1

I am redesigning a questionnaire consisting of 100 questions, each of which is answered by the same multiple choice scale? Currently, these 100 questions are broken up into pages of 20, requiring the user to scroll down a long page and answer each question by clicking 1 of 3 radio buttons.

I'm looking for a new way that increases engagement and encourages the user to answer all 100 questions.

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    Wow, that's a lot! Is it possible to reduce the amount of questions? Are users aware there will be 100 questions? Can you group them somehow? Either way, 100 questions..... wow
    – Devin
    Nov 28, 2017 at 19:02
  • Yeah, reducing the number of questions, or breaking them up into separate surveys, were my first two ideas. However, it turns out these questions have scientific significance and, if all of them are answered, returns some valuable insights to the user. So, getting the user to answer all 100 the a basic objective.
    – Paul Seymour
    Nov 28, 2017 at 20:06
  • 1
    "Returns some valuable insights to the user", you need to constantly remind the user of this value throughout the survey. Only way I'm answering 100 question if if I feel like I will be rewarded for it, either through these insights or some added incentive.
    – DasBeasto
    Nov 28, 2017 at 21:03
  • Right. So you see adding value props as being key to getting the user to answer all 100 questions. And you're probably right. We were planning on that. However, I was also wondering about the interaction of asking questions, and if there might be pattern that would make answering 100 questions easier.
    – Paul Seymour
    Nov 28, 2017 at 21:15

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
6

You could try to gamify the process

I didn't try this, it's just an idea but long questionaries are usualy arduous work with delayed gratification. You could try to give back small value every couple qustions.

In psycho-tests, you could give a partial response after each 10 questions:

  • "It seems that you have attentive personality. How would you react in following situations, considering that [...]"

In career-profile builder you could use small chunks of feedback like:

  • "You seem to have a lot of experience in technology. When facing interpersonal problem, would you rather [...]"
  • "You seem to value trust in your working enviroment. How important are following skills, if [...]"

In general people like to learn about themselves or get validation for things they believe. Good insight is always appreciated.

Improve this answer
3

If I were committed to answering 100 questions, I'd have the following desires (some reactions are overly dramatic, but I think the points remain):

  • I want chunks. Don't just sit me in front of a web page with 100 questions... I'll get overwhelmed and feel like I have so much work to do. Help me digest it a little at a time—maybe 10 questions per page. This also give me reassurance that I won't lose my progress. It also provides me with convenient spots to check email, have a conversation, pick a new song to listen to, or otherwise give my attention a rest.

  • Group pages by topic. If there's some logical grouping of these chunks of questions, tell me what it is, and let me skip around. I may get to question 82 and realize that I now feel differently about a question that you asked a while ago. I don't remember what page, but I remember what topic it covered. Knowing this, and having a logical grouping, I could more easily amend my answer.

  • Give me feedback. Percentage, or progress bars are good for this, especially when I can see my completed work increasing. I'll get really excited if I submit a page of answers and see an animation of my progress bar increasing.

  • Give me credit for all of my work. If this is part of a larger workflow (maybe it's part of "completing my profile"?), then count the work I've already put in as part of that. By doing this, I'll be encouraged by seeing the progress bar already perhaps 30% full.

  • Make it easy for me to enter my responses, and show me how. I've got 100 questions to fill out. If I have to use my cursor to precisely click on each tiny radio button 100 times, I'll gladly abandon this tedious test of patience. Instead, when I embark on this journey, show me that I can simply type the numbers 1-3, and you'll automatically highlight the next question for me.

  • Make fixing mistakes easy. I'll probably want to move pretty quickly between questions. In doing so, I will likely make a couple mistakes. Let me fix them easily, without taking me out of the workflow.

I'm sure there are more potentially beneficial techniques than this (such as Piotr's excellent gamification and partial response suggestions), but I'd start with some or all of these suggestions and ask people what helped/what was annoying/what other assistance do they wish they had...

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.