Most people think conducting a survey is as simple as writing a bunch of questions and asking people to answer them. Easy, right? Well, sort of: it’s a little more complicated than that if you want to collect the best data possible. Don’t worry, though: we’re about to go over some key elements of survey design, starting with the purpose of your survey.

大多数人认为进行问卷调查就像搞一堆问题让人们来回答那么简单。你说简单不？在某种程度上来说的确是的，但如果你想得到最好的数据，就会更复杂了。不过不需要担心，我们将在这里讲一些设计调查问卷的关键要素，从调查问卷的目的开始讲起。

Purpose of a Survey

调查问卷的目的

The first step in designing a good survey is to identify its purpose before you create it. A good survey collects accurate and verifiable data that allow you to make concrete claims. This is easier to do if you have a clear purpose to guide you when deciding what information you want to collect your respondents.

设计一个好的问卷调查的第一步是在你创建它之前就确认它的目的是什么。好的问卷调查搜集的是准确并且可被验证的数据，它们能让你做出具体的声明。如果你在决定从调查对象中搜集什么样的信息时就已经有了一个清晰的目的，那么这个就更容易做到了。

A survey generally helps you do one or more of the following:

调查问卷通常帮助你做以下的事情中的一个或多个：

• describe something;
• describe how things are related;
• explain a relationship; or
• influence something

• 描述某事；
• 描述事物间的联系；
• 解释一个关系；或
• 影响某事

So how do you come up with a nice, well-defined purpose for your survey? Try asking yourself the following questions:

那么到底该如何给你的调查问卷想出一个不错的，定义明确的目的呢？你可以试着问自己如下的问题：

• What are you trying to achieve with your survey?
• What, precisely, do you want to know?
• Why is this important to know?
• Is there other information that could be useful? Why?
• Is conducting a survey the right method for the type of data you’re collecting?

• 你通过这个调查问卷想得到什么？
• 更确切地说，你到底想知道些什么？
• 为什么知道它是很重要的事？
• 有没有什么其它信息也可能有用？为什么？
• 对你想要搜集的数据而言，做一个调查问卷是正确的获得方式么？

To see this process in action, let’s say you’re a media tycoon trying to increase your profits from television subscribers, so you’re interested in the potential returns from expanding to an internet market. You decide the main question and purpose of your survey are:

为了看看这个过程是如何操作的，假设你是个正想要增加电视订阅收益的媒体大亨。你对扩展到互联网市场的潜在收益感兴趣。你确立了你的调查问卷的主要问题和目的是：

After thinking about it, you realize that it would be helpful to get more details, so you ask yourself some of those questions we just suggested:

思考了一会儿之后，你意识到如果能得到更多细节将会更有帮助，所以你问了自己刚刚我们建议你问的问题：

Based on your answers to these questions, you expand the scope of your survey slightly:

根据你对这些问题的回答，你把稍微扩大了一些该调查问卷的范围：

Now you have a nice set of clearly-defined questions that your survey should address. The next step is to choose the best type of survey to help you expand your business.

现在你的调查问卷有了一组很好的，定义明确的问题。下一步就是选择哪种调查问卷对你的生意最有帮助了。

Types of Surveys

调查问卷的类型

Now that you’ve identified the purpose of your survey, you can use this to help you choose a type of survey. When it comes to choosing a survey type, the first big decision you’ll have to make is how you want to distribute your survey to respondents. Surveys can be self-administered or administered.

既然你已经确立了调查问卷的目的，你可以利用它来帮助你选择调查问卷的类型。在选择调查问卷类型这个问题上，你需要作出的第一个重要的决定就是你想用何种方式把它发给你的调查对象。调查问卷可以是自填式的，也可以是代填式的。

Self-Administered and Administered Surveys

自填式和代填式调查问卷

Self-administered simply means that respondents fill out a questionnaire by themselves, whereas administered means that an interviewer asks the questions. Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages, summarized below.

