Writing a great survey takes a lot of time, effort, and attention. It also takes a lot of experience to know what to look for and how to construct. Perhaps no type of organization knows this better than a survey market research company like Drive Research.
Our team writes hundreds of surveys each year for a variety of different clients and industries. Through this experience and practice, we talk about 3 common areas in surveys which often create problems and issues for our clients.
They center around: (1) logic, (2) question flow, and (3) general spelling and grammar. When we coach new survey writers or assist clients with proofing pre-written surveys, those are the 3 categories we focus on.
Heed these 3 survey items when reviewing your next market research questionnaire.
Tip 1: Question Logic
This is a key one. If you work with a professional market research company you'll likely be able to take advantage of its advanced survey capabilities. Question logic involves skip patters, routing, and piping within a survey. Logic in online surveys allows you to base a sequence or skip pattern of future questions based on prior responses. Piping allows you to take a response from a prior question and either insert this into question text or future responses. All of this improves the survey experience for the taker. It is a critical piece to review in your survey to make sure all of the logic is correct.
Tip 2: Question Flow
When you are putting together your survey it is always recommended you start with an outline. Reason? It first solidifies the question flow and sequence. If you jump immediately to question text and responses, you may lose sight of how to move from one question to the next. Or you will lose sight of categorizing your questions into buckets. Question flow helps with the survey experience and accuracy of your results. For example, you do not want to ask about awareness of a brand at the end of the survey after you have biased respondents with other questions. Awareness is almost always covered near or at the beginning of a survey.
Tip 3: Spelling and Grammar
Last but not least: spelling and grammar. When you focus so much of your time on topics, sequence, logic, and addressing your objectives, it becomes easy to forget about the basics. As a final check on your survey instrument, you'll want to review questions and responses for spelling, typos, and grammar. As you should with any deliverable being sent to respondents or your end-client.
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Drive Research is a market research survey company located in Syracuse, NY. Our team works with a variety of clients and industries across New York and across the country. Interested in learning more about our market research services? Contact us.
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