Surveys
Supplemental Reading
Howto.gov: Basics of Survey and Question Design
This quick, helpful primer on good survey design was written to help US government workers do better research. But anyone can use it.
Designing Surveys That Don't Suck! by Will Evans and Yana Yuchirko
A tongue in cheek (but very useful) guide to writing better survey questions
Tools and Resources
The Pew Internet and American Life Project
The Pew Internet and American Life Project maintains a searchable database of all the questions it has ever asked (as of 2012, this feature is called "iPoll"). Type in words that describe your research topic and see how Pew researchers have asked questions about it. Try "shopping" for an interesting sample.
Standard usability questionnaires
Computer System Usability Questionnaire
The CSUQ is a standard questionnaire that’s been used for decades for usability surveys. A good source for time-tested questions.
The System Usability Scale (SUS) is another old school questionnaire, with tons of publications attesting to its reliability and validity.
- Measuring Usability With The System Usability Scale (SUS)
Jeff Sauro gives a short and handy explanation of SUS’s history and questions. - "SUS: A Good Enough Usability Questionnaire"
Caroline Jarrett analyzes the pros and cons of SUS.
Sample Documents
Common survey questions: demographics, technology experiences, product use
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