Today’s data-driven world is dependent on online surveys, making them an effective and essential tool for making informed decisions. An online survey is considered good when it provides reliable, clear, and functional insight. Great online surveys are based on high quality data that gets you higher response rates. They are also easier to fill out.
However, one has to simply go beyond a questionnaire to attain high-quality data with accurate results. And to ensure quality and accurate data, mastering the art of online surveys is utterly essential to drawing participants and logical responses.
This article will discuss some of the top tips for achieving a successful and great online survey. Keep on reading to find out!
However, be aware of those websites that claim free rewards for taking surveys, as you can’t assess whether or not they are legit. A popular legitimate survey site is Panel Station, which genuinely gives rewards via a mobile app and website. Check out the review on Panel Station now.
Top Tips to Create Successful Online Surveys
1. Have a clearly defined purpose for your survey.
The first thing to achieve for an online survey is a well-defined purpose. After all, you won’t want to end up with results that can’t help you make informed decisions. So give yourself some time to identify the answers to questions like,
What is the aim of your survey? What do you want to accomplish with it? Why are you doing the survey? How do you aim to use the collected data?
A few minutes of proper planning and a clear purpose can make a big difference in the quality of the responses received.
2. Set up a simple questionnaire.
You can simplify your survey questions by using common words and shorter sentences that are easily perceived by all. If only you are sure that your audience understands technical jargon, then only use it; otherwise, it is better to avoid it.
Moreover, rather than asking multiple questions within a single sentence, you break them down into simpler forms.
Note that clear and precise queries are the key to a great online survey. If participants can understand your survey questions, they can respond precisely and help you attain logical data.
3. Keep the survey short and concise.
A short and concise survey will always get you better quality and quantity of responses. Humans usually prefer to do things that can be done easily and quickly. So your participants can lose interest if your survey consists of too many questions.
So set precise, short, and crisp questions based on your objective. Include questions that can give you data directly to meet your proposed objective of the survey.
4. Try to include closed-ended questions
These types of questions have specific choices from which a respondent has to choose. For example, a closed ended question gives you only two choices for an answer: yes or no. However, these questions can also be in other forms, such as a rating scale or multiple choice.
In the case of open-ended questions, respondents have to give their answers in words, offering valuable insights and quality information. Nevertheless, closed ended questions are generally more preferred than open-ended questions for sorting and analysis purposes.
5. Set a logical survey flow
This is another important consideration when mastering the art of online surveys. You can maintain the below order for your survey flows:
A brief introduction to your survey – broader-based questions – short and concise questions.
You can keep sensitive questions to yourself and gather demographic data at the end.
6. Choose a feasible survey platform
Make sure to opt for an easy and feasible survey platform, keeping both administrators and respondents in mind. You are likely not to face any issues regarding accessing and completing the survey using user-friendly software, as it offers clear instructions on its usage. You can even work on simple analytics after collecting all the data.
Complicated interfaces might confuse the respondents and users involved, eventually leading to inaccurate or incomplete results.
Some Interesting Facts About Online Surveys
-
Incentives are not necessary for survey participation
Many surveyors choose to offer incentives to the respondents, based on the survey type and audience, to increase response rates. Fascinatingly, a study revealed that the response quality decreased after offering incentives for the survey. Respondents who participated in the survey due to rewards or incentives are said not to have given an honest response.
-
Longer surveys bring in more accurate results
As per research, surveys with over 20 questions offer more in-depth insights and a higher response rate than short surveys.
-
Demographic questions are often immaterial
Demographic questions and their details don’t usually have much impact on the quality of survey results. So it’s better for businesses to include mostly questions related to their services or products.
-
Make survey responses public
Businesses must consider making their survey responses public, as transparency is important for every business. It will manifest your commitment and transparency to your audience and yield beneficial insights.
Quick Tips for a Valuable Survey
- Begin by introducing the purpose of your survey in a maximum of two sentences.
- Include closed-ended questions rather than open-ended ones.
- Be short and precise.
- Keep the survey templates simple.
- Make use of clear fonts.
- The survey template must be easily accessed on mobile devices.
- The navigation must be easy-to-use so the respondents can navigate without any hassle.
If you want more professional help, you can hire or consult market research advisors for valuable guidance and advice.
