How you ask is as important as what you ask

How often have you received a so-called "survey" in the mail that is, in fact, a thinly veiled solicitation for a donation or some other form of support? You know the ones...those brief questionnaires...written in such a manner that no matter how you answer, you end up endorsing a position more than stating your opinion.

A perfect example was distributed about five years ago by the watchdog group Greenpeace. The materials addressed the tuna fishing industry's lack of attention or concern about the problem of dolphins becoming snagged in tuna nets. The enclosed "questionnaire" claimed to be seeking feedback from average citizens that could be relayed to governing bodies that had jurisdiction over the tuna fishing industry.

The first item on this questionnaire? "Do you support the senseless slaughter of dolphins by the tuna fishing industry?" Now, no matter where you stand on dolphins, tuna, or Greenpeace...can you really see yourself "supporting senseless slaughter?"

Make no mistake, Greenpeace wasn't seeking a true reading on public opinion. It wanted a large number of responses that it could use as leverage to make its point.

Your research efforts will probably never find their way onto the world stage. But, it can still be all too easy to find yourself inadvertently asking "Greenpeace"-type questions when seeking opinions that you hope will help you make business decisions.

Here's how to avoid that trap when putting together your next quantitative (like a telephone survey) or qualitative (like focus groups) research project:

• Don't rush into the topic -- You have to give your respondents a chance to get their feet on the ground in any research project. Establish rapport by starting with questions that let respondents become comfortable with the general topic and with the interviewer before diving into the subject matter.
• Avoid having "yes" or "no" answers unless it really is a "yes" or "no" situation -- "Have you eaten a McDonald's Big Mac in the last seven days?" merits a "yes" or "no" answer. You either have or you haven't. For almost everything else, you'll learn more by offering a scale of possible answers, and you won't paint your respondents into a corner.
• Keep your scales balanced -- A scale that offers respondents something like "Excellent/Very Good/Good/Poor" as choices doesn't give someone who thought the item in question merited the equivalent of an "OK" a choice. Keep an even number of choices on both the positive and negative side.
• Don't make it difficult for respondents to answer challenging questions -- Remember that the person asking the questions is going to be a stranger, so make it as easy as possible for those answering to share their true feelings -- even on difficult subjects. You can do this by, for example, assigning opinions you want to test to "others" ("...others we have called have said they thought...") or by padding the question ("...of the following eight issues, which do you think is the most important..."). If you read the question to yourself and can see the possibility of respondents answering a certain way to avoid embarrassment, rewrite the question.
• When you need to explain, keep your language factual -- Sometimes facts are necessary to give the respondent enough information to answer intelligently. But, when offering that detail, be careful not to "sell" the idea. For example, sharing projected enrollment figures as a context for a question about support or opposition to the construction of a new high school is fine. Asking, "Do you think the district should build a new high school to relieve the significant overcrowding which is pushing class sizes to beyond state guidelines and limiting teacher effectiveness?" will give you just the answer you want to hear -- but not an accurate picture of the public's opinion.

It's tough to not let your language slip sometimes, especially when asking about topics that are complex, challenging or controversial. The best advice? Before you take it to the field, test the research tool on someone you trust. Ask them to tell you whether you are asking the questions fairly, or inadvertently stacking the deck.