Order, layout, privacy and piloting
Keep every question on purpose
- Go through each question and ask: does this help answer the investigative question? If not, remove it.
- A shorter, focused questionnaire gets more and better responses than a long, rambling one.
Order of questions
- Start with easy, general questions to settle the respondent in.
- Put sensitive or personal questions later, once some trust is built.
- Group related questions together and follow a logical flow.
- Place filter questions before the questions that depend on them.
Layout and clarity
- One idea per question, in plain language.
- Give clear instructions ("tick one", "select all that apply").
- Leave enough space for open answers, and make options easy to select.
- Keep it a sensible length — too long and people give up or rush.
Privacy and ethics
- Make it anonymous where possible, and say so — this improves honesty on sensitive topics.
- Only ask for information you actually need.
- Let people skip sensitive questions ("Prefer not to say").
Pilot (trial) it first
- Before the real survey, test the questionnaire on a few people.
- Watch for questions they find confusing, ambiguous or awkward, and options that do not fit their answer.
- Revise the wording and options, then run the full survey.
You are surveying students about canteen use. You have questions on: (a) how often they buy food, (b) their year level, (c) how much they spend, and (d) whether they buy food at all. Put them in a sensible order and describe how you would pilot the survey.
Step 1 — Order the questions
- Start general and easy: (b) year level.
- Filter first: (d) do you buy food from the canteen? — Yes/No.
- Then the dependent questions, for buyers only: (a) how often, then (c) how much they spend.
So: (b) → (d) → (a) → (c), with (a) and (c) shown only to those who answered "Yes" to (d).
Step 2 — Pilot it
Give the draft to about five students first. Watch for any question they hesitate over or read twice, and check every student's answer fits an option. For example, if a student says they "sometimes" buy food but there is no such option, add or reword one.
Step 3 — Revise and run
Test yourself
Practice by grade
One question each at Achieved, Merit and Excellence. Have a go, then compare with the model answer.
Give one reason why sensitive questions should be placed near the end of a questionnaire.
Explain why you should pilot a questionnaire before using it, and what you would look for.
You are designing a short questionnaire to answer: 'How do Year 12 students at our school use their free periods?' Outline how you would order the questions, ensure privacy, and refine the questionnaire, justifying your choices.