Questionnaire best practices

Questions

Writing a good survey question is like crafting a clear and easy-to-follow recipe. Here's a simple guide to help you create effective survey questions:

1. Be Clear and Specific: Your question should be like a clear instruction in a recipe. Avoid vague words. Instead of asking "Do you think Board Meetings are good?" ask "How satisfied are you with the length of Board Meetings?"

2. One Question at a Time: Don't mix multiple ingredients in one step. Avoid double-barreled questions. For instance, don't ask, "How satisfied are you with the Board Meeting attendance and duration?" Split it into two questions: one about attendance and another about duration.

3. Avoid Leading or Biased Questions: Don't lead the respondent to a particular answer. For example, instead of asking, "Do you like our new Board pack format" ask "How do you rate the quality of our new Board pack format?"

4. Offer Balanced Options: If you're giving options (like in a multiple-choice question), cover the full range of possible responses. Include choices like 'Very Satisfied', 'Somewhat Satisfied', 'Neutral', 'Somewhat Unsatisfied', and 'Very Unsatisfied'.

5. Make Sure Every Question Has a Purpose: Each question should gather useful information providing helpful insight to the Board's performance.

6. Consider Your Audience: Tailor your questions to fit the people answering them. If you're surveying experts, more technical language might be appropriate. For a general audience, keep things more general.

Remember, the goal of your survey question is to gather clear, honest, and useful responses. Think of yourself as a guide, helping your respondent through a conversation, one question at a time.

Scales

When choosing and aligning scales in a survey, it's like picking the right measuring tool and ensuring it matches what you're measuring. Here's a guide to help with scale selection and question alignment:

1. Consistency in Scale Direction: Use scales where higher numbers always represent more (e.g., greater agreement, satisfaction or positivity), and lower numbers represent less.

2. Aligning Question Wording with Scale Direction: Questions should correspond logically with the scale. For a scale where '5' means 'Very Good', the question should be framed such that a 'Very Good' response is coherent. Avoid mixing positive scales with negatively phrased questions.

3. Understanding When to Use the Reverse Scale Option: In standard scales, higher numbers generally indicate greater satisfaction or a positive viewpoint. For instance, in a typical scale, a higher number might signify 'Very Satisfied.' However, if your question is framed negatively, such as 'On a scale between 1 and 5 how bad was the last board meeting?', and you want the highest number to reflect the most negative perspective, you can employ the reverse scale option.

The goal is to make responding intuitive and straightforward, avoiding confusion and ensuring accurate feedback.

You can always send a questionnaire to yourself, try it out, and then delete your responses.