Creating Good Interview and Survey Questions
Summary:
Primary research involves collecting data about a given subject directly from the real world. This section includes information on what primary research is, how to get started, ethics involved with primary research and different types of research you can do. It includes details about interviews, surveys, observations, and analyses.
Contributors: Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee
Last Edited: 2010-04-17 06:11:20
If you are conducting primary research using surveys or interviews, one of the most important things to focus on is creating good questions.
When creating questions you want to avoid:
Biased questions
Biased questions are questions that encourage your participants to respond to the question in a certain way. They may contain biased terminology or are worded in a biased way.
Questions that assume what they ask
These questions are a type of biased question and lead your participants to agree or respond in a certain way.
Double-barreled questions
A double-barreled question is a one that has more than one question embedded within it. Participants may answer one but not both, or may disagree with part or all of the question.
Confusing or wordy questions
Make sure your questions are not confusing or wordy. Confusing questions will only lead to confused participants, which leads to unreliable answers.
Questions that do not relate to what you want to learn
Be sure that your questions directly relate to what it is you are studying. A good way to do this is to ask someone else to read your questions or even test your survey out on a few people and see if the responses fit what you are looking for.