Create an online questionnaire – Recognize bias effects and get reliable answers

A well-designed online questionnaire is the cornerstone of any successful online survey. When you create an online questionnaire, it determines how well the collected data reflects the actual opinions, attitudes, and behaviors of the respondents. A poorly designed questionnaire, on the other hand, can lead to inaccurate results, which can result in poor decision-making. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on a thoughtful questionnaire design from the very beginning when you create an online questionnaire.

Key Takeaways: Create an online questionnaire

The Importance of a Well-Designed Online Questionnaire

A well-thought-out questionnaire ensures that the right information is collected in a clear and precise manner. A well-structured and understandable questionnaire design helps the survey participants to comprehend and accurately answer the questions. For more insights, you can also read our article on writing good survey questions. This will help you avoid skewed data and obtain valid results that provide a solid basis for decision-making.

Create an Online Questionnaire – Benefits

Online questionnaires offer many advantages over traditional paper or telephone surveys. For one, they are cost-effective, as there are no printing or shipping costs. They also allow for quick distribution and data collection. With the right survey tools, you can even analyze results in real-time. Additionally, online questionnaires allow you to reach larger and more diverse target audiences, leading to more representative results.

If you want to get started right away, here are some helpful free survey templates. Online questionnaires offer greater flexibility and the ability to reach a wider and more diverse audience, ensuring more representative outcomes.

Step 1: Define the Goals and Target Audience for Your Online Questionnaire

Before you create an online questionnaire, it is essential to define clear goals and a suitable target audience. These initial steps lay the foundation for the entire questionnaire and help achieve valid and targeted results.

Why Clear Goals Are Important

Every questionnaire should have a specific goal. Are you trying to find out how satisfied your customers are with a particular product? Or do you want to learn more about the needs of potential customers? Your goals will determine what types of questions are asked and how in-depth the answers need to be. Without clear goals, the questionnaire may end up being superficial, and the collected data may not be useful. For more tips on formulating your research question, click here.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Target Group

The target group is just as important as the questions themselves when you create an online questionnaire. If your questionnaire is directed at the wrong people, the results will likely be irrelevant. When selecting your target audience, ensure that the participants have the necessary knowledge or experience to provide meaningful answers. Online tools, like the one from resonio, allow you to specifically target certain groups based on criteria such as age, gender, or country, ensuring the most accurate results.

Step 2: Choosing the Right Question Types for Your Online Questionnaire

Choosing the right question types is a crucial step when you create an online questionnaire. Different types of questions serve various purposes and impact the quality of the data you collect. A balanced mix of open-ended questions and closed-ended questions can help you gather both insightful and comprehensive responses.

Different Types of Questions: Open-Ended and Closed-Ended

Closed-ended questions:
These questions provide respondents with predetermined answer options (e.g., Yes/No, multiple-choice). They are easy to analyze and give you a quick overview of participants’ opinions. However, they limit responses to the available options and do not allow for detailed insights.

Open-ended questions:
These questions allow respondents to answer freely. They are particularly useful when you want to gain deeper insights into participants’ thoughts or feelings. However, open-ended questions are more challenging and time-consuming to analyze.

Striking a Balance Between Simplicity and Depth When Creating Your Online Questionnaire

A well-designed online questionnaire should balance closed and open-ended questions. Closed questions are great for collecting quick, quantifiable data, while open-ended questions provide detailed qualitative insights. It is essential not to overload participants with too many open-ended questions, as this can lead to respondent fatigue and lower response rates.

Finding the right balance between simplicity and depth helps you gather both quick insights and valuable details without overwhelming the participants.

Step 3: Avoid Bias and Distortion When Designing the Questionnaire

When designing a questionnaire, it is essential to avoid biases and distortions, as they can skew participants’ answers and affect the quality of the collected data. Some of the most common bias effects include the halo effect and acquiescence bias. It is essential to be aware of these phenomena and reduce their impact through proper questionnaire design.

