Online Survey Services

Question design is an important part of any questionnaire.  We don’t want you to ruin your data with bad questions.  If you need a definition included when posing a question make sure to present the definition before the question.  Survey research has shown that respondents stop reading after the question.  If you give the definition after the question, each respondent will be responding to their interpretation of the question, i.e. a different question.  Consider these examples of bad survey questions:



If the respondent stopped reading after the question, they may interpret “health care professional” in various ways.  A healthcare professional could mean the receptionist who confirmed an appointment or a health insurance agent.  Each person will answer differently based on their own definition.



If you want to limit the color choices to primary and secondary colors, make sure to specify that before the question.  Someone may stop reading and respond pink, sky blue or white, and they fall outside of your defined parameters.

Here are some examples of good survey questions:





In both of these sample survey questions, any definitions and parameters needed for answering the question are presented before the question.  Don't ruin your data with bad questions. 

If you need more help identifying problems with your survey, contact our Web Survey Professional Services Group today!