Designing Surveys

Surveys can be an excellent way to get feedback, unfortunately surveys are often not completed and just ignored by the majority of outreach. A well designed survey can help encourage participation from your target audience.

Determine your purpose and goals for collecting data

Knowing what you want to get out of your surveys will help you work out what questions to ask. Some questions may seem worthwhile asking, but they might not give you the information you want.

Keep your survey as brief as possible

People are more likely to complete the survey if the survey is short and to the point. Wordy questions can confuse people and cause them to skip the question.

Ask people from a wide range of groups to help you 

Reaching out to a broader target audience can provide more useful data. Make sure that the survey is relevant to the groups you are reaching out to.

Explain why you are collecting this information

Knowing why they are being asked for the information may make potential participants more likely to complete the survey, especially if personal information is involved.

Make multiple selections possible, rather than limiting users to one choice

While depending on the survey, it might not be possible to cover every potential option. Having multiple selections available will give you more accurate data. If relevant, consider an "other" option for survey answers, with a blank box they can fill in with their option.

Make some responses optional

Some participants may not be comfortable with more "personal" questions, such as gender. Always include an option of "I'd prefer not to say" for more sensitive questions.