Balancing tensions in Survey Design: Check all that apply vs Forced Choice
Kim here, writing again with co-author and co-conspirator, Sheila B Robinson. Lately, we’ve been thinking about the many balancing tensions we often face in designing quality survey questions – whether we’re developing our own surveys or helping others design and refine theirs. What do we mean by balancing tensions? On the one hand, we like it when surveys are easy to design and include questions about everything we’d like to know. On the other hand, we want to respect our respondents’ time and effort, and we want our surveys to feel engaging and interesting to them, not tiring and burdensome.
Aaack! Another Survey! How to Get People to Respond to YOUR Survey
Hey there! Kim here, writing with my intrepid and illustrious co-author, Sheila B Robinson. Yikes! Another survey! One day, it’s a professional association wanting to know where we stand on holding an online conference. The next, it’s your child’s school presenting options for remote or hybrid learning. Another day, it’s a retailer following up after an online purchase. There are so many surveys out there! Everyone wants to know what’s going on, and it’s understandable. We’re in the midst of multiple interrelated global crises – the COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impacts, growing awareness and frustration with ongoing racial injustices,
9 Reflective Questions You Should be Asking as You Design a Survey
Kim here, back writing with my favorite survey design partner and co-author Sheila Beth Robinson. Questions are a powerful tool no matter what work you’re doing. Questions can catalyze thinking and shift perspectives. In designing surveys – whether for our own projects or for clients – we ask a series of questions we now know help us develop a high quality instrument, capable of capturing the rich, nuanced data we need. Some of these questions are for the planning and pre-drafting stage and help us resist the temptation to jump straight into question drafting. Others are for the question development
Using an “I don’t know” Option in Survey Design
I don’t know. In 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High, high school Social Studies teacher Mr. Hand asks student Jeff Spicoli, “Why are you continuously late for this class Mr. Spicoli? Why do you shamelessly waste my time like this?” to which Spicoli responds, “I don’t know.” https://youtu.be/bc2muGlQIlk Why didn’t Jeff Spicoli know the answer to Mr. Hand’s questions? Perhaps he was taken aback by the questions, felt put on the spot, or just didn’t have time to come up with a better answer. Perhaps he knew the answer, but was embarrassed by the questions and didn’t want to respond candidly