The Only Thing Worse than No Information Is Bad Information

By Ron Sellers
Originally published in The NonProfit Times, November 1992

The easiest way to collect bad information in a marketing research survey is through a poorly designed questionnaire.  Any organization using survey research needs to pay particular attention to the design of the questionnaire.

What follows are some guidelines for questionnaire writers.  Many of the examples cited are from actual surveys used by non-profits.

Objectives:
do the questions you're asking get you the information you need?  Additionally, what will you do once you have your answers?   It's amazing how many questions are asked in surveys simply because someone is curious about the results and not because the information will affect the organization's decisions in some manner.

Clarity:
are the questions and instructions clear and specific about what you want respondents to do?  One survey by an overseas missions non-profit organization simply asked people to list the areas of the world they're most interested in.  What kind of interest?  Personal interest?  Interest in seeing people's daily needs met?  Because the question could be interpreted in different ways, it elicited useless data.

Simplicity:
people are donating their time to complete your survey.  Don't make it hard for them.  Don't ask them to "prioritize"; ask them to "list the importance of."  Keep it simple.  One survey asked if the organization should "add additional pages of copy" to its newsletter.  Few people know what "copy" is except those who write it for a livng.

Focus:
a cardinal sin of questionnaire design is called the "double-barreled question."  Example:  "True or false:   the people at our organization are efficient and friendly."  What if they are perceived as efficient but surly – is the question true or false?  Ask one question at a time.

Inclusiveness:
can everyone's answers fit into the categories provided?  Example:  "How much time do you spend watching television each day:  one to two hours, two to four hours, or four hours or more?"  Hmmm…what if I watch for two hours – am I in the first category or the second?  What if I watch for less than an hour a day?  Or I don't have a TV?  There is no category provided for those answers.

(At the end of the original article, Ron Sellers offered to review questionnaires readers wrote – or had someone write – for their organization.  This offer still stands.  This review will help you determine how effective your research was, and whether the organization needs some professional help in this area. Questionnaires can be sent to Ron at Ellison Research, 14804 North Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, AZ 85032.)