Content

• Steps

Survey questionnaires are a method of gathering data through answers to a series of questions. To prepare a survey questionnaire will take a lot of time and effort. However, by applying a step-by-step method of survey questioning, you will have an effective means of collecting data from the survey questions.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Design of survey questionnaires

1. 

   Determine the goal of the survey. What type of information do you need to collect through the survey? What is your main purpose? Is the survey the best way to gather that information?
   • Ask a survey question. You can ask one or more questions, but keep the survey centered.
   • Make up one or more hypotheses that you want to test. The questionnaires should be aimed at systematically testing hypotheses.

2. 

   
   
   Select one or more question types. Depending on the information you want to collect, there are several types of questions that can be included in the survey, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The following types of questions are commonly used in surveys:
   • Divided questions: This is usually a question with two "yes / no" answers, but can also be "yes / no". This is the fastest and simplest question to analyze, but not the most sensitive method.
   • Open-ended questions: These questions allow respondents to answer with their own words. This type of question can be useful when you want to understand the person's feelings, but is difficult to use for data analysis. Open-ended questions should be used to ask questions like "why."
   • Multiple Choice Questions: Questions of this type consist of three (or more) answers and ask the subject to choose one or more answers. Questions with more than one option will make the analysis easier, but may not give survey respondents the answers they want.
   • Ranking (or hierarchical) question: This type of question asks the person surveyed to rate or rank certain items in a population. For example, questions might ask survey respondents to rank from least important to most important for five items. These types of questions help to categorize the choices, but do not define why the surveyee ranks as such.
   • Level assessment questions: These questions allow respondents to rate a problem according to a given scale. You can provide a scale with an equal number of positive and negative choices, such as "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." These questions are very flexible, but do not answer the question "why."

3. 

   
   
   Prepare the questions for the survey. Survey questions must be clear, accurate and direct. This will ensure you get the best answers from your audience.
   • Write down short and simple questions. You should not write complicated sentences or use jargon, as this will confuse the survey subject and lead to inaccurate answers.
   • Just ask one question at a time. This will help you avoid confusion.
   • Use caution when asking for "sensitive" or private information. These information can be as simple as age or weight, or as complex as sexual history.
     • These types of questions usually require you to use incognito mode or encrypt the information you collect.
   • Decide whether to include answers like "I don't know" or "not right for me" in the survey question. These questions allow respondents not to answer some questions, but can also lead to lack of information and make data analysis difficult.
   • Place the most important question at the top of the survey. This way you will gather the most important information, even if the respondent may be distracted afterwards.

4. 

   
   
   Limit the length of the survey. Try to create a brief survey. You will be more likely to get a response with a short survey, so you need to keep it as concise as possible while still being able to gather the information needed. If you can create a survey with only 5 questions, do so!
   • Only include questions that directly meet your research goals. The survey is not an opportunity to gather all kinds of information about the respondents.
   • Avoid asking unnecessary questions. This may annoy the respondent.

5. 

   Identify your target audience. Is there a certain audience you want to target? If so, it is best to determine this before distributing the survey.
   • Think about whether you want to collect information from both male and female subjects. Some studies only examined male or female subjects.
   • Determine if you want to collect information from both adults and children. Many surveys only target a certain age group.
     • Consider the ages of your target audience. For example, you could suggest that the young adult group is those aged 18 to 29 years old, the adult group is 30-54 years old, and the elderly group includes those over 55 years old.
   • Consider what makes someone your survey subject. Do they need to drive? Do they need health insurance? Do they have children under 3 years old? You need to understand this very well before distributing the survey.

6. 

   Make sure you have privacy protection. Plan to protect the privacy of survey subjects before starting to write questions. This is a very important part of many research projects.
   • Consider creating an anonymous survey. You may not ask the name of the person who answered the question. This is a step that you can take to protect your audience's privacy, but still be able to guess the characteristics of those people from other demographic information (like age, physical characteristics). substance or code).
   • Consider removing the survey person's identity. Give each survey (also each surveyed) a unique number or word, and use only those letters and numbers as a new identity. Destroy any personal information that can be used to identify.
   • Remember that you don't have to gather a lot of demographic information to be able to identify someone. People may hesitate to provide this information, so you will have a better chance of finding more people agreeing to respond to the survey by asking less demographic questions (if possible).
   • Be sure to destroy any identifying information after completing the survey.
   advertisement

Part 2 of 3: Writing survey

1. 

   Introduce yourself. You need to introduce yourself and your expertise. Make it clear whether you work alone or as a team member. Indicate the name of the agency or company assigned to you for the data collection. Here are some examples:
   • My name is Nguyen Phuong Thanh, one of the respondents of this survey. I am a member of the psychology department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities. I am focusing on cognitive development in adolescents.
   • My name is Tran Van Quynh, a 3rd year student at Hanoi University. This survey is part of my final exam in statistics.
   • My name is Mai Xuan Dao, market analyst for company X. I am conducting a survey on attitudes towards substance use in Vietnam for many years.

