How to Create a Survey Online
Every organization needs feedback to improve. Surveys are a powerful tool to collect that feedback, but creating a survey to get that useful data can seem hard. At SurveyKing, we make it simple!
The most important step is to know your objective. Why are you sending out a survey? What insights are you hoping to gain? What specific data do you need? Make sure to keep your survey concise and on track based on your objective.
The Keys to a Great Survey
Use Formatting
Keep similar questions together to give your survey a logical and focused feel. Using multiple pages, page titles and instructions help people understand what you’re asking and why.
Don't cram all questions on one page. Spread your questions out over multiple pages so respondents do not feel overwhelmed.
Be Specific
A question should only encompass one idea at a time to keep your audience focused and to make sure they can understand what you’re asking. Multi-topic questions can be confusing and tricky to answer.
Always Clarify
Spell out everything that could be interpreted in more than one way. Do you want to know if someone was satisfied with their purchase? Make sure you specify whether you're talking about the product cost, the shipping, customer service experience or another specific metric.
Be Brief
The question text and number of questions should be held to a minimum to keep respondents motivated to complete your survey.
Be Relevant
Make sure that respondents remain focused by only showing them relevant questions. Use logic to skip irrelevant questions. For example, if you have a set of questions pertaining to males and females, put those questions on different pages and use logic to only show the appropriate ones.
Avoid Matrix Questions When Not Necessary
Avoid the matrix question type when possible. Sometimes respondents will focus on filling in the grid rather than focusing their attention on each sub-question (row choices). This will impact the quality of your data.
Use Words for Ratings
Use words rather than numbers when asking respondents to rate. When creating answer choices, use descriptions such as "slightly satisfied" or "extremely satisfied" rather than numbers such as "2" or "4" to indicate rating. Answer choices with words are easier for people to understand and rank.