自填式，顾名思义就是调查对象自己来填写调查问卷，而代填式就是由访谈员来问他们问题。下面总结下这两者各自的优缺点。

Self-Administered Surveys

自填式调查问卷

Administered Surveys

代填式调查问卷

The table above mentions the interviewer effect. This is a phenomenon whereby the interviewers themselves influence the responses. This could happen because of the way they ask questions or phrase explanations, or because of another social factor altogether. For example, maybe the interviewer is incredibly good-looking and the respondent unintentionally gives answers that are biased towards impressing the interviewer!

上表提到了访谈员效应。这是一种访谈员自身对于受访结果造成影响的现象。他们问问题的方式，对于解释的叙述方法，或其他社会因素都可能造成这种现象。例如，也许访谈员长得特别好看导致受访者不自觉地给出了偏向于给访谈员留下好印象的答案。

Self-administered and administered surveys are each associated with certain types of surveys, as shown below:

自填式和代填式调查问卷各自关联的特定调查问卷类型如下：

Types of Self-Administered Surveys

自填式调查问卷的类型

Web and Email Surveys

在线及电子邮件式调查问卷

One of the easiest and quickest ways you can conduct a survey is online. You can either have people fill out questionnaires directly on a website or send them a questionnaire via e-mail. There are even survey sites that let you design questionnaire forms, collect data, and analyze responses in real-time at an affordable rate. You’ll find links to a few of these sites in the resources section.

做起来最简便快捷的问卷调查方法之一就是在线式的。你可以让调查对象直接在网站上填写问卷或者通过电子邮件将问卷发送给他们。甚至还有专门的能让你在上面设计问卷表格，实时收集数据并且分析回答的网站，而且价格也可以承受。你可以在相关资源部分中找到几个这样网站的链接.

The downside to all of this convenience is that only regular internet or computer users are likely to fill out your survey.

这些便利包含的缺点就是只有常上网和用电脑的人才可能填写你的调查问卷。

Web and email

在线及电子邮件问卷

Web

在线

Email

电子邮件

Mail Surveys

邮寄式问卷

邮寄式问卷和电子邮件式问卷很类似，不过就是通过邮寄来发送纸质的问卷而已。邮寄能接触到网民以外的人群，但是因为你需要付打印、纸、信封和邮票的钱，所以这种方法更贵一些。也许最后你得到的回复率也会低一些，因为有些人不愿意邮寄任何东西，而不仅仅是你的调查问卷。在调查问卷里附上一个已经写好回邮地址并且贴上邮票的信封经常可以提高回复率，不过会再一次提高你的花费。

Mail surveys are much like email surveys except that you’re sending a paper version of the questionnaire by mail. They aren’t limited to the population of internet users, but they can be more expensive because you have to pay for printing, paper, envelopes, and postage. You may also end up with a lower response rate because some people think it’s a pain to mail anything, not just your survey. Including a pre-addressed, stamped envelope with the survey will often improve your overall response rate, but will, again, increase the overall cost to you.

Mail

邮寄

Types of Administered Surveys

代填式调查问卷

Phone Surveys

电话问卷

Compared to online surveys, phone surveys may take less time for you to collect all the data you need because respondents answer questions immediately. However, if you need to complete a certain number of surveys and most people hang up on you, it might longer to collect data by phone!

和在线问卷相比，也许电话问卷在搜集需要的数据上面花的时间要少一些，因为调查对象是立刻就给出回答的。但是，如果你需要完成指定数目的调查问卷而大部分人都挂你的电话的话，也许用电话来搜集数据反而花的时间更多！

It helps if questions are short and clear so that respondents can easily understand them over the phone. Try also to not take more than 15 to 20 minutes of your respondents’ time (both to be respectful of their time and to avoid losing their attention).

