Writing Good Questions:
What should be done:
1. The question
should focus on a single issue or topic.
2. The question
should be brief.
3. The question
should be interpreted the same what by all respondents.
4. The question
should use the respondent’s core vocabulary.
5. The question
should be as grammatically simple as possible.
What should NOT be done:
1. Should not assume criteria that are not obvious
or stated.
2. Should not be beyond the respondent’s ability
or experience.
3. Should not use a specific example to represent
a general case.
4. Should not ask for specifics when only
generalities will be remembered.
5. Should not require respondents to guess about a
generality.
6. Should not be too detailed to be
remembered.
7. Should not use words that overstate the case
(use neutral terms).
8. Should not have ambiguous wording.
9. Should not be “doubled-barreled.”
10. Should not lead to a particular answer (be
leading).
11. Should not have “loaded” words or phrasing.
Source: Burns & Bush 2003. Marketing Research (4th Ed.)