Written for Minnesota Career Force in June 2020
- Assess need
Do you really need to survey? Are there other ways you could gather the information? Interviews and focus groups can be time consuming but provide more nuanced feedback.
- Determine your goal
Before you begin – determine what you hope to accomplish with the survey and STICK to that goal! Avoid adding questions just for curiosity. Keep in mind: How will you use the information once you get it?
- Keep it simple
Keep language simple and straightforward. Keep in mind your respondents’ reading comprehension level and attention span.
- Avoid open-ended questions
Multiple-choice questions are easiest for respondents. Text entry questions often get skipped.
- Organize your questions
Start with questions that are most critical to your survey. Leave demographic or “softball” questions for the end, when survey fatigue has begun to set in and your sample size might be smaller.
- Beware of common errors
Keep in mind how the wording of your question might skew the responses. Avoid absolutes (“Do you always wear a mask when going out in public?), double-barreled questions (“How concerned are you about the availability of masks and sanitizer in the office?”), and leading questions (“What has been the most effective action the company has taken in its response to the coronavirus?”).
- Time it!
Once you’ve completed the survey, see how long it takes to complete. Surveys that take longer than 10 minutes have a high drop-off rate, so you may lose participants.
- Test the survey and review results
Test the survey on at least 5-10 individuals before mass distribution to determine if any questions were confusing or missing critical information. And be sure to complete the survey multiple times yourself, role-play with a different type of respondents in mind each time. You might be surprised at the number of mistakes you find when you actually complete the survey rather than just read it. Once you have a few responses, download the results to see what they tell you. Adjust questions as necessary based on feedback and results.
- Consider an incentive for completion
If response rates are important, consider an incentive to encourage participation. Either a small prize for all who complete or a large prize for one random winner can help boost participation.
- Be strategic about your distribution timing
You will likely get one large response after your first distribution and a slightly smaller response after each reminder, so carefully consider the timing of your communication.