Research Tips

Make Directions Explicit

Survey respondents are expected to do a wide range of things. This may include marking boxes or writing in words or numbers on a paper survey, or choosing items from a pull-down menu on a Web survey. The people who design surveys generally have a clear understanding of what type of response they expect for each question, but unfortunately, that isn’t always so clear to survey respondents. For example, a respondent faced with a list of choices may not know whether to choose only one response or all that apply. Similarly, a respondent who is asked to rank a list of items may not know whether to rank the entire list or only his or her top few choices. In these and other situations, it’s important to give explicit instructions about the response expected.