The story goes that when confronted by apparent inconsistencies in his position the influential economist John Maynard Keynes said, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir”?

Recently I've been involved in a number of salary surveys. Conducting this type of research introduces a unique set of challenges. Here are three such challenges and ways to deal with them.

The manner in which you organize your questions is a key tool that you can use to engage the respondent and ultimately improve your response rate.

As a professional marketing researcher I’ll admit I haven’t always been a fan of online surveys. My introduction was not a happy one. I had just contacted a client to ask about our ongoing annual research study. I was told that my services were no longer required as they were now using SurveyMonkey. What the heck was a Survey Monkey? My worst fears had come true…I’d been replaced by a monkey. Why couldn’t they call it Survey Einstein? I’d be okay with that. Maybe Mom was right. I ...

I am often asked, “how many people do we need to interview”? This usually prompts me to ask three questions:

As Yogi Berra once said, “if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else.” If you’re a respondent filling out a survey and you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll likely be looking for the nearest off-ramp before you’ve completed the questionnaire.

One of the key considerations in the development of a questionnaire is the proper wording of your questions. As you develop your questionnaire, continually ask yourself, “will the respondent understand this question? Is the language appropriate?” Always remember to keep it simple and avoid complicated language. As well, avoid ambiguous and vague words.

I’ll admit it…I haven’t always been a fan of online surveys. My introduction was not a happy one. I had just contacted a client to ask about our ongoing annual research study. I was told that my services were no longer required as they were now using Survey Monkey. What the heck was a Survey Monkey? My worst fears had come true…I’ve been replaced by a monkey. Why couldn’t they call it Survey Einstein? I’d be okaywith that. Maybe Mom was right. I should have been an accountant.

In my previous blog I gave you some examples of words and questions to avoid in the construction of your next survey questionnaire. Here’s the second installment.

Here’s a short list of words and questions that you will want to avoid in the construction of your next questionnaire.