What Is Bias and Why Is It Problematic?

Bias refers to systematic errors that can occur when collecting data, leading to skewed results. This can be caused by the wording of the questions or the order of the answer options. Such distortions result in answers that do not reflect participants’ actual opinions but are influenced by external factors.

The Halo Effect

The halo effect occurs when the assessment of a single characteristic of a person or thing influences the perception of other characteristics. In a questionnaire, this could lead to one question’s response affecting how subsequent questions are answered. For example, if a question is phrased particularly positively, it may lead participants to respond more positively to following questions.

Example of the Halo Effect in a Questionnaire:

Imagine you are conducting a survey about customer satisfaction with a new smartphone model. One of the first questions in the questionnaire is:

Question 1:
How satisfied are you with the design of the smartphone?

• Very satisfied
• Satisfied
• Neutral
• Dissatisfied
• Very dissatisfied

Since the design of the smartphone is particularly striking and well-received, many participants give a very positive rating, such as “Very satisfied.” The positive feelings about the design can now lead participants to rate other, less noticeable aspects of the smartphone more positively as well.

Question 2:
How satisfied are you with the battery life of the smartphone?

• Very satisfied
• Satisfied
• Neutral
• Dissatisfied
• Very dissatisfied

Even if the battery life is objectively not as impressive, participants might still give a higher rating, like “Satisfied” or even “Very satisfied,” due to the positive mood created by the design in Question 1. This is a classic example of the Halo Effect: the positive perception of the design overshadows other aspects of the product, potentially skewing subsequent ratings.

The Halo Effect shows that the evaluation of a standout characteristic, like design, can unintentionally influence the assessment of other, less related features, such as battery life.

How to Minimize the Halo Effect

There are several effective strategies to minimize this effect when you create an online questionnaire:

1. Neutral and Clear Wording: Phrase the questions as neutrally as possible to avoid implying any judgments or biases. Avoid using loaded terms that might lead respondents in a specific direction.
2. Ask Questions Independently: Ensure that questions are independent of one another. For example, if a question evaluates a person or product, subsequent questions should not directly link to it to avoid any influence.
3. Randomize the Question Order: By randomizing the order of the questions, you prevent earlier responses from influencing later ones. This reduces the likelihood of the halo effect impacting subsequent questions.
4. Use Neutral Transitions: Include brief explanations or neutral transitions between question blocks to redirect respondents and focus their attention on a new topic. This helps to prevent answers from being influenced by earlier questions.
5. Evaluate Different Attributes Separately: When asking about multiple attributes of a person, product, or service, ensure they are evaluated separately and that the answer options differ significantly.
6. Ensure Anonymity: Respondents are often more likely to rate people or products more favorably if they believe their responses can be identified. Ensuring anonymity helps obtain honest, less biased responses.

Acquiescence Bias

Acquiescence bias, also known as the “yes-saying tendency,” occurs when respondents tend to agree with questions, regardless of their actual stance. This bias is particularly problematic in yes/no or agree/disagree questions, potentially skewing the results.

How to Minimize Acquiescence Bias

There are several methods to minimize acquiescence bias and collect more accurate responses:

1. Balance Positive and Negative Statements: Incorporate both positively and negatively worded statements to encourage respondents to think more critically about their answers. This forces them to provide more differentiated responses rather than automatically agreeing.
2. Use Scales with Equal Options: Instead of simple yes/no questions, use scales that offer respondents neutral or middle options, such as “agree,” “neutral,” “disagree.” This promotes deliberate choice and reduces the likelihood of automatic agreement.
3. Vary the Wording: Change the phrasing and order of similar questions to encourage respondents to consider each question independently. This prevents them from falling into a pattern of responding automatically.
4. Avoid Leading Questions: Avoid questions that imply a preferred answer or subtly nudge respondents towards a particular response. Neutral wording ensures that participants don’t feel guided toward a particular answer.
5. Include Control Questions: Introduce control questions that contain opposite statements. This helps to identify inconsistent or biased responses.
6. Create a Trustworthy, Neutral Environment: Ensure that the questionnaire doesn’t imply social expectations or desired answers. An anonymous survey fosters honest responses and minimizes acquiescence bias.

