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1. At the beginning of the survey, provide the respondents with:
o Clear instructions
o Purpose of the survey
o Estimated completion time (to take the survey)
o Assurance that their answers will remain anonymous
o What will be done with the survey data that you collect.
2. Provide clear survey responses:
o Yes or No
o True or False
o Consider using a 5-point Likert scale when you create survey questions.
o Etc.
3. Be careful how you group your questions.
o The first question should engage the respondent to get them in the flow.
o Place demographic questions at the end of the survey to avoid response bias.
o Earlier questions in a survey can affect how respondents respond to later
questions.
4. Group similar questions together in the same section. Use titles to introduce each section.
5. Avoid double-barreled questions (such as using the word “and”) because a survey
question should only have one single concept in it.
6. Keep your questions (and answer choices) short, simple and clear. Why? Because
respondents are less likely to answer:
o Long, complicated, and confusing questions.
o Respondents will not finish your survey if it is too hard
7. Avoid using jargon and technical terms, such as:
o BATF
o JTTF
o CPS
o CIA
o CID
o IRS
o PD
o Etc.
8. Create questions that will give you precise answers.
9. Avoid leading questions, such as:
o “When did you stop beating your wife?”
That question is biased because it implies that the respondent is a wife
beater.
Survey questions should not have biased answers built into them.
Best Practices for Creating Surveys
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10. Do not provide more than 10 answers to select from when you create a question.
11. Select needed classifications of respondents that are appropriate for the topic that you are
researching, such as:
o Victims
o Witnesses
o Officers
o City Council Members
o Citizens
o Neighbors
o Friends
o Customers
o Immigrants
o Students
o [INSERT YOUR NEEDED CLASSIFICAITON HERE]
o Etc.
12. Select the smallest sample size possible to meet your needs.
13. Include a “Thank You” statement at the end of the survey.
14. Before you conduct issue your survey, contact your Institutional Review Board (IRB) for:
I.
o Approval of your created survey and
o Permission to issue it to respondents.
15. Once you’ve created your survey:
o Send it to a few friends or colleagues to try it
o Ask them how long it took to complete the survey
o Did their survey answers provide you with useful data?
16. Response rates to online surveys usually range from 30 to 60%.
17. Be respectful of those who do not wish to take your survey.
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References
Best Practices for Improving Survey Participation. (n.d.). Oracle Corp.
https://www.oracle.com/applications/products.html
Learn the Top 12 Best Ways to Use Surveys. (n.d.). Constant Contact Corp.
https://img.constantcontact.com/docs/pdf/learn-the-top-12-best-ways-to-use-surveys-
constant-contact.pdf
Nardi, P. M. (2005). Doing survey research: A guide to quantitative methods. Boston: Pearson.
Survey Design and Administration Best Practices. (2022). Louisiana State University.
https://grok.lsu.edu/article.aspx?articleid=17958
Surveys (Qualtrics). (n.d.). University of Wisconson – Madison Information Technology.
