Avoid using big words, complicated words, and words that could have multiple meanings. Your question should be short, simple, and clear.

Some concepts may mean different things to different people. Try to be as specific as possible when you ask questions. For example, instead of asking “Do you exercise regularly?” you could ask “How many days per week, on average, do you exercise?” This gives you a more precise, objective answer.

Another way to deal with broad concepts that mean different things to different people is by breaking them down into multiple, more tangible questions.

“Customer satisfaction” is a common topic that businesses want to explore, and it's a big question packed with smaller ideas. Instead of asking “How Satisfied Are You with This Product?”, you could instead ask people to give their opinion on three separate statements (asking them to weigh in on a scale of “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”):

I enjoy using this product.

This product meets my needs.

I would purchase from this company again.

Sometimes, researchers’ opinions can seep into survey questions, subtly encouraging respondents to answer in a certain way and compromising survey results.

For example, asking “Do you think the school should cut the gym budget to pay crossing guards?” would likely prompt a different answer than asking, “Should the school employ crossing guards to protect our children?” even though both questions are related to the same topic.

Each of your survey questions should ask one thing, and one thing only. It seems simple enough, but many survey writers fall into the “double-barreled” question trap. For example, “Do you eat fruits & veggies on a daily basis?” can actually be a hard question to answer. What if somebody eats just fruits or just veggies? There’s not a clear way for them to answer this question. A better option is to split the question into two separate ones.

You can check your survey for double-barreled questions by looking for words like “and” or “or” in your questions.

One simple way to take your survey from good to great is by changing your Yes/No and multiple choice questions to interval questions. Make a statement, and ask people to answer it on a 1-5 or 1-7 scale, like “Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree, or Strongly Agree.” You’ll instantly upgrade the level of analysis you can perform on your results.