Other Common Biases to Watch Out for When Creating an Online Questionnaire

In addition to the halo effect and acquiescence bias, there are other common biases that frequently occur in surveys and questionnaires, which can distort the results. Here are some of the most common:

1. Social Desirability Bias: Respondents tend to provide answers they believe are socially acceptable or expected, especially on sensitive topics where they might not respond honestly to portray themselves in a better light.

Avoidance: Ensure anonymity and carefully word sensitive questions to reduce the pressure to provide “socially acceptable” answers.

2. Priming Effect: The priming effect occurs when a question or prompt in the survey influences how respondents answer subsequent questions. The first question can unconsciously trigger thoughts or attitudes that affect later responses.

Avoidance: Use a randomized order of questions or groupings when designing your questionnaire to minimize the influence of earlier questions on later ones.

3. Anchoring Effect: The anchoring effect occurs when respondents are heavily influenced by a previous piece of information when answering a question. For example, mentioning a price in an earlier question can influence the evaluation of a later price.

Avoidance: Avoid suggestive pre-information or position questions in a way that they do not include information that could influence other questions.

4. Question Wording Bias: When you create an online questionnaire, the way a question is phrased can significantly influence the respondent’s answer. Leading or unclear phrasing often results in skewed responses.

Avoidance: Ensure that your questions are clear, concise, and neutral, without implied judgments or tendencies.

5. Order Bias: Order bias occurs when the position of a question or answer option influences responses. Survey participants tend to choose earlier or middle options more frequently than later ones.

Avoidance: Use randomized sequences of answer options or alter the question order in different versions of the questionnaire.

6. Confirmation Bias: This occurs when respondents favor information that confirms their existing beliefs or opinions, while ignoring contradictory information.

Avoidance: Use neutral questions that do not contain biased assumptions.

7. Hindsight Bias: Hindsight bias occurs when respondents present past events as more predictable than they actually were. This distorts the objective assessment of past events.

Avoidance: Ask about current beliefs or opinions, and avoid retrospective questions that may promote hindsight bias.

By recognizing and avoiding these bias effects, you can significantly improve the quality and reliability of your survey data.

Step 4: Structuring and Designing Your Online Questionnaire

The structure and design of your questionnaire play a crucial role in how easily respondents can understand and answer the questions. A clear and well-designed questionnaire increases the likelihood that participants will complete the survey and provide accurate responses.

Logical Sequence of Questions

When you create an online questionnaire, it is important to arrange the questions in a logical order that helps participants follow the survey flow. Start with simple, general questions to introduce respondents to the topic. More complex or sensitive questions should be asked later, after respondents have already engaged with the subject.

A typical structure in questionnaire design might look like this:

1. General questions or demographic information
2. Questions related to the survey topic
3. More detailed or specific questions

This structure prevents participants from feeling overwhelmed and ensures they gradually approach more challenging questions.

Transitions Between Questions

When you create an online questionnaire, the transitions between questions should be smooth, so the questionnaire doesn’t appear disjointed or disorganized. Abrupt changes between different topic areas can confuse respondents and reduce their motivation to complete the survey. Group similar questions together, and use brief introductions to introduce new sections.

The Importance of Length When Creating an Online Questionnaire

Another important aspect of questionnaire design is the length of the survey. Long questionnaires often result in higher dropout rates or less thoughtful answers. Keep the questionnaire as short as possible without omitting essential information. If in doubt, you can conduct a pretest to check if the survey length is appropriate.

Through a well-structured design and thoughtful layout, you can create a successful survey that keeps participants engaged and leads to accurate responses.

