User's Manual

Smart Survey Design

Page 4

I: INTRODUCTION: RELEVANCY AND ACCURACY

Writing solid and unbiased surveys may seem like a daunting and unapproachable

task. However, it is not as overwhelming as one may think! Creating well structured, simply

written questions will help in collecting valid survey responses. An important goal as a

survey author is to construct clear, direct questions and answers using the language that

survey participants will understand. While there are no set rules on the wording of these

survey questions, there are some basic principles that do work to improve the overall

design. The intent of this guide is to provide tips on utilizing those principles for

constructing effective surveys that collect accurate and valid data.

Relevancy and accuracy are two ideals that encompass the main outcome of

creating reliable surveys. These two principles work together to write effective survey

questions. To achieve relevancy, keep the following factors in mind (Iarossi 2006, 27):

The kinds of questions a survey author should create are based on two things: the

objectives of the survey and the information to be collected. A goal of the author is to

then turn those research objectives into a set of “information requirements.” From here, one

can create questions that will produce that information (Brace 2004, 11-12). An accurate

survey is one where the questions collect the data in a reliable and valid way. If the

questions ask respondents things they do not know, then it can result in inaccurate data.

To enhance the accuracy of respondents‟ answers, take into consideration the following

items (Iarossi 2006, 28):

 Address the wording style, type, and question sequence.

 Make the survey interesting and notice the survey length or how long it takes to

answer the entire survey.

 When designing a survey, the author should try to put him/herself “in the position of

the typical, or rather the least educated, respondent.” (Moser and Kalton 1971, 320)

Some additional things to consider about the relevancy and accuracy of survey

questions are the ways in which the questions are written and their overall length. Writing

familiar

with the

Questions.

Know

the

Objectives.

Know

kinds of

information

needed.

Relevancy