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In order to consider your surveying efforts successful, the information you collect must be reliable and relevant to your objective. Too often, the data that is collected from a survey is tainted. It may be inaccurate, vague, or lack significant insight into the thoughts and perceptions of your population. More often than not, you can control these issues. The manner in which you create your survey questions and how you combine a variety of different types can help you elicit the information you need to take action. Today, I'm going to explain the fundamentals of a good survey question. I'll describe the variations you can use, the proper way to construct them, and some factors to consider to ensure your results are useful. Closed-Ended Versus Open-Ended Almost all questions that you can design for your surveys will either be closed-ended or open-ended. Let me take a moment to define the two types. Closed-ended queries are those that only let a person to choose from a given set of responses. One of those responses might be "Other," but even then, the answer is limited. By contrast, open-ended queries allow respondents to elaborate. One of the advantages of a closed-ended question is that the responses are easy to categorize. They're in a standard format, making them especially well-suited for statistical analysis. The drawback is that this type of query can be deceptively complicated to create. Open-ended questions can often reveal insightful information. Their inherent disadvantage is that they're unsuitable for statistical analysis. In fact, interpreting the responses can often be challenging. Scale Queries Scale queries are most appropriate when you want to determine your survey population's feelings toward a specific topic. Normally, respondents are asked to choose a rating between 1 and 5 that most closely represents their personal viewpoint. For example, the question - or statement - might be "A college education is critical for future success." Your respondent is then asked to rate their level of agreement with a scale from 1 to 5. 1 might represent "Strongly agree" while 5 represents "Strongly disagree." Multiple Choice Multiple choice questions are well-suited for uncovering the strongest reason for a given feeling. Typically, a number of choices are made available from which your participant chooses. Even if more than one answer is accurate, the respondent is forced to choose the strongest answer. For example, he or she may be asked, "Why do you enjoy your job?" In most cases, there will likely be several possible reasons (for example, high salary, small commute, intellectual challenge, etc.). By forcing that person to select only one answer, you can determine the most important reason. Priority Queries which ask respondents to prioritize the factors that are important to them can be especially useful in identifying behaviors, marketing opportunities, and other valuable data. A number of choices (usually, 5) are presented and the participant is asked to rate them from 1 to 5. For example, they might be asked, "Rate the following items in order of importance with regards to how you would choose a health club membership." The items might include monthly fees, flexibility of terms, and availability of the trainers. This type of survey question will help you identify areas that are most important to your respondents in relation to other areas. Critical Factors In Query Design The keys to obtaining useful data from your surveys is to focus upon one element, try to accommodate all potential responses, and encourage your respondents to answer truthfully. Today, we've focused most of our attention on closed-ended queries. They're a bit more difficult to design because they must adhere to a specific structure. Open-ended queries are far easier to create because they allow broader answers. Ideally, your surveys should blend a mix of each type that I've profiled above.
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