How To Do Better: Questionnaire Edition

Where to begin? How about we start with the truth?

Your questionnaire skills? Yeah, they're a problem.

They make us question why you make questionnaires. They make us question why we agreed to help you. And it should make you question the quality of your survey design skills. So, my dear PM-ies, close those Google Form tabs and let's save your next questionnaire and your participants with these 9 tips:

1. Title Your Questionnaire: Skip The Guesswork

Imagine with me: You’re doing your daily group chat perusal when suddenly you are pounced upon by a mysterious Google Form link. The title? Well, there isn’t one…just an “Untitled Form”.

Just so-so so?

Please understand that that looks about the same as a scam link. Now, let me say this plainly: get it together because that simple error causes your work to look unfinished and unprofessional. It reflects poorly on you, even if it was your group member’s mistake. Adding a simple and appropriate title (i.e. one that clues us in on what your questionnaire is about) is step one to creating a questionnaire that doesn’t repel your participants. 

2. Explain Yourself

Now, sending “It's for my coursework” without any description is just as criminal. 

Be specific but too wordy. Use the Google Forms description AND the WhatsApp message to explain: “This survey is for my sociology project on the effect of stress on university students.” 

We might just want to fill it out because we find the topic interesting. 

“Fill this out for me, please” does not cut it.

3. Stop Creating Language Barriers

We’re a little shy to say it but your classmates aren’t the only people filling out your questionnaire. Use up the degree friend, but not on a questionnaire meant for the average individual.

Avoid using terms and phrases that only people doing your degree would understand. This makes it easier for us to fill out your survey and allows you to get more responses (since we don’t have to rage-quit due to having to Google too much).

4. We Heart Short and Sweet

Questionnaire June, if you’re the person creating those questionnaires that are like the gifts that keep on giving, please cease and desist! 

We are more likely to fill out a shorter questionnaire (Kost & Correa da Rosa, 2018). It is best to have a short five-to-ten-minute questionnaire (shorter if you can). To keep your questions to a minimum, include only necessary questions and avoid being repetitive. For long questionnaires, you may want to assist the participants (interview style) to do the questionnaire instead of only sending the link and hoping they do it.

5. Short Answer is Not the Name of a Seasoning

If a question can be a multiple choice question, make it a multiple choice question. 

Let me be frank, one short answer/open ended question alone is enough to discourage a participant from finishing your questionnaire. These questions are the ones asking about what you think or feel or if you have any further comments. However, the “think or feel” questions can be a multiple choice question with an “other” option that allows the participant to give an answer that suits them.

6.  Make It Make Sense and Make It Relevant

Some of these questions are unreal. You ask us if we shop at KB, our response is no. But the next question is a required question about what we like best about shopping at KB?

Your questions and options must be grammatically correct and logical. Know when to make a question required or leave instructions for persons to whom the question does not apply for example, “Please put N/A if this does not apply to you”.

The order of your questions should also be logical. And sometimes your questions are collecting irrelevant information, for example, emails. We’ll pass on that, thanks.

7. Sections, Why Is No One Using Them?

Why should we have to scroll through 10 irrelevant questions?

Google Forms has an option to set up sections and you can make the participant skip a section based on their answer to a multiple choice question. Sections also give the illusion that your big backed questionnaire isn’t as long as it really is. But this only works up to a certain point. Not even sections can save a 50 question survey.

8. DIY! Do It Yourself!

Do the questionnaire yourself. Have one or two friends do it. Ask them: “Does this make sense? Is it too long? Would you actually fill this out?” The feedback would help you to shape your questionnaire into an efficient one that participants actually do not mind completing.

9. Thank Me for My Time

To wrap it all up nicely, you can have a thank you note after the last question. Or you can edit the submission message that Google Forms has. It just adds a lovely finishing touch.

To Conclude:

Your questionnaire shouldn’t feel like a punishment. Give it a title, keep it short, and make it logical. If you heed my foolish advice, your participants won't mind filling out your questionnaire. And if you don’t? Well, good luck meeting your response quota. You’ll need it!

Meet Francesca Rantswell

Francesca Rantswell is a sensational blogger with a sharp wit and an even sharper pen. A passionate writer and professional critic of all things university chaos, Francesca specializes in uncovering those nuanced habits that hold students back.

Her goal? To help future professionals polish their work, one laughably honest critique at a time. She believes in blending humor, sass, and sound advice to push readers toward self-improvement.

References

Kost, R. G., & Correa da Rosa, J. (2018). Impact of survey length and compensation on validity, reliability, and sample characteristics for Ultrashort-, Short-, and Long-Research Participant Perception Surveys. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 2(1), 31–37. https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2018.18