Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Make a number of questions
• Part 2 of 3: Implementation of the questionnaire
• Part 3 of 3: Review of the questionnaire
• Tips

When a company, non-profit organization or politician wants to find out what stakeholders think about something, they often prepare a questionnaire or survey. The results can lead to rebranding, decision-making and policy changes, provided the feedback is solid. It may seem simple to create a questionnaire, but it must be done properly or the results will be biased and unreliable.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Make a number of questions

1. Determine what you want to learn from the responses to the questionnaire. Ask yourself what data you need and how you can use it. This will help you come up with helpful questions as well as the order in which you will ask them. Ideally, the questionnaire is short, so it is important to decide which of your goals are essential and which may not be necessary.
2. Plan questions to help you get the information you need. Start with a wide range of questions, then refine them until each relates to your goals in some way. Keep questions and answers as simple as possible, with as few words as possible. You can rely on open questions, closed questions, or a combination of both.
3. Use closed questions to collect specific answers. Closed questions have a number of specific answers for the respondents to choose from. This may include yes / no questions, true or false, or questions where the respondent must agree or disagree with a statement. Closed questions may look like open questions, but have only a few options that respondents can choose from to answer. Closed questions might look like this:
   • "Have you shopped here before?"
   • "If so, how often do you shop here?" (This question may have a number of explicit answers that respondents can choose from - for example, "weekly" or "once a month")
   • "How satisfied were you with your experience today?" (Also, this question may have limited responses - "very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied")
   • "Would you recommend this store to anyone?"
4. Use open questions to get feedback. Open-ended questions can generate answers you may not have expected, and don't have a specific set of answers to choose from. Open questions are an opportunity for respondents to communicate about their specific experiences or expectations. Such questions could look like this:
   • "How will you use your purchase?"
   • "Where do you usually shop?"
   • "How did you hear about this store?"
   • Open questions are good for clarifying a previous answer - "Why do you have this feeling?"
5. Ask questions in such a way as to avoid confusion and prejudice. Above all, avoid leading questions; leading questions indicate that the questioner is looking for certain answers and will limit the answers that respondents can give. Create custom answers or change the wording of your questions to prevent your respondents from only answering them in a certain way.
   • There are several ways to ask the same question, which can reduce influencing the answers the respondent will give and provide a better chance of getting someone's true opinion on a particular topic.
   • Questions should be worded in this way to make them as clear as possible. Confused respondents will skew your data, so make the questions as understandable as possible. Avoid double negations, unnecessary clauses, or unclear subject-object relationships.

Part 2 of 3: Implementation of the questionnaire

1. Think about how you are going to distribute the questionnaire. There are many options open here. You can use an online service to design your questionnaire. You can then send links to your questionnaire via email. You can approach respondents by telephone or by post. You can approach respondents personally, with the help of professionals or volunteers who conduct the research.
2. Design the questionnaire for publication. There are advantages and disadvantages to each shape, and each shape has its application limitations. Ask yourself which form of transfer suits the subject of your questionnaire, as well as the data you want to get back. For instance:
   • Computer, telephone and mail surveys can reach a wide range of people, while a personalized approach to surveys is time consuming and the number of respondents limited (which can be useful).
   • Computer, in-person, and mail surveys can use photos, while telephone surveys cannot.
   • Respondents may be too shy to answer certain questions over the phone or in person. Decide whether you want to explain your questions if the respondent does not understand something; explanations can only be given for personal interviews.
   • A computer survey requires the respondent to have access to a computer. If the survey is for private matters, a computer survey might work best.
3. Consider the order of your questions. The form of your questionnaire is just as important as its content. You should have questions follow each other logically or indicate clear shifts of subject by section. Other types of questions can influence how a respondent completes the questionnaire.
   • You can arrange the questions so that when a person answers Yes or No to a particular question, they can skip questions that no longer apply. This helps to keep the questionnaire focused and will therefore take less time.
   • "Qualifiers" are questions that certain respondents filter out so that they will not complete other questions. Place this at the beginning of your questionnaire.
   • If demographics are important, ask the demographic questions first.
   • Save personal or complex questions to the end of the questionnaire. Respondents will then not feel so overwhelmed by these questions and are more likely to answer them openly and honestly.
4. Decide if you offer a reward for completing the questionnaire. It is often easier to attract respondents if you offer something in exchange for their time. Questionnaires online, by mail, or over the phone, may provide a coupon upon completion of the questionnaire. Persona questionnaires can offer merchandise in exchange for participation. Questionnaires are also a good way to draw attention to mailing lists or member deals that otherwise might not have been noticed by respondents.
5. Test your questionnaire before you start questioning people. Friends, co-workers, and family members can be good testers. You can let them try the questionnaire while it is still in development, or you can let them try out a completed concept.
   • Ask your testers for feedback. They can warn you about items they found confusing or may not fit. The impression the user gets of the questionnaire is almost as important as the actual questionnaire.
   • After the test, you can crack numbers to make sure you get the data you need. If you don't get the information you want, adjust the questionnaire. You may need to reword some things, add introductions, or rearrange, add or remove questions here and there so that the questionnaire has the desired effect.

