A high survey response rate/having many survey respondents is crucial because it leads to representative survey results, decreased bias, statistical significance, and actionable insights. However, many people do not like to complete surveys. Fortunately, multiple methods can increase the number of survey responses, although some methods have potential drawbacks.
State Your Purpose
The purpose should be written using positive language. Stating the survey’s purpose encourages more people to complete it. People are also more likely to complete a survey if they realize that responses could improve something they care about. Finally, ensuring that survey respondents know that an organization will consider their suggestions can lead to a higher survey completion rate.
Explain How You’ll Use the Results
Publicizing the use of surveys increases the number of responses. This information lets people know they are actually making a difference.
Provide Incentives
Incentives help expand the number of people who respond. An incentive could take the form of money or a gift — for instance, all respondents could be given a small gift for completing the survey and/or an incentive could be given randomly to a respondent or a small number of respondents.
However, incentives are not always necessary, and they could skew the survey sample and results. In addition, incentives that every survey respondent would receive could result in many bots, automated programs that compromise survey results.
Make the Survey Simple
A survey should be simple and straightforward, since most people would like to spend at most 10 minutes completing a survey. A low response rate can result from a survey that is lengthy and/or uses complex language.
However, the survey should not be oversimplified, as survey simplification could skew results. A simplified survey might not ask every question that could advance the survey’s purpose.
Include Multiple-Choice Questions
Survey questions should include multiple-choice options. People may be more likely to complete a questionnaire if they choose between answers rather than write their own responses. Multiple-choice questions also make it easier to analyze survey results.
A survey also could include open-ended questions. If a survey only has multiple-choice questions, then answers would be restricted to the survey administrator’s own assumptions. Open-ended questions give survey administrators more understanding of what respondents think.
To compromise, have a multiple-choice question with an option for “Other,” where people can write their own answers. An example question is: What is your favorite activity on trips?
- Visit museums
- Go to a beach
- Go on tours (i.e. – walking, bus, boat) of cities
- Participate in outdoor activities
- Dine in luxurious restaurants
- Enjoy nightlife
- Other (please specify): _____
A final survey question could be: “What else would you like to share?” with an open-ended response. Then, respondents could write whatever they like.
Miriam Edelman, MPA, MSSW, is a Washington, D.C.-based policy professional. Her experience includes policy work for Congress. Miriam’s undergraduate degree is from Barnard College, Columbia University, with majors in political science and urban studies. She has a master’s in public administration from Cornell University, where she was inducted into the national honorary society for public administration. She has a master’s of science in social work (focusing on policy) from Columbia University. She is a commissioner of the DC Commission on Persons with Disabilities. Miriam aims to continue her career in public service. She is especially interested in democracy, civic education, District of Columbia autonomy, diversity, health policy, women’s issues, and disabilities.
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