SURVEYS at Vincennes University

 

Question Types

• Closed-ended Questions – Respondent chooses from a list of options provided.

  • Multiple Choice – More than one option may be selected

  • Single Choice – Only one option may be selected 

• Open-ended Questions – Respondent uses their own words to answer the question. Be sure to specify the number of words or characters allowed when asking open-ended questions.

  • Single word - Question may also include the option to list two or more single word responses.

  • Short phrase response – Typically less than 150 characters (25 words or less).

  • Short answer – Typically 250 words or less (1,500 characters)

  • Long answer – Typically 500 words or more (3,000 or more characters)

• Ranking Questions – Respondents put a list of items in order or select preferences in order, e.g. top three options.

• Rating Questions – Respondents rate items on a measured scale, e.g. 1 – 5 or  Very Satisfied to Very Dissatisfied.

Suggestions for Writing Your Own Questions

• Use easy to understand wording and exclude jargon, acronyms, etc. that might cause confusion about the meaning of the question.

  • Best practices recommend using 6th grade reading level.

• Focus on one topic per question. Do not integrate multiple topics by using “and/or” to separate thoughts or ideas. This creates confusion for the reader.

• Provide all possible answers to a question. If this is not possible due to the number of possibilities, add an “Other” option.

• Keep scales consistent to minimize confusion.

  • Order matters – Use the same direction for all scales in the survey, i.e. all scale questions begin with positive response -OR- all scale questions begin with negative response; e.g. Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.

• Avoid using evocative language or asking leading or emotional questions.

• Do not ask for personally identifiable information unless the information is required for administrative, accreditation, or assessment purposes.