No matter what project you might be undertaking, a thorough questionnaire is a fantastic way to ensure that you can get all the informationyou need. Whether it is working with a client or gathering data from multiple respondents, a questionnaire is a quick and efficient solution to collecting large quantities of information. That is why we thought we would put together our ultimate questionnaire guide, giving you all the information you need to put together the perfect guide for your project.
Before we look at what makes a good questionnaire and how you can create the most effective questions possible, we thought it was first important to understand the definition of what one is. In its simplest form, a questionnaire is a research tool that consists of a list of questions that are designed to elicit in-depth answers from a respondent.
The questionnaire concept can be as comprehensive as you like and can feature a mix of open-ended long-form questions and quick multiple-choice options. The idea is to help you to understand the viewpoint of the respondents.
When creating a questionnaire, you must remain as unbiased as possible, and you are not leading responders to answer in a specific way. That is why you want to ask broad questions that will help to provide you with all of the information you need.
A questionnaire can be a fantastic tool for your business, but to get the best results, you need to ensure that you are creating a strong list of questions. Many things can make a good questionnaire, including:
Neutral questions
Every good questionnaire should be neutral and not lead in any way. That means that all questions and wording need to be framed correctly and that your own opinion is not being reflected at all. This will ensure that you can get honest and insightful feedback from recipients.
Clear language
Alongside being neutral, another sign of a good questionnaire is clear and concise wording. The language that you use should be easily understood by all respondents, and the clearer you are with your questions, the better the responses you will get.
Keep questions simple
A very common mistake that people make when creating a questionnaire is to make the questions too complex or ask multiple questions within one question. This not only makes it very confusing for the respondent, but it can also minimize the quality of the answers that you get.
Properly sequenced questions
Another strong sign of a good questionnaire is having the questions properly sequenced and in place. For example, keeping short and simple questions at the start and placing longer and harder questions towards the end. Keeping questions in a logical order will also help to keep recipients interested and engaged.
Keep it short
While you might be tempted to pack your questionnaire with lots of questions and topics, for the best results, you want to keep in mind the original purpose and include the fewest questions possible.
It is very common for people to confuse surveys and questionnaires. While they do have very similar qualities, they are different tools. A survey is a style of research that sees you collect and then analyze a series of data from a wide group of people, whereas a questionnaire is a specific tool you use to collect the data.
Before the internet, these two processes were treated very separately, with questionnaires being completed on paper before data analysis would go through and collate the answers. However, nowadays, the process can happen instantly, with online survey tools allowing for questionnaire responses to be analyzed in real-time.
When creating a questionnaire, you need to ensure that you are generating questions that help to address your overall research objectives. However, the process of creating a questionnaire is only one part of the larger survey research project. A survey requires a lot more work, such as defining the population you are going to be asking the questions to, choosing the sampling method you are going to utilize, and interpreting the data you receive.
If you are looking to create the perfect set of questions for your questionnaire, it can be tough to know where to start. That is why to help you we have put together some top tips to help you:
1) Be unbiased
The key to a successful questionnaire is to ensure that the questions you are writing are unbiased. Leading questions will impact the data you receive and will force recipients to answer in a specific way.
That is why you should make sure that your questions are concise and clear, ensuring the recipient will be able to answer in a way that they want to. Equally, you will also want to avoid loading questions, as this can make the data that you receive unreliable.
2) Be neutral in your language
While it can be tempting to assume what answers recipients will give, you should make sure that your questions and wording are neutral. This will help to ensure that you can enjoy highly reliable data while also encouraging respondents to answer truthfully and more in-depth.
3) Avoid the jargon
Alongside being neutral, you also want to avoid using any jargon within your questions. This can leave respondents feeling confused or unintelligent. That is why you need to focus on using clear language that is straightforward and does not require them to have a dictionary to understand what they are answering.
4) Avoid double negatives
Double negatives are very irritating and can see responders turning away from your questionnaire. That is why being as clear as possible not only helps to increase the responses you receive but also ensures that you can analyze the results correctly.
5) Avoid double-barrelled questions
Equally, you also want to ensure that you are not asking two questions at the same time. This can confuse respondents and see them giving vague and incomplete answers. Being distinct and focusing on one question at a time will lead to better answers.
6) Always provide an answer
You want to encourage your responders to fully answer every question you ask. You want to avoid answers such as “not relevant” or “no comment” so make sure that you are giving them the option to answer. To do this, you can provide options such as “I’m not sure” or “I prefer to not answer this question” as this will ensure you can get a full insight into the recipient.
7) Be concise
We live in a fast-paced world, and respondents do not have time to complete long and complicated questionnaires. The most effective surveys are those that only take a few minutes to complete, with research showing completion rates drop by 20% for surveys that take longer than eight minutes.
8) Test your survey
Before you send out your questionnaire, you should send it to a small sample of your customer base. This will help you to understand the kind of engagement that you will receive, and if it is poor or lower than expected, you will be able to tweak your questions to ensure you can elicit a greater response when it is officially sent out.
Here at Hola Brief, we know how complicated it can be to create the perfect questionnaire. That is why we have created a comprehensive template and example questionnaire so you can ensure that you are getting the very best results possible.
This thorough questionnaire template is packed with the kind of questions that you need to be asking your responders. Our template is completely editable, too, allowing you to add further questions as required, giving you complete control. Want to find out more? Check out the full templates and examples today here!
When it comes to creating the perfect questionnaire, you want to ensure that you are getting the very best answers possible. You can ask responders any questions that you like, but you want to ensure that you are keeping them in line with your overall goal.
If you are struggling to get started, then we have taken a look at some key questions that you should consider asking:
Creating a questionnaire can be very tough, and there are a lot of things that you need to consider to ensure that it is the very best that it can be. The first thing that you will need to think about is the overall design of the questionnaire. This is one of the most critical aspects and involves how you will be asking the questions, the style of questions you will be asking, and the layout of the questionnaire.
Once you have done that, you will then need to consider the length of your questionnaire. You will want to keep this as concise as possible to ensure your response rate remains high. When working out the length, a good point to keep in mind is that the average person will spend five minutes to complete ten written questions. If you have more than that then you will need to consider reducing its size or offering an incentive to encourage people to complete it.
The next step is to then decide on the presentation of your overall questionnaire. The overall design plays an important role in encouraging responders to take part, so you need to think about the spacing between questions, their position on the page, and how your questions are written. Some great design tips to keep in mind include back and forward buttons, clear text boxes, and simple colors.
Finally, you will want to then consider how users will progress through the questionnaire. It is always best to keep multiple choice style questions at the start of the survey and the longer, written answers toward the back of the questionnaire.
Once you have completed your questionnaire, you should run through it yourself to check the experience and also send it to a small select number of customers to gauge their interest. This will allow you to edit and tweak the questions and design as required before sending it out to your full recipient list.
If you are looking to create a questionnaire but are not sure where to begin, Hola Brief is here to help you. No matter what the purpose of the questionnaire is, our comprehensive template will give you the questions you need to ensure you can get the very best answers possible.
Our mission is to help you save time and money, which is why our template is packed with the style of questions you should be asking. Customize your template today by creating a free HolaBrief account now!
