Some Science Behind Designing Effective Surveys

If you are in charge of a training needs assessment (or any other survey for that matter), you should have a clear understanding of the implications of different scales for the data you gather. Should you rely upon an odd- or even-numbered scale? Should you offer respondents 2, 3, or as many as 9 options per question? And, in the end, does it matter?

Indeed, the numbers behind surveys matter a great deal. Here is the gist of what the experts in survey design say:

• Always use an odd-numbered scale. Even-numbered scales force respondents to agree or disagree; there are no neutrals. Not only does this irk survey participants, but it also does not present rich enough or useful enough data.
• Offer only 5 or 7 options for answers. The 5-point scale will give you fully distributed data across the continuum of possibilities. The 7-point scale will skew the answers to the positive or negative. Make your choice according to the results that will be most helpful to you and your objectives.