{"id":47603,"date":"2020-04-23T21:31:09","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T01:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=47603"},"modified":"2024-01-10T17:02:14","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T22:02:14","slug":"survey-design-disaster-avoidance-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/survey-design-disaster-avoidance-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Design Disaster Avoidance, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

If I had a nickel for every time I saw these survey design mistakes, I\u2019d have a lot of nickels.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From client onboardings to internal trainings, I\u2019ve seen a lot of really smart people make a lot of really regrettable mistakes in their survey design. Unfortunately, mistakes at the beginning of the design process carry through the rest of the project, often resulting in useless results. Fortunately, nearly all of these mistakes are avoidable.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ready for a crash course in Design Disaster Avoidance? Here\u2019s Part 1:<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mistake 1: The purpose isn\u2019t clear.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Why are you doing this project anyway? If you\u2019re asking participants to commit their valuable time, make it worthwhile. Clearly identify your goals so that you can justify to your audience why they should bother to respond. What reports will your team want to see, and how will they use the results?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do this<\/i><\/strong>:<\/strong> Clearly address the purpose of your project in the introduction — and invitation, if you\u2019re sending an email — as well as any other related communication.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"survey<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mistake 2: The wrong question types are used.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Even if you ask the right question, building it as the wrong question type means your results are probably wrong, too. If you\u2019re asking for a single answer, use a Radio Button instead of a Check Box. If you\u2019re asking about a degree or level, use any of our rating questions. If you want to segment your reports according to a single categorizing question, use a Radio Button or Drop Down rather than a Text Box. The list goes on.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do this<\/i><\/strong>:<\/strong> Before you launch, try taking your survey or assessment as a \u201cbad participant\u201d. Instead of answering in exactly the way you want participants to respond, think of all the \u201cwrong\u201d ways they could respond. If you can set yourself up to collect only good data, do it.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"survey<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mistake 3: Too many questions are included.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Imagine you\u2019re in a conversation that drags on and on way longer than seems necessary. Maybe someone\u2019s pestering you with questions and you\u2019re too polite to walk away, but if this keeps up, you\u2019ll have no choice\u2026 If this happens in your survey, participants will simply drop out. Remember your purpose, then focus on the need-to-know and leave out the nice-to-have.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do this<\/i><\/strong>:<\/strong> Ask others to test the survey. Don\u2019t ask those who are too close to the topic — others who might be interested in those nice-to-have items, too. Reach out to other teams or individuals who can provide critical feedback. If you need to ask a good number of questions, make sure participants understand the value of their responses, set expectations up front, and enable Save and Continue Later.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"survey<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n

Mistake 4: Every single question is mandatory.\u00a0\"survey<\/b><\/h2>\n

Sure, there\u2019s a lot that you\u2019d like to know — after all, that\u2019s why you\u2019re asking, right? Still, forcing participants to answer every single question is one of the leading causes of survey drop-out. In most cases, if you\u2019re asking the right audience the right questions, they\u2019ll have no problem answering. Once you start asking about sensitive topics, though, participants are more likely to question why you\u2019re asking and how their data will be used. Keep in mind: Simply hiding the fact that questions are mandatory doesn\u2019t solve this issue<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do this<\/i><\/strong>:<\/strong> First, identify the answers that are absolutely critical to your reports — in other words, your results would be useless without the data. For example, if you must divide customer feedback by product type, the product question should be mandatory. Next, if your project includes logic or piping, set decision or source questions as mandatory to ensure the right flow. Finally, if there are some questions that would really be helpful but aren\u2019t critical, use Encouraged Response so that participants can skip if they really need to.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mistake 5: Answer options are missing or poorly presented.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Especially if a question is set as mandatory, it\u2019s absolutely critical to ensure that participants can answer. It goes without saying that all valid answers must be presented. Imagine receiving a survey with a question about work location and then finding that yours isn\u2019t listed. Clearly not the way to engage participants. Is it possible that \u2018Not applicable\u2019 is the best response in some cases? Absolutely — \u2018Neutral\u2019 doesn\u2019t mean the same thing, and leaving out the most appropriate response (N\/A) can skew analysis. Additionally, check your ranges. If your ranges are 0-5, 5-10, and 10-15, which option should be selected for 5 or for 10?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do this<\/i><\/strong>:<\/strong> Test, test, test. Rather than testing as a \u201cbad participant\u201d, test as a critic. If someone wanted to find fault with your answer options, what might they point to? If it\u2019s your survey, it can be really difficult to see the gaps — after all, if you recognized them, you\u2019d fix them. This is a good time to call for back-up from those critical friends again.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"survey<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"survey<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Design is one of the most exciting parts of the process, and because it\u2019s easy to build a beautiful survey quickly, it can be tempting to launch right away. Still, taking the time to review your work and check for potential issues can save you plenty of potential headaches down the road.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Want more?<\/strong> Check out Part 2!<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If I had a nickel for every time I saw these survey design mistakes, I\u2019d have a lot of nickels.   From client onboardings to internal trainings, I\u2019ve seen a lot of really smart people make a lot of really regrettable mistakes in their survey design. Unfortunately, mistakes at the beginning of the design process carry through the rest of the project, often resulting in useless results. Fortunately, nearly all of these mistakes are avoidable.   Ready for a crash course in Design Disaster Avoidance? Here\u2019s Part 1:   Mistake 1: The purpose isn\u2019t clear. Why are you doing this project anyway? If you\u2019re asking participants to commit their valuable time, make it worthwhile. Clearly identify your goals so that you can justify to your audience why they should bother to respond. What reports will your team want to see, and how will they use the results?\u00a0   Do this: Clearly address the purpose of your project in the introduction — and invitation, if you\u2019re sending an email — as well as any other related communication.     Mistake 2: The wrong question types are used. Even if you ask the right question, building it as the wrong question type means your results are probably wrong, too. If you\u2019re asking for a single answer, use a Radio Button instead of a Check Box. If you\u2019re asking about a degree or level, use any of our rating questions. If you want to segment your reports according to a single categorizing question, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":5051,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,205],"tags":[256,82,442,443,112],"yoast_head":"\nDesign Disaster Avoidance, Part 1 - Sogolytics Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Avoid potential headaches and hassle by avoiding a few common survey design mistakes. 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