and test launch them. Make the most of these features to ensure a logical, error-free online survey.
The organization who sent their survey out will have to throw out this question and won't gain any value from it. Don't let your questions meet the same fate.
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Comments for Survey Questions: An Example of What Not to Do