{"id":11407,"date":"2018-03-21T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T17:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/how-do-you-write-survey-questions-that-accurately-measure-public-opinion\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:15:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:15:29","slug":"how-do-you-write-survey-questions-that-accurately-measure-public-opinion","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2018\/03\/21\/how-do-you-write-survey-questions-that-accurately-measure-public-opinion\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you write survey questions that accurately measure public opinion?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Methods 101: Question Wording\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eFzGdQrr2K8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re excited to bring you the second video in Pew Research Center\u2019s occasional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLZ9z-Af5ISavJpPlvdMU4T-etIDOUmldk\">Methods 101 series<\/a>, which aims to demystify the methodology we use to conduct our research. This time around, we\u2019re tackling why question wording is so important in public opinion surveys.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><!--more--><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Writing clear and neutral survey questions is much more difficult than it might seem. We spend <em>a lot<\/em> of time thinking about the phrasing and ordering of our survey questions. Paying close attention to these seemingly minor factors makes a huge difference. It helps us avoid the trap of poorly worded or leading questions, which can skew survey results.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check out the video for a quick behind-the-scenes tour of the many ways writing survey questions can go wrong, and the steps you can take to avoid these pitfalls. We hope it will be a helpful guide.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-callout has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><h4 id=\"watch-our-other-methods-101-videos\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch our other Methods 101 videos:<\/h4><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2017\/05\/12\/methods-101-random-sampling\/\">How can a survey of 1,000 people tell you what the whole U.S. thinks?<\/a><\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2018\/08\/06\/what-are-nonprobability-surveys\/\"><strong>What are nonprobability surveys?<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2019\/02\/07\/phone-vs-online-surveys-why-do-respondents-answers-sometimes-differ-by-mode\/\"><strong>Phone vs. online surveys: Why do respondents\u2019 answers sometimes differ by mode?<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2019\/07\/16\/how-is-polling-done-around-the-world\/\">How is polling done around the world?<\/a><\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2020\/06\/04\/what-is-machine-learning-and-how-does-it-work\/\"><strong>What is machine learning, and how does it work?<\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the second video from our Methods 101 series, we\u2019re tackling why question wording is so important in public opinion surveys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":370,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[36,357],"bylines":[631],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[528],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-11407","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","hentry","category-methodological-research","category-survey-methods","bylines-courtney-kennedy","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-methods"],"label":"Short 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