Survey Research & Design

Creating a Successful Survey

With more departments/people wanting to collect data, the frequency of surveys presents a challenge to maintaining good response rates.

Tips & Tricks

To avoid survey fatigue and maximize the usefulness of the data generated from these surveys, make certain that…

When building your survey

• Your questions cannot be answered by existing sources of data or collected through other alternative means of data collection.
• Survey objectives are clearly defined and the study population is identified.

When considering your audience

• Potential respondents are not overloaded with too many survey requests in a short amount of time.
• The value of the survey is well communicated to the survey population.
• Your instrument is well designed and pre-tested and keeps your respondents engaged throughout the survey.
• Your timeline is reasonable and surveys to students are not being sent during busy times (exams, study days, periods of peak workloads) or during vacations or holidays.

To encourage participation

• Data security is promised and maintained.
• If promised, confidentiality of responses and privacy of the survey participants are safeguarded.