Cvent Survey

Don’t wear your heart on your sleeve. When creating questions for your survey, it’s important to mask any biases you may have. Asking loaded or leading questions can destroy your survey data and the accuracy of your results, so eliminating or rewording any such questions is an important step in your survey design process.

How to you spot a leading question? Often times they are easy to identify because they point towards a specific answer. Consider these customer survey questions:

LEADING: Most Americans prefer to purchase products manufactured in the United States. Do you prefer to purchase products manufactured in the United States?

BETTER OPTION: Where do you prefer products you purchase to be manufactured?
The leading question uses a generalized statement at the beginning that implies your respondent is un-American if he or she disagrees.

The better option is an open-ended statement, allowing respondents to enter or select a country. This also gives your respondents an opportunity to say the origin of their purchases doesn’t matter.

Here is a similar example of employee satisfaction survey questions:

LEADING: People working at ABC Corp love their jobs. How do you feel about your job here at ABC Corp?

BETTER OPTION: On a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being very dissatisfied and 5 being very satisfied, how satisfied are you with your position at ABC Corp?

Again, the leading question pressures the survey participant to say they, too, love their job. You likely won't get an honest response—or accurate data—with this.

The better option is written in a neutral manner, giving respondents the opportunity to respond with their sincere feedback.

By asking leading questions, surveyors are not getting the most out of their survey programs. The objective of any survey is to get honest results on how respondents feel about the survey topic. Don't let leading questions deter you from this goal.