Here are 10 tips to writing great survey questions.
1) Don't ask leading / bias questions.
Let's use this example for a leading question: "Whats your favorite dessert that Panera offers?". This assumes that people like Panera's desserts.
These questions aren't objective, and will lead your participants to answer a question in a certain way based solely on the wording of the question, making the results unreliable. To avoid this, keep survey questions clear and concise, leaving you little room to lead participants to your preferred answer, or have someone unfamiliar with the survey review it and get their feedback.
2) Make sure multiple choice answers are mutually exclusive.
Make sure multiple choice answers do not overlap.
In this example, the participant won't know which answer to select as answers overlap.
If the participant is 25 years old, do they select the first answer choice or the second? Instead, write it like this:
3) Don't use jargon.
Using abbreviations can confuse participants. Don't assume participants are familiar with acronyms.
4) Account for answer choices you haven't thought of by using the "Other" option.
If there are other possible options then the ones you've listed, include the "Other" option to account for them.
5) Keep your questions short
Long questions are hard to follow and can lead to confusion and high participant drop off.
6) Randomize question order
Using the "Randomize" setting is a great way to ensure limit bias. All questions within each page with be displayed within a random order.
7) Test your skip logic
Adding skip logic is a great way to show participants only relevant questions. However, skip logic can be confusing!
Make sure to use the "preview survey" option to test the different paths and make sure they are configured properly.
8) Avoid double negatives.
Double negatives are confusing.
For example, the question "Do you not like eating at McDonalds?" is better phrased as "Do you like eating at McDonalds?"
9) Be clear and concise
The best surveys are short and take under five minutes to complete. Studies show that your completion rate can drop up to 20% if your survey takes more than seven or eight minutes to finish. Participants have busy schedules and will be more interested in your survey if it's shorter time commitment.
10) Test your survey
Send your survey to a colleague that is unfamiliar with the questions or pilot the study. Piloting the study involves launching the study with one participant, then adding more once you've confirmed that questions are clear.