如果问题都简单明了，调查对象能轻松地在电话那头理解它们的话，是有帮助的。同时试着把占用调查对象的时间控制在15到20分钟以内（为了尊重他们的时间并且为了避免失去他们的注意力）

Another thing to keep in mind is that the interviewer and the respondent can’t see each other. This can be both good and bad: good because it lessens the interviewer effect but bad because both parties may miss non-verbal cues.

另外一件需要注意的事情是访谈员和受访者是看不见彼此的。这可以是好事也可以是坏事：好是因为这样减少了访谈员效应，不好是因为双方可能会遗漏掉对话中的非语言暗示。

Face-to-Face Surveys

访问问卷

Unlike phone surveys, face-to-face surveys allow the interviewer and the respondent to see each other’s facial expressions and body language. This can be helpful because the additional physical cues can help the interviewer and the respondent understand better understand each other; however, it can also lead to the respondent being further influenced by the interviewer’s behavior and appearance.

和电话调查不同，访问问卷中访谈员和受访者可以看见彼此的面部表情和肢体语言。这个也许是有用的，因为额外的身体暗示能帮助访谈员和受访者更好地理解彼此。但是，这也能导致受访者更能被访谈员的行为和外貌而影响。

Face-to-face surveys are limited geographically if interviewers and respondents have to meet in person. If they don’t have to meet in person, the surveys can be conducted online using video conferencing software such as Skype or Google Hangouts.

如果访谈员和受访者必须亲自见面的话，访问问卷法就收到了地理位置的限制。如果他们不需要亲自见面的话，问卷调查可以通过在线视频会议软件来进行，比如Skype 或者 Google Hangouts.

Handouts

传单

So far, we’ve talked about self-administered and administered surveys, but one of the most frequently-encountered type of survey is actually a combination of these. Say you want to hand out paper surveys and have people complete and return them immediately. The survey itself is self-administered, but since you have a trained person there who is available to answer questions, it also has features of an administered survey.

到目前为止，我们探讨了代填式和自填式调查问卷，但是最常见的问卷调查法之一其实是这两者的结合体。比如你分发纸质问卷然后让大家填好后立刻交还给你。这个调查问卷本事是自填式的，但因为有你们的受过训练的，能立刻回答他们疑问的人员在场，这个问卷调查就也拥有了代填式问卷的一些属性。

For this reason, handouts can be a good option if you have a limited budget but want to make sure you have someone available when the survey is completed to clarify any questions your respondents might have.

因为这一点，当你预算有限但又想在调查对象填表时有相关人员在场澄清他们的疑问的时候，传单式问卷可以是一个好的选择。

One of the disadvantages of handouts is that people may be rushed to complete the survey if you are catching them in passing, which can affect the quality of your data. You will also be limited to the population that is physically present in the location where you are giving the survey. This may not be an issue if you are targeting a specific group, such as college students, shoppers at a particular store, or residents of a certain region. If you’re looking for a more general audience, however, you may consider handing the survey out in several different locations to reach a more diverse audience.

传单式问卷的一个缺点是，如果你是在路上把他们拦下来填表的话，他们可能填地时候很匆忙。另外，你也会受到发放传单的地点能出现的人群的限制。如果你针对的是特定人群，比如大学生、某个商店的顾客、某个地区的居民等，那这不算是什么问题。然而如果你想要更普遍的对象的话，可以考虑在几个不同的地点散发传单，以便接触到更多样化的人群。

Choosing a Survey Type

选择调查问卷的类型

Whew! That is a lot of information so far. As you can see, there are many types of surveys, each with its own pros and cons. With so many factors to consider, how do you decide which one to choose? Let’s walk through a few scenarios of choosing a survey type. Remember, you’re a media tycoon trying to expand your media empire.

