1. Start from the end
When you create a survey, it is a good idea to think about how you want to present the results, and what you are going to use them for. This will help you to decide what sort of questions you want to ask – such as open questions, ranking, single or multiple choice questions.
2. Ask a bit more
Background questions such as sex, age, geographic location, income, occupation etc can make the results of the survey more interesting, because you can do break-downs.
3. Test your neighbour
Show the questions to somebody who is not involved. If he or she understands what you mean, you are probably on the right track.
4. Be generous
It is a good idea to share results of the survey with the respondents when it is finished. This increases the response frequency.
5. Use plain speech
Start off by being very clear when you write the heading for the e-mail letter, so that people understand at once what the survey is about. This also increases the response frequency. Inform the respondents about how the result is going to be used.
6. Respect anonymity
In sensitive surveys, such as employee surveys, it is important that respondents feel secure that their answers will not be linked to them as individuals.
7. More than 1000 words
It is a good idea to work with images, especially in attitude and brand surveys. One example is to have a series of happy and unhappy people, instead of a row of numbers.
8. Your imagination set the limits
Surveys are excellent input material for more or less "everything". Employee, panel and customer surveys, websites and usability surveys, PR surveys among the general public, pilot surveys, evaluations, competitions, applications and lots more.