Survey Design Tidbit #11: Screening Questions

Hello,

If you are looking for a specific group of participants, then it’s important to set up screening questions at the beginning of your surveys.

These are a few reasons why:

  1. You’ll ask the right people. If you know the characteristics of your target audience, screening questions will ensure that your criteria is met.
  2. You’ll save resources. If you offer survey incentives, would you want to waste rewards on unqualified respondents? Also, would you like to spend your time filtering out useless responses from your dataset?
  3. You’ll remove bias. Some people may not be aware of a specific topic, while others may have a conflict of interest; these conditions can influence their responses.

Remember that not all surveys need screening questions. But if you should need to set them up, just keep in mind what I mentioned above because it’ll save you a lot of hassle.

Have a wonderful weekend! Cheers!

Eduardo E Sierra

I am a freelance marketing consultant. I design practical surveys and carry out data analysis for clients ranging from small businesses and startups to multinational corporations.