Published May 25, 2021
Toluna Corporate
Surveys are an integral part of tackling consumer research. With surveys, a business can quickly collect data from a sample of their market with questions like:
Individuals and business owners underestimate the questions asked in a survey. Most think they’re simple to come up with and deploy, but that’s rarely the case. The phrasing of a question or asking the wrong questions can dramatically alter the response and lead users to mistakenly select an incorrect response.
That’s why taking the time and investing in a survey design is crucial to obtaining quality responses. Here are some helpful tips for creating an effective survey, starting with the structure.
The best way to ensure a positive respondent experience and high-quality insights is to create a survey that walks the respondent through a logical scenario. At Toluna, the general survey overview would look something like this:
Screening questions (also known as “the screener”) qualifies or disqualifies respondents from taking the survey. Depending on how they answer the questions, you will decide whether they fit the target audience you want to hear from. This is one of the most crucial parts of the survey resulting in roughly 25% of survey abandonments or drop-outs. At Toluna, we adopt the following tips in the screening phase of the survey:
As you move into the body of the survey, you will need to understand which questions to ask. Surveys don’t just consist of yes and no questions but various question types that cater to different appropriations depending on the answer you’re seeking. But before we dive into the different types of questions, the survey design is just as critical. Toluna offers survey design suggestions that truly engage with respondents.
Once you’ve gathered all of the information and the survey has come to an end, remember to thank your respondents. Show your gratitude to respondents for participating in your survey and remind them how beneficial their insight is to the team.
For more insightful information on how Toluna can deliver real-time insights, read Toluna’s Holistic Approach to Data Quality eBook.
Now that you know how to structure your survey correctly, it’s time to understand how to write effective questions. Here are some tips:
After knowing how to write quality survey questions, you might be wondering about the different types of questions to ask. It’s important to note that the kind of questions you ask will affect the answers you get, impacting the analysis you receive. The most common survey question types are as follows:
Multiple choice questions are common survey question types. Multiple choice questions are easy to use and provide mutually exclusive choices. The answer options are fixed, making the survey-taking experience easier. The multiple-choice questions come in different formats.
These are:
However, multiple-choice questions have drawbacks in that they force you to limit your response to predetermined options. As a result, your results can be biased.
We’ve briefly touched on how to be cautious with open-ended questions above, but these can be a great way to get meaningful answers in your survey. It allows respondents to provide unique, insightful data in their own words.
Examples of open-ended questions are:
Some questions only need a one-word answer; yes or no. You can use these questions to find out quick information.
Examples of closed-ended questions are:
Rating questions are an excellent way to gauge people’s opinions. Some examples include:
Likert scale questions are great for finding out how satisfied respondents are with something. Likert scale questions come on a scale ranging from one extreme opinion to another with a neutral option in the middle. Examples of Likert scales questions are:
Now that you know how to properly design and structure your survey, select the ideal question format, and adequately word questions, you are on your way to collecting insightful user data.
When reviewing your survey structure and questions, remember why you are writing the questions; to better understand your audience’s needs. The better you get to know your audience, the better you can support their needs. At Toluna, we are experts in conducting surveys and collecting consumer insights to better help you discover more about your target market. Contact us today to learn more about Toluna.
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