Tip! Research project planning

Each survey is a research project. Below you will find a 7-step approach that will help you manage an online survey project.

1. Define survey objective

First, decide what you need to learn. The survey objective should be clearly defined. If you define an objective that is not clear, you risk that your survey results will also be unclear and difficult to understand and interpret.

2. Define sample

Then, define a sample on which you will conduct a survey. Define who will participate in a survey and how big should be the research sample.

3. Select survey method

Select survey method, the way you will conduct responses (direct interview, phone survey, online survey – www, social network, email, NFC, QR code, mobile app, …).

4. Create a survey

Create a survey with questions you will ask during research. An important rule is to select questions that will support the medium you will use (survey method). For example, during a phone survey, you won’t be able to show pictures, and during a web survey, your respondents won’t be able to ask you the question “What do you mean exactly?”. Therefore, it is important, especially in the case of online surveys, to create clear questions and use language (words) that is easy to understand. If you have any doubts if the respondent will be able to understand the word you have used, select another one that is easier to understand.

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5. Test your survey

Test your survey. The last step of building a questionnaire is testing it on a small sample. Try to conduct your test on people with a similar profile to those who will participate in a survey.

6. Conduct a survey and collect responses

Conduct a survey and collect responses. Send your survey to the selected group of respondents. Check your results and send a reminder only to those people who haven’t filled the survey. Remember, don’t send a survey to people who already responded to your survey.

7. Analyse results and create the report

Now you can analyse results and create a report. Analyse collected responses and prepare a final report. Prepare and write down “lessons learned” from your survey research project.