One of the best ways to ensure your survey results are meaningful is to design questions your entire audience can clearly understand and answer (be they employees, customers, event attendees, etc.). Writing survey questions may seem easy at first glance, but careful considerations are taken by professional survey researchers to write unbiased, comprehensible questions. The survey tips below will help you design appropriate questions and responses with a diverse audience/target market in mind.
Design survey questions that are simple, short and clear. Don’t use large, complicated words and ideas when smaller, simpler ones will do. You intention is for your entire population to be able to understand and answer your questions.
Do not assume that survey respondents will know what a word means just because you do. Most customer data collection samples consist of diverse groups with a wide variety of cultural and educational backgrounds. Again, simple and universal is better here.
Likewise, define any terms that may need defining. You can do this in the question text itself. For example, if you are asking someone to evaluate training materials, include a short sentence in the question that explains which materials you are asking about (and which ones you are not).
In most cases, avoid technical terminology and jargon unless it is necessary to use due to the purpose of the survey. Doctors and nurses will likely know medical terminology extensively, but patients probably will not. Likewise in a workplace employee relations survey conducted across employees who have worked there over a year can support company specific terms, but a new hire survey may not. Use your best judgment based upon the make-up of your respondents to design audience-appropriate questions and responses.
Design survey questions that are simple, short and clear. Don’t use large, complicated words and ideas when smaller, simpler ones will do. You intention is for your entire population to be able to understand and answer your questions.
Do not assume that survey respondents will know what a word means just because you do. Most customer data collection samples consist of diverse groups with a wide variety of cultural and educational backgrounds. Again, simple and universal is better here.
Likewise, define any terms that may need defining. You can do this in the question text itself. For example, if you are asking someone to evaluate training materials, include a short sentence in the question that explains which materials you are asking about (and which ones you are not).
In most cases, avoid technical terminology and jargon unless it is necessary to use due to the purpose of the survey. Doctors and nurses will likely know medical terminology extensively, but patients probably will not. Likewise in a workplace employee relations survey conducted across employees who have worked there over a year can support company specific terms, but a new hire survey may not. Use your best judgment based upon the make-up of your respondents to design audience-appropriate questions and responses.
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