Surveys I: Guidelines for Questionnaires

Introducing Surveys A survey is a formatted questionnaire. Survey respondents react to behavioural stimuli (the questions) and all respondents should be exposed to the same stimuli. This requires that questions mean the same thing to all of them- that questions be standardized behavioural stimuli. However, questionnaire construction is as much art as science.

10 Guidelines Avoid Jargon, Slang and Abbreviations. Avoid Ambiguity, Confusion, and Vagueness. Avoid Emotional Language and Prestige Bias. Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions. Avoid Leading (or Loaded) Questions. Avoid Asking Questions that are Beyond Respondents’ Capabilities. Avoid False/Disagreeable Premises. Avoid Asking about Future Intentions. Avoid Double Negatives Avoid Overlapping or Unbalanced Response Categories.