Market Research Questions Quiz
Pick the Best Questions
Survey questions are most often statements and by far the most popular rating scale asks respondents to rate their agreement with the statements.
For each of the following pairs of statements, select the one with the best wording such that it will not contaminate the response, or select “no difference” if you believe they are equally well-worded.
In the bad question, "good value for the money" is entirely subjective. We can ask this of current customers (because we know what they are paying), but if we ask this question of potential customers, this does not help us form pricing guidelines.
The bad question is double-barreled, as it singles out two different offerings that have the potential to be evaluated very differently. Respondents may be interested in a DIY approach and have a favorable opinion of the products, but not the services. The bad question should be broken out into two separate questions. One to address cleaning products and one to address cleaning services.
The bad question is suggestive and it uses polarizing language ("always"). An emphasis on obtaining value for money is often seen as beneficial, particularly in an organizational context, therefore little or no valuable data can be gathered from this question.
Provided that the "service" covered in this question is defined, the bad question is the lesser choice due to the fact that it is speculative. Often people answer speculative questions in a biased--and favorable--way, leading to a skewed perception of a service or product's popularity.
The bad question is double-barreled, as it it asks about multiple groups/concepts in 1 question (family and I) that have the potential to be evaluated differently. It also has greater ambiguity as to who is involved in the "social activities." This could mean as a family unit, or socializing with other families. This lack of clarity is particularly troublesome, as it will mean different things to each respondent.
The phrasing of the bad question suggests the product is undefined. This is a great opening gambit, and could help increase the probability a person would respond. However, it is not scientifically sound or valid. Provided the product offering is adequately described, the alternative is a better selection.