Step 5: Conducting a Pretest and Gathering Feedback for Your Questionnaire

Before you officially launch your questionnaire, it is important to conduct a pretest and gather feedback. This step helps you identify potential weaknesses or misunderstandings in the questionnaire and ensures the quality of the collected data.

Why You Should Conduct a Pretest

After you create an online questionnaire, it’s advisable to run a pretest. A pretest is a trial run of your questionnaire with a small group of participants similar to your target audience. The goal is to identify any weak points, such as unclear questions, poor wording, or technical issues. The pretest gives you the opportunity to improve the questionnaire before presenting it to a broader audience. This ensures the questionnaire is easy to understand, and you receive the responses you need.

Typical questions to ask after a pretest:

• Did the participants understand all the questions?
• Were there any questions that were confusing or led to misunderstood answers?
• Was the questionnaire completed in a reasonable amount of time?

Using Feedback to Improve Your Questionnaire Design

The feedback from pretest participants is especially valuable for optimizing the questionnaire. Ask the testers for honest feedback on the length, clarity, and structure of the questions. Review the comments and consider how you can adjust the questions to avoid misunderstandings and make the questionnaire more user-friendly.

Technical issues should also be considered in the pretest. Test the questionnaire on different devices (desktop, tablet, smartphone) to ensure it displays correctly and is easy to use across platforms.

The pretest and collected feedback help to enhance the quality of your questionnaire, minimizing distortions and potential misunderstandings.

Step 6: Create an Online Questionnaire with resonio and Avoid Bias

If you want to create an online questionnaire, resonio is the ideal platform to simplify the entire process—from design to data analysis. resonio provides you with a user-friendly tool and direct access to a global community of over 6 million potential survey participants. This allows you to quickly and accurately gather responses from the right target audience while minimizing bias effects.

Benefits of Using resonio for Professional, Bias-Free Questionnaire Design

With resonio, you can quickly and effectively create your online questionnaire while benefiting from a range of features that also help to reduce bias effects such as the halo effect or acquiescence bias:

• Survey Creation Templates: resonio offers a wide selection of pre-made survey templates that you can customize with just a few clicks to suit your needs. This saves time and allows you to get started quickly without worrying about bias caused by poorly worded questions.
• Flexible Question Types and Logic Functions: With resonio, you can combine various question types—from multiple-choice to open-ended questions and Likert scales. Thanks to the built-in logic functions, you can design the questionnaire to respond dynamically to participant answers. This helps reduce bias by ensuring relevant and well-matched questions are presented.
• Targeted Audience Selection: resonio provides access to a global community where you can filter survey participants based on demographic criteria such as age, gender, or country. You can also use free screening questions to further segment your audience, ensuring that your questionnaire is answered by the most appropriate participants. This helps avoid distortions caused by an unsuitable target group.
• Real-Time Analysis and Automated Reports: resonio allows you to track responses in real time and analyze the results instantly. You can quickly spot any signs of bias or unusual response patterns. Additionally, the platform offers automated reports that you can easily export.
• No Monthly Fees: One major advantage of resonio is its flexible pricing model. There are no monthly subscription fees—you only pay per survey you create. This means you can use resonio exactly when you need it, without committing to long-term contracts or incurring extra costs.

Conclusion: Successfully Create an Online Questionnaire and Achieve Valid Results

A well-designed online questionnaire is the key to obtaining precise and reliable data that helps you make informed decisions. By setting clear goals, selecting the right target audience, avoiding bias and distortions, and designing a logical and appealing questionnaire, you lay the foundation for valid results.

With the right tools, such as resonio, you can simplify the questionnaire creation process and make it more efficient. resonio helps you quickly and effectively create surveys, find suitable participants, and analyze the results in real-time. This provides you with valuable insights that help you achieve your objectives.

Whether you’re creating a questionnaire for product research, a UX survey, social research, market research, or other research goals, resonio has the right tools to help you successfully conduct your surveys and gather meaningful data from a diverse and global pool of participants.

FAQ on Creating an Online Questionnaire