Survey Questions Writing Tips printable pdf download

Survey Questions Writing Tips

TYPES OF SURVEY QUESTIONS

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Surveys can be used to gather several types of information. These include demographic

(descriptive information about the participant), behavioral and attitudinal information.

Overall Tips for Writing Questions

1. Write short and simple questions.

2. Don’t ask leading questions. For example, “How great was the football game?” implies that

person thought the game was great. Maybe it wasn’t.

3. Ask close-ended questions. Whenever possible, provide answer choices. Such questions

are much easier to answer and to analyze after the survey.

4. Give as few answer choices as is reasonable. Too many choices annoy the person being

surveyed and are difficult to analyze.

5. Put the questions in logical order. For example, ask, “Do you have pets?,” before asking,

“What kind of pets do you have?”

6. Make it neat and orderly. Number your questions. Type them. People like neatness.

7. Pretest your survey. Give the survey to five people before doing the actual study. Ask them

to tell you if a question is unclear or bothersome. Read their responses. Are your questions

getting the information that you want?

Survey Questions Writing Tips