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4. Design Surveys Using Evidence-Based Principles

4.0 Introduction

Within the What step, we continue focusing on how to design survey items using appropriate types of response scales.

A 3D pie chart graphic representing the six key questions to consider when designing a survey. Each slice of the pie is labeled with a step in a clockwise sequence starting from the top: 1. Why, 2. Who, 3. What (Determine the type of information to collect and the type of response scales to use), 4. Where, 4. When, and 6. How. An arrow points at 3. What.

[A Copy of Figure 13 The What Step in the Survey Design and Data Analysis Process]

As explained earlier, when designing survey items, you need to decide:

  • how to request information (as a question or a statement) and
  • how to capture the requested information (which response scales to use).

Despite appearing simple, these decisions require a solid understanding of how your choices can affect the quality and accuracy of the data you collect. For example, your survey data may be influenced by decisions such as:

  1. Using only positively-worded survey items, or mixing both positively- and negatively-worded items (Chyung, Barkin, & Shamsy, 2018[1])
  2. Including or excluding a midpoint in rating scales (Chyung, Roberts, Swanson, & Hankinson, 2017[2])
  3. Presenting the response options in ascending or descending order (Chyung, Kennedy, & Campbell, 2018[3])

There is a substantial body of research on these topics. The following sections provide survey design principles derived from research evidence, which enable you to make informed, evidence-based design decisions.

Learning Objectives

After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

  • Explain the effects of using positively and/or negatively-worded survey items
  • Explain the effects of including or excluding a midpoint in response scales
  • Explains the effects of ordering response options in ascending or descending order

 

 

  1. Chyung, S. Y., Barkin, J., & Shamsy, J. (2018). Evidence-based survey design: The use of negatively-worded items in surveys. Performance Improvement Journal, 57(3), 16-25. ↵
  2. Chyung, S. Y., Roberts, K., Swanson, I., & Hankinson, A. (2017). Evidence-based survey design: The use of a midpoint on the Likert scale. Performance Improvement Journal, 56(10), 15-23. ↵
  3. Chyung, S. Y., Kennedy, M., & Campbell, I. (2018). Evidence-based survey design: The use of ascending and descending order of Likert-type scale options. Performance Improvement Journal, 57(9), 9-16. ↵

License

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Survey Design and Data Analysis Copyright © 2025 by Seung Youn (Yonnie) Chyung, Ed.D. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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