You could be trying to figure out how to optimize your survey for any number of reasons: for research as part of a journalistic article, an academic paper, a political event you are looking to predict, or perhaps for a product you want to sell.
Whatever it may be, surveys are essentially used for the purpose of collecting information about people, their opinions, preferences, and experiences. They are a reliable and integral part of any research, be it academic, literary, or industrial. They get quick and easy to analyze data from a large number of people allowing a wide sample of responses, and thereby more reliable findings. How, then, to make an efficient survey?
Regardless of the subject, there are some decisions one can make in the creation that would make sense in any landscape.
Table of Contents
1. Carefully plan your survey
Before you can think about anything else, you need to really know what you want to know. What does the survey intend to unearth, and what specific objectives can you derive from this intent? It would also help to have some awareness of the current reality, of what’s going on in the market, for example, trends and needs. This would provide a compass to direct your questions. List down what are the objectives of your market research, what data is absolutely imperative to study, what you already know, and what isn’t as crucial or could be asked in a follow-up.
2. Quantify your goals
What exactly should the end result look like? When designing your survey, your goals should be quantifiable. This would make it possible to measure progress towards it, and also allow you to apply your findings to other fields or further research.
3. Who is the survey for?
Narrow down who will be taking the survey. Make parameters like age range, gender, race, and so on clear to the user. The more specific your demographic, the more reliable and valid your findings. You can also explain to them why this information is important so that they feel more motivated or comfortable to share.
4. Keep it short
To get maximum responses, we need to keep our surveys short. Respondents would generally not be invested enough at this initial stage to spare too many resources. 10 minutes of response time or less is ideal so that they don’t feel like it requires a sizable time commitment. Consider having multiple choice answers instead of free-form text boxes as it also makes data analysis easier.
5. Word your questions correctly
Objectivity, especially when asking open-ended questions, ensures that your statements or questions aren’t misinterpreted and that there is more accuracy in the data you collect. Perhaps you could consult someone as well to go over your survey and check whether your intentions are being conveyed as ideally as possible to the user. At various intervals, you could also include negatively worded statements to check the awareness of the participant and gauge the reliability of their responses.
6. Avoid confusing language
Try not to use difficult jargon or complicated sentence structures as this too would reduce response accuracy. Double negatives in your statements are to be especially avoided. Simple language that would not require re-reads to comprehend is ideal.
7. Stick to what is relevant
Having narrowed down your objective, don’t waste your resources and respondents’ time asking questions outside of it. Avoid asking multiple questions that would generate a similar answer or data point. It is also best to not ask things you previously know or could find in already available research in order to get the most out of your own study.
8. Offer an incentive
Make participation attractive to the respondent by offering an incentive for completing the survey. If not directly monetary, it could be in the form of coupons, discounts, or premium access to a service. This will no doubt increase the number of responses.
9. Include a link
Another important point of leverage to maximize the number of responses is optimizing the technical ease of access. If possible, include a link to the survey within your email so that people can answer it from their computer or mobile device.
10. Add section breaks
For a longer survey, divide the questions under various sub-topics with clear headers to make it easier for participants to find what they are looking for. Splitting the sections this way would also reiterate the objectives for the user and organize responses accordingly.
In some sense, a survey you want people to fill up is like a product you want them to buy. So you make the user interface as agreeable and accessible as possible – in the simplicity of language, the flexibility of technology, in its organization and length. Always keep in mind your own objective, but also take moments to step into the participants’ shoes and judge the effectiveness of your survey from their perspective.