Survey Design
What is Survey Design?
Survey design is the process of creating surveys to gather valuable insights from a specific group of people. Surveys can range from a few concise questions to extensive questionnaires, depending on the research goals. Given that the questions themselves set the stage for the research, it is important that they are written out carefully and thoughtfully to ensure that the survey draws out accurate and relevant information from the respondents.
The Basic Idea
You have probably filled out a survey sometime in your life, whether it be feedback surveys, political opinion surveys, or community surveys. They are structured with questions designed to elicit opinions, behaviors, and experiences from the respondents. So, it should come as no surprise that one of the most, if not the most, important aspects of the survey design process is coming up with questions that answer your research question.
Designing a survey is a multi-stage process that demands careful attention to detail. Effective survey design and implementation can provide critical insights into the minds of a target population. Years of research have revealed both the art and the science of crafting effective survey questions. But what does survey design entail?.1
Key Steps in Survey Design
1. Determine goals: The first step of any successful research design is to pick the topic you wish to study. Surveys are no different. Knowing the purpose of your survey will focus its construction, ensuring you gather the right information.
2. Find your target population and survey methods: Using your survey aims, it is time to decide who you’re going to ask and what the appropriate method is. When making these decisions, consider the sort of data you want to collect and the research timeframe.
3. Design your questions: Each question should target a facet of your study’s aims. To keep your respondents engaged, avoid repetitive questions and ensure the survey is not overly lengthy. It’s also a good practice to mix up your question types (i.e. open- or closed-questions, multiple-choice questions, dichotomous questions) to gain a more holistic understanding of the respondents.
4. Administer your survey to your target population: Choose the appropriate method to reach your target population, whether online, in-person, or via phone. Follow standardized procedures to ensure consistency.
5. Analyze the data: Collect and analyze your data based on its type. Quantitative data typically uses inferential statistics to make sense of the numbers while qualitative data are analyzed thematically. Tools like SPSS, R, and Excel are useful here.
6. Draw conclusions: Based on the data you’ve collected and analyzed, come up with a conclusion that references your study’s goals.
An effective survey design ensures that the data collected is reliable, valid, and actionable, enabling informed and confident decision-making based on the survey results.2
“The goal of a good survey is to get reliable, valid data that can be generalized to the population of interest.
Floyd Fowler, a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Survey Research at the University of Massachusetts Boston
About the Author
Samantha Lau
Samantha graduated from the University of Toronto, majoring in psychology and criminology. During her undergraduate degree, she studied how mindfulness meditation impacted human memory which sparked her interest in cognition. Samantha is curious about the way behavioural science impacts design, particularly in the UX field. As she works to make behavioural science more accessible with The Decision Lab, she is preparing to start her Master of Behavioural and Decision Sciences degree at the University of Pennsylvania. In her free time, you can catch her at a concert or in a dance studio.
