Re: Fax back surveys -- any advice?

[Beverly Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL>]

Kim Fawcett <kfawcett -at- DY4 -dot- COM> asked some questions about
surveys. I'm just going to address one:

> C) Should I use yes/no type questions, good/average/bad questions,
>     agree/disagree questions, or what-are-your-opinions-on... questions?

I'm speaking strictly from the viewpoint of someone who likes to
fill out questionnaires and surveys. I hate yes/no and
agree/disagree questions. They make me feel restricted. If a
survey has too many of those kinds of questions, and I find that
my opinions aren't falling cleanly into one or the other, I will
toss the survey in frustration.

Nor do I like text-only surveys that ask me to write out my
opinions. Ideally, I like a rating scale method combined with a
few lines where I can jot down a clarification or explanation
for my answer. This means having a few lines of space following
each question, not a single so-what-are-your-comments block at
the end of the survey. (Though a space for those kinds of
comments at the end is nice, too; just not *instead* of the
other.)

The purpose of the survey and how you plan to use the results
will ultimately dictate the structure of the questions.

   =*=   Beverly Parks -- bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil   =*=
   =*=     Huachuca : That's pronounced "wah-CHEW-ka"     =*=
   =*= "Unless otherwise stated, all comments are my own. =*=
   =*=   I am not representing my employer in any way."   =*=