How do you set up a survey for your thesis?

Step-by-step plan for drawing up your survey

To create a survey, complete the following steps:

• Define the purpose: Define the purpose of your survey and the information you want to collect.
• Design questions: Formulate clear, unbiased questions that will provide you with the right information.
• Choose the right survey format: Decide whether it will be an online, telephone, in-person, or written survey.
• Select the target group: Determine the specific group of people you want to survey. Also make sure you get the right sample.
• Do a pilot: Test the survey on a small group to identify any problems.
• Collect data: Conduct the survey with the selected target group.
• Analyze the results: Process and interpret the collected data.
• Report: Present the findings and conclusions in your results chapter.

Which survey format is best for me?

The choice of survey format for your thesis depends on several factors, including the nature of your research, the type of information you want to collect, your target group and the available resources. Here we list the advantages and disadvantages of the common survey forms:

Online survey

Telephone survey

Personal survey (face-to-face):

Written survey:

When choosing the best survey format, it is important to consider the nature of your research questions, your available time and resources, and the characteristics of your target group. Therefore, it can be really useful to run a pilot to address potential challenges before distributing the full survey.

Pay attention to reliability and validity

Reliability and validity play a crucial role when drawing up your survey for research or thesis.

To ensure reliability, administer the questionnaire consistently and avoid random errors during data analysis. With validity it is essential to operationalize concepts correctly, so that you actually measure what you intend. Also make sure that your sample is representative of your target group, so that your results are generalizable.

These aspects are very important to be able to draw reliable conclusions for your research or thesis based on the survey results.

Which online tools can you use for your survey?

There are several survey tools available for conducting research and collecting data for your thesis. Here we provide a number of tools that you can use for your survey:

Google Forms

SurveyMonkey

Typeform

Microsoft Forms

Which methods can I use for my question?

When creating questions for a survey, you can use different methods to gather information. Some common methods are:

• Closed questions: These are questions where the respondent has limited choices, such as multiple choice questions or yes/no questions. Yes/no questions are also called dichotomous questions. Closed or dichotomous questions are useful for standardized answers and easy analysis.
• Open questions: These questions give the respondent the freedom to answer in detail. It offers more depth and insight, but can also be more time-consuming in analysis.
• Scale questions: Respondents are asked to indicate their opinion or feelings on a scale. The Likert scale is often used for this, where you indicate on a score from 1 to 5 to what extent you agree with a statement. It makes it possible to measure the intensity of beliefs or attitudes.
• Matrix questions: These questions are used to measure multiple items in a similar way. It can make the survey clearer, but too many matrix questions can be tiring for the respondent.
• Ranked questions: Ask respondents to place items in a specific order based on their preference or importance.
• The choice of a particular method depends on the nature of your research questions, the type of information desired and the ease of analysis. Combining different question methods can therefore be effective in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Tips for your survey

Provide a good introduction: Start by mentioning yourself and the reason for your survey. Provide clear instructions and mention important details such as the estimated completion time and the anonymity of participation.

• Base your survey on your theory: Use the theoretical insights from your literature. Operationalize theoretical concepts into measurable terms for your research. This process, also called operationalization, requires an operational schedule as a tool.
• Gather relevant background information: Ask about socio-demographic variables, such as age and education level, to ensure the representativeness of your sample.
• Use clear language without abbreviations: Avoid abbreviations and jargon to ensure that respondents understand your questions.
• Make sure questions are clearly worded: Avoid questions that require respondents to think, as this can affect the reliability of your results.
• Be specific and avoid multiple questions: Formulate questions as specifically as possible to avoid confusion. Also avoid multiple questions, which ask two questions in one, to ensure clarity for respondents.
• Limit open-ended questions: Although open-ended questions can be useful for additional clarification, limit their use as they make comparability of results difficult.
• Avoid leading questions and opinions: Keep survey questions neutral to avoid influencing respondents. Guiding questions can affect the reliability of your results.
• Think about the order of questions: Go from broad to specific questions and group relevant questions together to create a natural order.
• Vary answer orders: Avoid a preference for the first or last answer by varying the order of answers.
• Determine the correct length of your survey: Make sure your survey is not too long, so as not to discourage respondents.
• Use filter or skip logic: This is a method of moving the respondent through the survey based on their previous answers. It provides a personalized survey experience.
• Test your survey: Have a number of people from your research population complete your questionnaire to identify any uncertainties and optimize your survey.
• Remember the appendices: Don't forget to include the instructions and questionnaire in the appendices of your thesis or research report.
• Also check our tips for writing your research method and supporting it on our page about drawing up the research method.

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