Course
Syllabus | Assignments|
Famous Speeches |Dialect
Modification Tips PowerPoint Tips
|Outlining Tips | Research
Tips |Conducting
Surveys |Viewpoints |Persuasive
Speaking |Evaluation Sheets
Public Speaking: Making Surveys
Things to
Remember | Making an Online Survey
1. Don't forget to include an "I'm not sure"
option where appropriate. In Monet's* questionnaire, she asked us
to choose which branch of the armed forces we would join given the chance.
All the branches were included, but there was no box called "I'm not
sure," and since I'm not sure, I didn't know what to do. The truth is,
many people won't have cut and dried answers to your questions. Be sure to
give those people an "out" when taking your survey by providing
an "I'm not sure" box.
2. Don't forget to include "other" as a choice where appropriate
(and then create a text box.) Julia* asked us who should decide about
a feeding tube, providing choices like spouse, family and so forth. I wanted
to write in, "Whomever the patient designates," but there was no
box to provide that response. Do you see my view might matter when you prepare
a persuasive speech? Make a blank box, and people might surprise you with
their responses!
3. Beware of creating "straw man" questions. Athalia*
asked us, "Do you believe in cruelty toward animals?" Can you imagine
someone answering "yes" to that? Instead, create a question that
tries to gauge how strongly someone feels about an issue (e.g. "On a
scale of 1 to 6...")
4. Don't ask us to do your work for you. Pepita* asked, "What
are the benefits of providing excellent customer service consistently?"While
it is a good question, it's HER job, not ours, to answer it; in fact, that's
the point of her speech! A better question might be something like, "How
much impact does good customer service have on your decision to return to
a specific business again?"
*My wonderful students Monet, Julia, Athalia, and Pepita gave me permission to use their names in this document.
Making
Online Surveys
Download this document to learn how to make surveys online.