How To Write A Survey

Writing surveys can be lots of fun, especially if you're a naturally curious sort of person. Now you can get answers to all your questions!

Getting Started

First, you need to pick a topic for your survey.

Girl looking up at a lightbulb. Blue background.(CC) by it's life on flickr

  1. Get An Idea

    Get ideas for surveys from your dreams, experiences, the media, conversations, books, and anything else that makes you think! Plus, you can always check our Topic List for inspiration.

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    The topic we choose is Family! With Family as our topic, we are ready to move on to the next step. What kinds of questions would you ask about Family?

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  2. Ask A Specific Question

    Bring focus to your survey by narrowing your topic down. One way to help you narrow your topic is to write one question for your survey -- and then make all the other questions revolve around that. If all your questions don't fit this topic, you can always write another survey!

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    We could ask, How do SmartGirls get along with their parents? Now we can start writing questions about SmartGirls' relationships with their parents and how they get along. What are the different things that make a relationship good or bad?

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  3. Ask Some Really Specific Questions

    You can make an outline the same way you make your survey specific. Ask 4 or 5 questions related to your specific topic. Then put your sections in an order that makes sense.

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    To make our first group, we could ask "What do you do to make sure you have a strong relationship with your parents?" Then, maybe we want to keep our survey balanced, so we ask, "What do your parents do to make sure they have a strong relationship with you?" Keep on going until you have 4 or 5 broad questions like these.

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Next: Writing Questions

How to write a survey:

  1. Getting Started
    How to pick a topic for your survey

  2. Writing Questions
    Question ideas, response types, and response options

  3. Making It Work
    Check it over and make it the best it can be

  4. Submit Your Survey
    Submit your survey to SmartGirl