Developing Surveys: Asking questions - Market Research

The success of a survey in gathering useful data is largely determined by the design of the survey, and particularly by the questions that are asked. A survey can comprise of any number and types of questions, and these should be structured in such a way that more complicated questions only appear once users are comfortable with the survey.

Be careful when creating questions that you do not introduce bias by asking leading questions.
Example of leading question bias:
 
Example question:
We have recently introduced new features on the website to become a first class web destination. What are your thoughts on the new site?
 
Replace with:
What are your thoughts on the changes to the website?
 
Questions in the survey should be brief, easy to understand and, most of all, easy to answer.

Types of survey questions

1. Open-ended types Open-ended questions allow respondents to answer in their own words. This usually results in qualitative data.

Example:

What features would you like to see on the website for the Digital Marketing textbook?

2. Closed–ended types (multiple choice – one answer or multiple answers) These questions give respondents specific responses to choose from. This results in quantitative data. 

Example:

Do you use the Digital Marketing textbook website? Choose one that applies.

- Yes

- No

What features of the Digital Marketing textbook website do you use? Check all that apply.

- Blog

- Case studies

- Free downloads

- Additional resources

3. Ranked or ordinal questions These questions ask respondents to rank items in order of preference or relevance. Respondents are given a numeric scale to indicate order. This results in quantitative data. 

Example:

Rate the features of the Digital Marketing textbook website, where 1 is the most useful and 4 is the least useful.

- Blog

- Case studies

- Free downloads

- Additional resources

4. Matrix & rating types

These types of questions can be used to quantify qualitative data. Respondents are asked to rank behaviour or attitude.

Example:

The Digital Marketing textbook website is a useful tool for further studies. 

Or

The Digital Marketing textbook website is a useful tool for further studies. 

Rating scales can be balanced or unbalanced. When creating the questions and answers, choosing balanced or unbalanced scales will affect whether you are collecting data where someone can express a neutral opinion or not.