Best practices of questionnaire design

1. Start from the end 

   When the questionnaire closes, what do you want to have achieved? Think of the following:

   • What kind of information do you want from respondents? Think both in terms of the actual themes of the questionnaire and any background information (e.g. demographic factors)
   • What will the data be used for? Who will be using it?
   • What format should the data be in? 
   • Who are your target groups? What can they find difficult? How are you going to reach them?

   Thinking about these points will help you a great deal in choosing the right question types and content.

2. Shorter is (almost) always better 

   In most cases, you are asking respondents to take time from their busy lives to respond to your questionnaire. You are more likely to get answers if your questionnaire is short and clear. So focus on what you really need to know and be ruthless is eliminating any excess. Use visuals and hide walls of text behind pop-ups.

3. Avoid jargon 

   Keep the language simple and easy to understand. Use the language the public is familiar with! 

   It can be hard to figure out how to discuss specific terms in plain language. What can help is checking discussion groups on Facebook or Reddit where you can pick up on how your future participants speak about certain topics.

   There are also tools to evaluate the language used in your questionnaire. For English, the Flesch-Kincaid readability test is the most optimal (here you can check your questions for free: https://goodcalculators.com/flesch-kincaid-calculator/). Aim for the 8th or 9th-grade readability level. 

4. Make your questionnaire accessible

   Maptionnaire's questionnaire tool adheres to both the EU Accessibility Directive and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1), where we have AA-rating. 

   However, this does not mean that you don't need to consider accessibility when creating your questionnaire. Here are some tips: 

   • Digital maps are not compatible with screen reader technology, so always combine a map question with an open question as an alternative way of responding. If the questionnaire is heavy on map questions, consider directing screen reader users to an adapted version.
   • Provide alternative descriptions (alt-text) for images. You can do this by going to Materials and editing Alternative text setting of the image file.
   • Never use color as the only symbol. For example, don't ask respondents to "Click a green button" or use differences in color as the only way to tell apart lines on the map.
   • Use audio clips in your questionnaire to provide the questions in spoken format – you can also add video clips
   • Check that the contrast between for example text and its background is not too weak. This also goes for maps, e.g. for layering shapefiles on top of a basemap.
   • Provide alternatives to text-based communication. Use images as answer options and allow respondents to submit their own images and voice messages (File upload element)
   • Translate the questionnaire to major languages in your area. This not only makes your questionnaire more easily understood, but can make marginalized groups feel more welcome to participate.

5. Keep the questions simple

   Only ask what you need to know and in the simplest possible way. For example:

   • Open questions require the respondent to formulate their answer in their own words, and therefore require a lot more from them than multiple choice questions. Only ask these types of questions where they are needed. The analysis of open questions is also typically more laborious.

   • Use map questions only when they bring additional value. E.g. if you just want to know what area the respondent lives in, it may be simpler to ask them to pick it from a drop-down menu than mark it on a map.
   • Merge and re-phrase questions for simplicity 

6. Visual communication

   Visual communication is often more effective and helps keep the respondent interested. In Maptionnaire, we've put extra effort on the use of visuals. You can add them to your text and the background, in pop-ups on the map, and in multiple choice questions.

   Photobanks like Unsplash and Flaticon have a wealth of free-to-use images, and tools like Canva can help you create awesome illustrations without any graphic design skills.

   For more tips, check this article on creating visual questionnaires. 

7. Test, test, test! 

   Publish the questionnaire in test mode and ask others to test it on different devices.

   Take a look at the data you get in Analyze. Would another question type bring data in a format you can more easily use?

When in doubt, contact us at support@maptionnaire.com. We are always happy to answer any queries you may have. Did you know that we at Maptionnaire also offer custom-made surveys?