2. 

   Interpret the purpose of the survey. Many people will not respond to a survey if they do not understand its purpose. You don't need lengthy explanations; A few short sentences will work. Here are some examples:
   • I am collecting data regarding attitudes towards gun control. This information is collected for class X of the anthropology department of the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
   • This survey will ask you 15 questions about your eating and exercise habits. We are studying the correlation between healthy eating habits, regular exercise, and cancer cases in the elderly.
   • This survey will ask you about your recent experience on international flights. There will be three sections in the survey with questions about your trip numbers recently and how you feel about those trips and your plans for future trips.

3. 

   Explain what you will do with the data you collect. Do you collect this data for a class project or for publication? Are these data used in market research? Depending on the purpose of using data collected from the survey, there are different requirements that you should keep in mind before distributing the survey.
   • Note that, if you are collecting information for college or for publication, you may need to seek approval from the institutional review board of the organization you are working with before starting the survey. Most colleges have a review board, and information about them is often available on the university's website.
   • Remember that transparency is always the best thing. You need to be honest about how the data is used.
   • Write consent if necessary. Note that you cannot guarantee confidentiality, but you will do your best to protect their information.

4. 

   Estimate the length of the survey. Before someone sits down to answer the survey, let them know it will take them 10 minutes or 2 hours to complete. If you provide this information in the first place, you will have a better chance of receiving more complete surveys.
   • Make your own survey and time it out, then estimate that some people work longer, others work faster.
   • Give a relative time instead of a specific time. For example, you should say that the survey will take about 15-30 minutes to complete instead of saying 15 minutes causing some people to quit halfway.
   • Here's another reason to write a concise survey! You will feel more comfortable asking people for 20 minutes to survey instead of 3 hours.

5. 

   Refers to gifts. A gift is anything you can give to a survey respondent as a reward upon completion. Gifts can be of many types: money, the desired rewards, gift certificates, candies, etc. Giving gifts has both pros and cons.
   • Gifts may attract those who are not suitable for the survey. You do not want to receive information from those who answered too hard to get gifts. This is a downside to gift giving.
   • Giveaways help encourage those who may not want to answer a survey without a gift. This is where a gift can help you get the answer of some of the people you are targeting.
   • Consider using SurveyMonkey's strategy. Instead of paying survey respondents directly, they donate 50 cents to a charity of their choice. They find that this reduces the likelihood of people filling out surveys for their own gain.
   • Consider the type of sweepstakes if they complete the survey. You can offer a reward voucher of VND 500,000 from a restaurant, a new iPod or movie ticket. This will not cause the respondents to fill out the survey just for gifts, but still gives them a chance to get an attractive reward.

6. 

   
   
   Make sure the survey is professional. If you want people to trust you as a data collector, your survey should look professional.
   • Always review the survey carefully. Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
   • Set a title for the survey. This is an effective way for survey respondents to understand the focus of the survey as quickly as possible.
   • Thank you for answering. Thank them for the time and effort they put into completing your questionnaire.
   advertisement

Part 3 of 3: Distribute the survey

1. 

   
   
   Conduct pilot research. Thanks to your acquaintances who answer the survey (they will not be included in the survey results) and be willing to make corrections if necessary. Plan to invite 5-10 people to participate in the pilot survey. Collect their responses to the survey with the following questions:
   • Is the survey easy to understand? Do you find any question confusing?
   • Is the survey easy to access? (especially online surveys).
   • Do you feel the survey is worth your time?
   • Are you comfortable answering questions?
   • Do you have any suggestions to improve the survey?

2. 

   
   
   Disseminate the survey. You need to determine the best way to disseminate your survey. There are many common ways to distribute surveys:
   • Use online sites like SurveyMonkey.com. This site allows you to write the survey using their tool, plus you are given other options, such as buying target viewers and using their analytics tools to analyze your data. friend.
   • Consider mailing. If mailing your survey, be sure to include a stamped envelope and your address ready so that survey respondents can easily return responses. Make sure that the survey fits the standard envelope size.
   • Interview. This can be an effective way to ensure you reach your target audience and can minimize missing information in the survey, as it will be difficult for respondents to avoid answering a question. when asked directly.
   • Try the phone. While this is a more time-saving method, it can be difficult to find people to answer survey questions over the phone.

3. 

   Set a deadline. Have the survey respondents complete and return it to you by a certain deadline to ensure you have enough time to analyze the results.
   • Set a suitable deadline. The 2 week period was ample for respondents to answer. Excessive deadlines can cause your audience to forget about your survey.
   • Consider sending a reminder. One week before the deadline is the right time to send your audience a gentle reminder of the return of the survey. You can return the survey in case they lose it.
   advertisement