嚯！到这儿我们可讲了不少东西。你也看见了，调查问卷的种类很多，各自都有优缺点。既然有这么多需要考虑的因素，那该如何选择到底用哪一种呢？我们来看几个不同场景下问卷类型的选择吧。记住，你是一个想要扩张疆土的媒体大亨。

Let’s say you want to evaluate the potential of the internet market. If you’re only interested in the online viewing habits of internet users, then a web or email survey cheaply and conveniently targets the group you’re interested in. On the other hand, if you want to know how much of the general television viewing audience watches shows online, but you don’t want to spend the time or the money to train interviewers, then a mail survey is a better option.

假设你想要评估互联网市场的潜力。如果你只对网民在网上看电视的习惯感兴趣，那么在线或电子邮件式调查问卷可以很便宜且方便地针对你感兴趣的人群。从另外一个方面讲，如果你想知道普通电视观众有多少时候是在网上看电视的，但又不想花时间和精力训练访谈员，那么邮寄式调查问卷是一个更好的选择。

But wait a minute: you’re a media tycoon! You have lots of money and you’re a total data geek. You want to collect more in-depth information like:

稍等一下哈，你是个媒体大亨！你有的是钱，同时 你是个彻头彻尾的极客。你想搜集像如下更有深度的信息：

• How do families watch television programs in their homes?
• Which family members tend to watch TV online?
• What type of television program does each family member like to watch?
• Do they watch programs together?
• If so, what types of programs do they watch together? Do they ever fight about what to watch?

• 老百姓在家看电视都有些什么习惯？
• 家中哪些人倾向于在线看电视？
• 家里每个人都喜欢看什么类型的电视节目？
• 他们一起看同一个节目么？
• 如果是的话，他们一起看什么种类的节目？他们会因为看什么电视节目而争执么？

In this case, a face-to-face survey is a great option because you can interview all the members of a household at the same time and collect higher quality data about the dynamics of television viewing in families.

如果是这样的话，访问问卷就是很好的选择了。因为你可以同时访问家中全部成员，并且搜集到有关家庭看电视的动态的高质量数据。

Now let’s say you’ve analyzed the data and the numbers look promising, so you decide to create a new online viewing experience for your users. You want to emphasize how great and cutting-edge your new service is by creating a catchy name and logo for it. If you want to see what people think about different logos, then phone surveys won’t be helpful. On the other hand, if you want to see what people think about different names and slogans, then phone surveys are fine. If your new service is specifically targeting a younger audience of avid internet users, then you can avoid the extra cost of phone surveys and use an online survey instead.

假设你已经分析了或得到的数据，并且发现数据看来很有前景，所以你决定给你的观众们创造一个新的在线观看体验。你想通过创造一个朗朗上口的名字和图标来强调你的新服务有多伟大有多先进。如果你想知道大家对不同图标的看法的话，电话调查问卷不会有帮助的。从另一个方面来说，如果你想知道大家对不同的名字和标语的看法，那么电话调查也足够了。如果你的新服务是特别针对年轻些的喜欢上网的观众的话，你可以通过用在线调查来避免电话调查的额外费用。

If you have the time and resources to do so, you can also consider using more than one type of survey. For example, you may want to do an online and phone version of the same survey to increase response rates and improve your sample in both size and diversity. Or you may start by doing an online survey and then conduct a face-to-face survey afterwards to gain more insight from your initial results.

如果你有足够的时间和资源的话，你也可以考虑使用不止一种调查问卷方式。比如，你可以用在线和电话两种方式来做同一份调查问卷。这样可以增加回复率，还能提高样本的数目和多样性。或者你可以从做在线问卷开始，然后再进行访问问卷，以增加对刚开始得到的结果的认知。

We hope these scenarios show you that choosing a survey type isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. There isn’t a nice and tidy formula that you can use to pick the perfect survey. Instead, it’s up to your good judgment to balance the resources you have with the goals you’re trying to achieve.

我们希望这些情景案例让你知道，选择调查问卷类型的过程不是一成不变的。不存在简单优美的公式能让你来选择完美的调查问卷。反而，这一切都取决于好的判断力来平衡手中的资源和想要达到的目的。