It is important to recognise that residents are the real experts about where they live and know best what is required. Seek out their views to help plan your actions.

Conducting a survey may seem like a major task, but it will give your group a clearer picture of the problems in the area and plenty of information when approaching statutory bodies and other outside agencies for help.

This information sheet provides your group a step-by-step guide to help make the process of conducting surveys easier. 

1. Consider local concerns - what do you need to know?

Your group should consider:

  • What is the best way of collecting this information?

  • What will we do with the information?

    The scale of the survey will depend on the amount of time and help you have. You may not be able to survey everyone you would like to. If this is the case, ensure the people you survey are representative of the community as a whole.

2. Design the Questionnaire

A well-designed questionnaire should ensure you get the information you need. Consider the following:

Question types

In order to get the answers you require, it’s important to ask the right types of questions. These include:

1. Closed questions: These are questions for which the answer can only be a predetermined response, such as Yes/No.

2. Open questions: These allow respondents to supply their own answers without being constrained by a fixed set of responses.

3. Select Category: The participant chooses from a list of predetermined categories for example, owner occupier, private tenant, or Housing Executive tenant.

4. Multiple Choice/List: The participant has several options to choose from.

5. Scaled questions: Likert scale and rank-order scale, where the participant is requested to place something in rank order. Answer choices range from one degree to another and are useful to measure opinion. For example: Very dissatisfied, Dissatisfied, Neither, Dissatisfied nor Satisfied, Satisfied, Very satisfied.

6. Grid: A table is laid out to record answers to two or more questions at the same time.

Wording

To get the information you require, it is also important to consider the wording of your questions.

Remember to:

  • Avoid jargon

  • Give clear instructions on how questions should be answered, for example, tick box

  • Ask one question at a time, i.e. no double-barrelled questions

  • Avoid questions with overlapping responses. For example, what age are you? 0-16, 16-30, 30+

Layout and Appearance

Keep your survey short and simple and have an attractive layout.

Remember to:

  • Use a font which is easy to read.

  • Ensure your questions flow in a logical order. Begin with questions that are likely to be of interest to the respondent and keep personal questions to the end.

  • Make sure to give enough space for respondents to fully answer the question.

  • Make sure to state clearly on the questionnaire if responses are being collected anonymously or are being kept confidential.

When you have finalised your questionnaire, ask someone to proofread and test it so that you can receive feedback to improve it.

3. Publicity!

You must inform the community why you are conducting the survey and what you intend to do with the results.

4. Distribute and Collect your Questionnaire

You can distribute your questionnaire in one of the following ways:

  • Postal questionnaire
    This is sometimes the easiest way to reach individuals who may not give personal interviews; however, response rates are generally low.

  • Telephone interviews
    This is ideal for collecting information quickly and allows the interviewer to clarify any questions which are not understood.

  • Personal interviews
    This is the most versatile method, as questionnaires can be given to respondents, and the interviewer can explain the purpose of the survey. This can be time-consuming, however.

  • Online questionnaires
    There are a range of websites offering free online survey templates which can be used by your group.

If you are not conducting face-to-face interviews, you should provide an accompanying letter or flyer explaining the purpose of the questionnaire and what will be done with the information when it is provided.

Some groups consider incentives to boost their response rate, such as a prize draw.

5. Analysing your Results

The returned questionnaires need to be recorded and analysed in order to get the information you need. Online surveys will do this for you, however, for other survey types your group will have to do this themselves. A sheet for recording/collating the results can be prepared for each question before the questionnaires are distributed so that responses can be entered as they are returned.

By looking at all the information gathered as a whole, you should be able to pick out priority issues or trends, which can be used, for example, to direct the group’s future work.

6. Writing your Report

It is important to compile a report to present the results of your survey. You may wish to use the following format:

CONTENTS

  • SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
    Background/History

  • SECTION 2: THE SURVEY
    Reason for the Survey
    Survey Methodology

  • SECTION 3: SUMMARY OF RESULTS

  • SECTION 4: ACTION PLAN
    (for more detailed information, see How to Produce a Strategic Plan)

  • APPENDIX A: The Survey Questionnaire

  • APPENDIX B: Map of Area

7. Publish Your Results

It is important to give feedback on the findings of the survey to your community, funders and/or other organisations as appropriate.

This can be done in several ways:

  • Distribute a summary flyer of the report

  • Circulate the full report

  • At a public meeting or launch event

8. Ensure Compliance with Data Protection Law

To ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018, in every case, you should:

  • Be clear, honest & transparent. Advise participants of your survey's purpose and clarify your plan for using the results.

  • Seek verbal or written consent from those completing the Survey.

  • Identify the amount of personal data that is sufficient to fulfil your purpose and only request that much information. You should not ask questions that seek participants’ personal information if you have no specified purpose for it.

  • Only use the data for your specified purpose.

  • Only keep the data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was obtained, and dispose of it securely when it is no longer needed, for example, by shredding paper copies of completed questionnaires.