Designing Quality Survey Questions

by Sheila B. Robinson, Kimberly Firth Leonard

Surveys are a cornerstone of social and behavioral research, and with the use of web-based tools, surveys have become an easy and inexpensive means of gathering data. But how researchers ask a question can dramatically influence the answers they receive. 

Sheila B. Robinson and Kimberly Firth Leonard’s Designing Quality Survey Questions shows readers how to craft high quality, precisely-worded survey questions that will elicit rich, nuanced, and ultimately useful data to help answer their research or evaluation questions. The authors address challenges such as crafting demographic questions, designing questions that keep respondents engaged and avoid survey fatigue, web-based survey formats, culturally-responsive survey design, and factors that influence survey responses. Additionally, "Stories from the Field" features provide real world experiences from practitioners who share lessons learned about survey design, and end-of-chapter exercises and discussion questions allow readers to apply the information they’ve learned.

Genres: Research, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published June 29, 2018

Reviews

[Vavita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finall a book that covers the real problem with surveys! It is not about the tool; it is about the badly designed questions you put inthe tool!
I have learned a lot with this book and will use that at work. It has made my life easier!

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read and resource!

[Scott Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In our connected world, we’re inundated by data collection tools. Today’s technology surpasses the quality of anything we’ve had before, and sending out a mass survey is easier than ever. However, many researchers ask the same-old questions in the same-old style they’ve seen in prior surveys. In so doing, they repeat the same mistakes prior generations made. This book’s two expert/authors address ways to think about and formulate survey questions that give you the data you need to answer your research questions.

Nothing is worse than spending tons of time – and often money – sending out a survey only to realize later that you gathered poor-quality data. A bad process leads to bad questions, which lead to bad analysis. To enhance out process, the authors remind us that survey design is an iterative process accomplished in conversation with a large group of people – fellow surveyors, subject-matter experts, and potential participants. It’s achieved through forethought and heartfelt empathy.

This book is not merely a collection of tips and tricks of the trade; rather, it seeks to enhance the creativity of survey designers to address their own research questions with their own audiences. Instead of dwelling on supposed universals, it dives into picking apart the nuances of research participants. It aims first to understand the participants by minimizing their mental overhead of taking a survey. That principle, not some abstract ideal, drives the rest of this book’s content. It offers a framework instead of a fixed process.

The intended audience is the research community, particularly those involved with human-subjects research and the social sciences. It helped me as a data guy to think through concerns and problems with a current work project – how to refine a first draft of a survey into something more focused on our research questions. Sending out surveys is easier than ever. Researchers should read this book so that they don’t let ease become an excuse for poor survey design.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars- Read this for a Survey Methods class. Very clear resource on survey design, and in plain language easy for the reader to understand. My only issue is the book often gives examples of poorly designed survey questions without contrasting them with appropriately designed questions. In another addition having more examples of well written questions would be beneficial.

[Nancy Grudens Schuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first author is well known in the evaluation field for professional development, so I was pleased to see a text provided in a form that my students and colleagues would find accessible. It's a Sage imprint, so that's also a plus in terms of long life, at least one hopes. The book begins with a discussion of "quality" but it is pragmatic, coming back to the issue of the product. I love discussions of cognitive and social dimensions of surveys, but they bog down even Dillman's tomes, and put off my students. And yet, the intellects are quoted here and there, and there are plenty of references, so there are ties to the foundational literature. The book provides segments of one to three subtitles per page -- reading crowd may not care, but the "skim" crowd is accustomed to bursts of information, and their layout respects this. The book provides exercises that I could imagine using as a professor, such as "empathy maps" on page 15. Occasionally, the book provides half-page case studies of good and bad things that happen during phases of survey design and administration, and the names are diverse ethnically, which is realistic. Early in the book, there is an attempt to cover the range of content and phenomenon, from gardening to social services, and here the book reads somewhat superficially. I am not sure how they would have gotten around this issue of "who to focus on" but the examples are somewhat hodge-podge. The book gets more serious in Chapter 4 and beyond. The questions appear to be more uniform (marketing) and then about website utility and these seem useful and coherent. I was pleased to see that the book recommends limiting demographic questions. My students believe they are required, and think I am unreasonable when I tell them they are not. A minor part of the book is devoted to administration, or "getting the survey out," but I think this material is straightforward, so I was not displeased with the ratio. I am considering adopting this text for my course.