Part 3 of 3: Review of the questionnaire

1. Review your data to understand the actual question of your survey. Don't forget that a questionnaire is often part of a larger campaign. They can be changed and reused multiple times to target different demographics, ask different questions or become more attuned to your goals. After reviewing your results, you may discover that while your questions are meaningful, they are not quite the right ones for achieving your goals.
   • For example, you could ask a question such as, "How often do you shop here?" Limits your demographic to those who shop at a regular store. If you want to know how people buy a specific product, you might want to broaden the question to include online shopping.
   • Your implementation method can also limit your data. Online surveys may be largely answered by respondents with more than average computer knowledge.
2. Adjust your questions further. Some of your questions may work in a test environment, but not very well in the field. Your questions should make sense to the specific demographic you're targeting. Ask yourself if the respondents really understand the questions, or if your survey is so standard that respondents don't answer the questions carefully.
   • A question such as, "Why do you shop here?" May be too broad and mislead respondents. If you want to know whether the store design has an impact on shopping habits, you might want to ask what respondents think about the store's layout, the way the brand is presented, etc.
3. Review your open questions. Check whether your open questions have the desired effect. They may be too open, in which case the respondents may start to have doubts. They cannot be open enough, in which case the data you collect is not valuable enough. Ask yourself what role the open-ended questions play in your questionnaire and adjust them if desired.
   • As noted above, broad questions such as, "How do you feel about shopping here?" Will not give your respondents enough direction. Instead, ask, "Would you recommend this store to your friends?" Why or why not? "
4. Decide how you will deal with missing data. Not all respondents will answer all questions, which may or may not be a problem for you. Ask yourself which questions were skipped or answered incomplete. This can be caused by the order of the questions, the wording of the questions, or the subject of the questions. If missing data is important, consider rewording the skipped questions to make them more or less specific.
5. Check what kind of responses you receive. Look for unusual trends in your data and decide if this reflects reality correctly or if it is due to an error in your questionnaire. For example, closed questions will limit the type of information your respondents can provide. Your answers may be so limited that strong opinions resemble weak opinions, or may not provide a full range of reasonable answers.
   • For example, if you ask your respondents to rate an experience, you should provide them with an option to respond with "very dissatisfied" or "very satisfied", and the many options in between.

Tips

• You can also choose to add an answer like "I don't know" to those questions that respondents cannot give an honest opinion about. This prevents a data collection with incorrect answers.
• Choose your respondents strategically. No matter how well designed your questionnaire is, if the sample is not pure, your results will be less useful. For example, an online survey about the respondent's computer use can drastically change data when you conduct the same survey over the phone, because the members of your sample may be more familiar with computers.
• If possible, offer something in exchange for completing the questionnaire, or let respondents know how their answers will be used. Such incentives can be motivating for respondents.