Effective Survey Design for Research: Asking the Right Questions to Get the Data You Need
If you plan to use a survey as a means to collect evidence for your SoTL project, then you need to read this guide. Surveys may seem a simple and easy way to collect data, but they can be surprisingly difficult to design well. Be sure not to skip over the resources at the end! Note that while the examples in this guide feature surveys of faculty members, the design principles apply just as well to surveys of students.
The method of survey research is familiar and accessible, but this familiarity can obscure the careful decision-making required to design effective surveys. This guide identifies the key decisions involved with designing surveys for research purposes. Answering these questions will help to ensure that your survey collects the data you need.