How to Write a Opinion Survey

Everyone has an opinion about something. Companies often want the population's opinions about business operations, new products and even television viewing habits. Opinions are often gathered through the use of surveys. The surveys are conducted by telephone, over the Internet or in person. The results can provide insight into the opinions of a segment of the population.

Instructions

1. Choose a topic to collect opinions about. Opinions may be gathered for any topic, such as celebrities, business operations or current events, just to name a few.

2. Select demographics for the opinion survey. If you want to survey bookstore shoppers, stand outside a bookstore. Demographic questions may include: What is your age? What is the highest level of education you have completed? Do you have any children?

3. Document variables that may affect the survey's results. A possible variable is socioeconomic status. For example, if responses are collected in an affluent part of town, the results may reflect only the opinions of affluent residents. These types of variables must be identified as an aspect of the survey so the reader can correctly understand the results.

4. Write the questions for the survey. You can use a mixture of question formats, such as multiple-choice, open-ended, yes/or and rating.

5. Conduct the survey using paper, the Internet or telephone.

Tips & Warnings

• Remain objective about the survey results, even if they are not what you expected. Use survey websites that analyze and provide a graphical representation of your survey results (see Resources).

• Do not include double-barreled questions, which are those that ask the respondents their opinion about option A and option B. Including "and" in the question does not give the respondent a choice between the two options.

Resources

• Online Survey Creator
• Survey Research Methods
• How Gallup Conducts Surveys