Creating effective questionnaires requires careful planning, clear design, and thorough testing. By following established best practices, reliable data can be collected, a positive respondent experience can be ensured, and meaningful results can be obtained.
This document outlines key considerations that should be taken into account when designing and conducting surveys, helping to prevent common mistakes.
Clarity
Use simple, unambiguous language. Each question should focus on a single idea, and response options should be easy to understand and clearly distinct.
Adapt the language to the target group. For example, academically educated respondents may handle more complex wording, while practically educated respondents benefit from simpler and more concrete phrasing.
The system provides help functions that can offer respondents additional information when needed. These are easy to set up and can improve understanding of the questions.
Design and Structure
Questions should be organized logically, beginning with general or easy items and gradually progressing to more specific or sensitive topics. Related questions should be grouped together, and appropriate formats—such as multiple-choice, rating scales, or open text—should be selected based on the research goals.
Clear, descriptive names should be assigned to questions to ensure they can be easily identified and referenced later. Leading, loaded, or biased questions should be avoided.
Digital Accessibility
Digital accessibility should be considered from the outset. The system provides features such as dark mode and text-to-speech (speaker functionality), which support different user needs and improve overall usability. These options are easy to use and should be actively considered as part of best practice to ensure an inclusive experience for all respondents.
In addition, the system offers the ability to send reminders to respondents. This feature should be used where appropriate to improve response rates and support timely completion of questionnaires.
Targeting and Sampling
The target group should be defined carefully, and representativeness should be considered where generalization of results is required.
Testing and Validation
The questionnaire should be tested thoroughly before release. This includes piloting with a small group to identify unclear questions, usability issues, or technical problems.
Testing should also include:
- Verification across different devices (desktop, tablet, and mobile) to ensure consistent functionality and presentation
- Confirmation that all content is correctly translated in multi-language surveys, with no missing or inconsistent translations
- Validation that the questionnaire behaves correctly across different browsers and screen sizes
The system also provides the option to export all texts, which supports proofreading, quality assurance, and external review of questionnaire content.
It should also be ensured that the questionnaire measures what it is intended to measure and performs reliably across all intended use cases.
User Experience
Questionnaires should be kept concise to avoid respondent fatigue. Progress indicators should be included where appropriate to help users understand completion status.
Accessibility should be ensured for all users through features such as keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and adjustable display settings. Design should also be fully optimized for mobile devices to support a consistent experience across platforms.
Data Quality and Ethics
Anonymity, confidentiality, and privacy measures should be clearly communicated to respondents. Double-barreled, leading, or ambiguous questions should be avoided. All applicable legal, regulatory, and ethical requirements must be followed.
Feedback and Iteration
Participant feedback should be collected and reviewed regularly. Response data should be analyzed for inconsistencies or quality issues, and the questionnaire should be continuously refined to improve clarity, usability, and data quality.