Things you need to keep in mind when conducting an offline survey

One of the greatest advantages of offline surveying is the fact that it engages your respondents in such a way that enables you to gather more accurate data. However, there are a few things you should consider when going mobile:

• 1. People want to know what the survey is about – whenever people are asked to answer a survey the first thing they want to know is what it is about. Your explanation needs to be short, clear and concise. However, it is very important that you emphasize the importance of their input and tell them how the data will be used.
• 2. Is it going to be long and annoying? This is going to be the second most asked question from your participants. There will also be others who won’t ask you the question but for sure wonder how long it is going to take them. So whether you’re asked or not, just tell them up front that the survey won’t be long and that it will be easy to answer.
• 3. SHORT is a MUST – your survey needs to be short not only because you have just told them that it will be so but also because if it is too long participants may lose interest and drop out. Having to scroll down several times is time consuming and often annoying. This is why we suggest that you limit your survey to as fewer questions as possible.
• 4. Avoid open - ended questions – having to type in a smartphone or tablet, especially if it is not yours is not the easiest thing in the world. Participants can be lazy or hesitant to answer, so they may give vague answers to these type of questions, which in turn will also make it harder for you to analyze the data. Closed - ended question, on the other hand, are easier to answer, less time consuming and enable you to conduct quantitative research.
• 5. The simpler, the better – if your questionnaire is overloaded with images and large chunks of text it can be confusing and sometimes even give the impression that the survey will be long and time consuming. Thus, try to keep it simple and have your participants focus on the questions rather the design of your survey.

Offline surveying has never been easier. Don’t forget these tips and you will better engage your respondents, collect more accurate data and save time and money while conducting your survey.