What to Do (or Not) for Writing Effective Survey Questions

Rafal Deren reports:

"Questions need to be concise and specific while only asking respondents about one issue at a time. This will reduce uncertainty on the respondent’s part and [en]sure that you receive the information you’re looking for...Long drawn[-]out questions can increase confusion and the risk that a question is misinterpreted by the respondent. To guard against this, keep questions short and sweet...Make questions easy to understand by keeping them simple in their wording and grammar...Questions should be presented in their rawest form possible, without any unnecessary words and phrases...A leading question is one that suggests an answer. These should be avoided to prevent against biased responses...Avoid using 'loaded' language in questions, or words that might have an emotive implication. Questions should be neutral in language...Questions that could have two possible responses should not be asked. They should be split up into two parts and asked separately...Questions should be worded as neutrally as possible. Descriptive words that could exaggerate the scenario should be avoided...[A]void words that suggest extreme absolutes. These place respondents in a situation where they must fully agree or disagree with the position in the question...The questions in a survey act like the meat in a hamburger. They really are the most important part. Take your time crafting each one to make sure you’re asking exactly what you want to be asking while following the rules above, and you’ll be sure to get some great feedback!"