What is an example of a questionnaire?

A well-designed and considered questionnaire can be the difference between success and failure. 

Customers have wants and needs that are constantly changing and evolving. It’s no longer enough to be reactive when situations arise. Now, your customers expect you to solve problems before they become problems.

Questionnaires make it possible to better understand the wants and needs of your customers so you’re in a position to meet them.

This article walks you through what a questionnaire is, the pros & cons, and how to properly design them so you can unlock deep insights.

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Surveys vs questionnaires

Over time, surveys and questionnaires have gotten mixed up and are used interchangeably. They’re not the same thing. The difference is subtle but important.

A questionnaire is a list of questions used to collect data about someone or something. It’s not used to do statistical analysis or find trends and patterns. An example, would be when you sign up for a gym or go for a checkup and have to answer a series of questions about your current physical condition.

The answers you provide are used to understand your overall health, assess risk, and in some cases help find or diagnose issues. It’s not being used as part of a larger data set to clarify the bigger picture or find trends in a population.

A survey is a bit different. Instead of looking at individual questionnaires, it’s used to understand trends, do detailed analysis, and reveal deep insights. The key with a survey is that it’s collecting data with the express purpose of analysis.

As you can see, surveys deal with a lot of data which highlights the importance of a solid data governance strategy. What is data governance? In a nutshell, it's a standardized way you handle data to ensure you maintain the quality throughout the entire lifecycle. 

An example would be customer feedback surveys, demographic surveys, market research surveys, NPS surveys, etc. If only one person were to respond to these types of surveys, it would severely limit its usefulness. The more respondents, the easier it is to spot patterns and make informed decisions.

Why do they get mixed up?

Previously, researchers and professional marketers were the main groups who used surveys and questionnaires regularly. They made a clear distinction about what they are and when they were to be used.

With the advent of easy to access survey software, more and more businesses have started to handle their own research. The terms became interchangeable.

A questionnaire is when you ask someone a series of questions and don’t use it for data analysis.

A survey is when you ask someone a series of questions and you use it for data analysis.

For example, if you send an employee a series of questions about the working environment, it’s a questionnaire. When you send out that same questionnaire to 500 employees then compile the data to find trends, it’s a survey.

Make sense?

Good.

Let’s dive into the types of questionnaires.

Types of questionnaires

There are two main types of questionnaires and the one you’ll use depends on what kind of information you want and purpose of that information.

Exploratory questionnaire (qualitative)

These are also known as unstructuredquestionnaires. They’re used to collect qualitative data which is information that can be observed and recorded but isn’t numerical in nature. It’s used to approximate and characterize.

An example of qualitative data would be someone giving your feedback about your writing. They may mention things about the tone, clarity, word choice, etc. it helps you categorize your writing but you can’t attach a number to the feedback.

Exploratory questionnaires are ideal when you’re in the early stages and want to learn more about a topic before designing a solution or hypothesis. For example, if you’re in the early stages of product development and don’t know enough about the market then exploratory questionnaires are ideal.

Formal standardized questionnaire (quantitative)

They’re also known as structured questionnaires. These ones are used to collect quantitative data which is information recorded as a count or numerical value.

The data is quantifiable which means it can be used for mathematical calculations or statistical analysis.  In essence, it answers the question of how much, how many, or how often.

An example of quantitative data would be the answer to the following question, “how old are you?” which requires a numerical reply.

Standardized questionnaires are best used when you’ve already formed an initial hypothesis or built out a prototype for a product. You’ll use it to stress test your assumptions, designs, use cases, etc. before going further with product development. Because of its clear focus, the questions you ask are narrow in scope and solicit specific information.

Just as important as the questionnaire type are the question types you choose.

Questionnaire question types

Not all question types are ideal in every situation. That’s why it’s important to understand the type of questionnaire you’re creating first. With that information, it becomes easier to choose the right question types.

Open ended questions

As the name implies, these questions are open for the respondent to answer with more freedom. Instead of presenting a series of answers choices, the respondent writes as much are as little as they want. This is ideal for exploratory questionnaires which collect qualitative data.

Multiple choice questions

This question presents the respondent with a list of answer options and they can select one or more. The challenge with multiple-choice questions is providing incomplete answer options.

For example, you may ask what industry do you work in and list out 5 of the most common industries. There are more than 5 industries in the world so some people won’t be represented in this situation. A simple solution to this problem is adding an “other” option.

Dichotomous questions

This is a question with only two possible answers. It tends to be a yes or no question but it can also be something like agree/disagree or true/false. Use this when all you need is basic validation without going too deeply into the motivations.  

Scaled questions

Scaled questions are common in questionnaires and are often used to judge the degree of a feeling. This can be used in both exploratory and standardized questionnaires because there are many different types of scaled questions such as:

Pictorial questions

The final type of question used in questionnaires substitutes text for images. Respondents are asked a question and shown pictures to choose from. It usually has a higher response rate than other question types.

Questions to avoid in a questionnaire

While you can ask almost anything in your questionnaire, it may not be a good idea to do so. Some questions may give you poor data while others may stop people from completing the questionnaire.

Here are a few question types to avoid.

Hypothetical questions

A hypothetical question asks a respondent what they would do, think, or feel about a situation that may happen in the future. It’s asking people to talk about their future actions and behavior which we’re notoriously bad at. This kind of question may give you data that can’t be used or will skew your overall understanding of the topic.

Embarrassing or offensive

Even though questionnaires can be anonymous, it’s not a good idea to embarrass or offend the respondent. It may lead to them dropping the questionnaire without completing it or giving you poor answers on purpose. Neither one is a good scenario.

Extreme positive/negative

You don’t want to bias your respondents before they’ve had a chance to form their own opinion on a topic. If a question is presented as extremely positive or negative then it may create a bias that should always be avoided. In the end, your data will be skewed.

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