How to Write an Effective Poll
Posted: Sunday, May 09, 2010
by Dianne Lehmann
Artisan Jewelry from SyZyGy
Do you get a lot of "unable to answer" responses to your polls? There are many reasons why a respondent might answer that way, but frequently it is a poorly worded question and/or poorly selected choices. There is one poll that had a one word questions and a list of choices that was not all encompassing. Granted, we are limited on SearchWarp to a specific maximum number of choices, but if one of the choices had been "none of the above," then I would not have had to select the "unable to answer" option. I find myself selecting that last option more often than not.
1. Write a Good Question
As I mentioned above, the phrasing of your question is critical. It should be as specific as you can make it and yet still be simple enough to answer with just a couple of words. And actually, the more exact you make your question, the easier it becomes to answer with simple options.
An example of a fairly well worded question (pat myself on the back) might be a poll I asked regarding purchasing ready-made coffee drinks: How many times each week do you purchase a specialty coffee and/or regular coffee drink? It is specific and limiting in the kinds of responses that a person could make to it were they simply answering the question and not responding to a poll.
It's important too, that you put yourself in the place of your respondents. Do not just think about the question from your point of view. Try to look at it as another person might.
Another good question is a poll that is running right now: What would you say is your current body weight status? This question is short and to the point and limiting in the kinds of responses that can be made to it. The options for response are also well thought out, but there could be a couple more added that would eliminate the need for the "unable to answer" option and that brings me to the next bit of advice.
2. Choose Your Options Carefully
This is where you really need to put yourself in someone else's shoes. You have to think very logically when choosing your options so as to cover the majority of people that might choose to respond. For my coffee question, I used the following options: never, once, twice, three times, 4 times, five times, and more than five times. I selected five as a "limit" working from the standpoint that a lot of people work five days out of the week. But beyond that, the options were concise and to the point.
The question about your current body weight status offers these options:
I am below my desirable weight
I am at my desirable weight
I am within 10 lbs (4.5 kgs) above my desirable weight
I am 10-20 lbs (4.5-9 kgs) above my desirable weight
I am 21-30 lbs (9.5-13.6 kgs) above my desirable weight
I am 31-50 lbs (14-23 kgs) abouve my desirable weight
I am more than 50 lbs above my desirable weight
When I checked in on this poll, the "unable to answer" option had been selected by one out of 29 total responses. To help eliminate this, I might suggest that the following had also been options:
I do not know my current weight
I do not know what my desirable weight is
It will be impossible to completely eliminate the "unable to answer" response because there is no way to provide for all the variables of an extremely varied populace. But with a little thought, you can get a much better reading on what it is you want to know.
3. Impartiality is Key
Try to keep your choices "impartial." By that I mean, do not try to "force" a certain outcome by leaning your options in one direction over another. Doing that makes it a sure bet that you will get a lot of "unable to answer" responses. And it can become annoying to the respondent when it becomes obvious that you are just looking to justify your position.
I believe the polling function on SearchWarp is a very valuable tool. It is helpful in writing our articles and for simply satisfying our innate curiosity. By phrasing your questions carefully and selecting your options with logic and an unbiased viewpoint, you will be able to make best use of this wonderful feature.
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