Designing Questionnaires and Surveys
A questionnaire is a set of written questions used to collect data directly from people, and good design keeps the data collected accurate, unbiased and easy to analyse.
Method
- Decide exactly what information you need before writing any questions, and keep the survey short and relevant.
- Write questions in simple, clear language and avoid leading or biased phrasing that suggests an expected answer.
- Avoid vague words like often or a lot, and replace them with defined, non-overlapping response bands, for example 0-2, 3-5, 6+.
- Give response options that are mutually exclusive and cover every possible answer, including other or prefer not to say where relevant.
- Avoid asking two questions in one (a double-barrelled question), and keep personal questions optional.
- Trial the questionnaire on a small group first (a pilot survey) and refine any confusing questions before the full survey.
Worked example
A student wants to find out how much time people spend exercising each week. Critique the question 'Don't you agree that you should exercise a lot each week?' and write an improved version.
- Identify flaw 1: the question is leading, since 'Don't you agree' suggests the expected answer.
- Identify flaw 2: 'a lot' is vague and undefined, so answers cannot be fairly compared.
- Remove the leading phrase and ask neutrally: 'How many hours do you spend exercising in a typical week?'
- Give clear, non-overlapping response options: 0-2 hours, 3-5 hours, 6-8 hours, 9 hours or more.
- Check the options cover every possible answer, with no gaps or overlaps.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1What is wrong with the question 'Do you not think school lunches are too expensive?'Show answer
Answer: It is a leading question (it implies the expected answer).
Q2Give one reason why the response options '0-5, 5-10, 10-15' are a poor choice for hours of homework.Show answer
Answer: The bands overlap (5 and 10 each appear in two bands).
Q3Rewrite the response options '0-5, 5-10, 10-15' so that they no longer overlap.Show answer
Answer: For example: 0-4, 5-9, 10-14 (or 0-5, 6-10, 11-15).
Q4What is wrong with the question 'How old are you and do you smoke?'Show answer
Answer: It is a double-barrelled question (it asks two things at once).
Q5A survey question offers the response options 'Never, Sometimes, Always'. State one improvement that could be made.Show answer
Answer: Add more precise, defined bands (for example, based on a number of times per week), since 'Sometimes' is subjective.
Q6Explain why a pilot survey should be carried out before the full survey is sent out.Show answer
Answer: To test that the questions are clear and work correctly, so problems can be fixed before the real data is collected.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Statistics exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
A researcher wants to know if people support a new bypass. She asks: 'Most people think the new bypass is a great idea, do you agree?' Identify two reasons this is a poor survey question.
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A student is investigating how much pocket money Year 8 students receive each week. She writes this question: 'How much pocket money do you get, loads or not much?' (a) Identify one flaw in this question. (b) Rewrite the question with four suitable, non-overlapping response bands.
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A school wants to survey students about how they travel to school. (a) Suggest a suitable closed question with response options. (b) Explain why a pilot survey should be used first.
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See real GCSE Statistics past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the designing questionnaires and surveys worksheet pack - 16 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
This topic is chapter 9 of GCSE Statistics Foundation Workbook 1 and chapter 9 of GCSE Statistics Higher Workbook 1, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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