Survey tip: carefully revise the number of questions and the time needed to complete!

In this article you will quickly learn how to create a well ordered survey which can be filled out in a comfortable ammount of time for the respondent. It is important to realize that with internet survey the respondent can leave at any moment during process of filling out. One of the most frequent reasons is inadequate care or thaught put into it.

What are the most important factors influencing completion time?

• Content quantity (questions and answers)
• Content quality (questions and answers)
• Content type (questions and answers)

Survey Content

The number of questions to use depends on the quantity of information we require. The optimal number of questions for an internet survey is 5 to 10. Too many answers for one question often leads to bad quality and mixed information. The optimum number is 2 to 5 answers to one question.

How do I reduce the number of questions?

• It is better not to offer potential answers of a similiar nature, you need strong contrast.

Survey quality

Questions and the potential answers belonging to them have to be unequivocal. Avoid long and unclear texts that unnecesserily také up the respondent’s time.

How to improve question quality?

• Express both the questions and answers as simply as possible.
• Don‘t use unessasery terms and abbreviations that might confuse the respondent.

Selected the best type of question

A bad choice of question type can easily prolong the respondents completion time.

Imagine the situation where you are asking for level of education the respondent has reached.

Example: Firstly, a multiple choice question.

Please select yor current level of education.

• primary
• GCSEs
• vocational
• A-level
• Bachelor‘s degree
• Master’s degree

Secondly, an optional text field question.

What is your current level of education? Type your answer here:

The first way is not only more comfortable, but also much faster. The second way takes aproximately 10 seconds, five times longer than the first. In cases where the respondent is useing a mobile device, it will take them conciderably longer than a simple selection.

In conclusion

There are a number of factors influencing the time spent on filling out a questionaire (e.g.Internet connection speed). We must bare in mind that you shouldn’t include to many questions in your survey, the type of question has to be selected so it corresponds with the expected information we require and the questions have to be clear and not just easy to answer, But easy to answer quickly.