Super successful surveys

Super successful surveys Step 1: Pick a purpose. Clearly define what types of information you want to gather. Identify how you expect to use the data. in the story in a sidebar as a graph or as fact-gathering for use in future stories

Super successful surveys Step 2: Stay short, simple and specific. Respondents should take less than 10 minutes to complete a survey. A two- to five-minute survey is best. Make sure your questions are easy to understand. Do not use jargon or make questions too complex. Yes or no and multiple choice questions are better to use. Open-ended questions will give you answers that are difficult to analyze.

Super successful surveys Step 3: Do not dwell on demographics. Put demographic questions last. name grade age gender Ask the most important questions first, in case people lose interest before completing the survey.

Super successful surveys Step 4: Curb confusion with consistency. If you ask respondents to rate something on a scale of one to five, with five being highly satisfactory, that scale should be consistent throughout the survey. Likewise, if choice (a) corresponds to the highest number of something and choice (d) to the lowest, maintain this order throughout the survey. Remember, your respondents are just like you. They do not have a lot of time. If you confuse your respondents, you will get inconsistent results or they will stop taking the survey.

Super successful surveys Step 5: Adopt an acceptable arrangement. One question should lead logically into another. Move from less specific questions to more specific questions.

Super successful surveys Step 5: Time a test. Ask a group of your staff members or friends to take the survey. This will tell you how long your survey will take to complete and if questions are confusing.