Questionnaires and surveys

Overall Purpose

To quickly and/or easily get a lot of information from people in a non-threatening way.

This is also a common way of tracking program metrics.

Advantages

Can be completed anonymously.

Inexpensive to administer.

Easy to compare and analyze.

Can be administered to many people.

Can get lots of data.

Easy to create: many sample questionnaires already exist.

Challenges

Might not get careful feedback.

Wording can bias audience responses.

Impersonal.

may require sampling and statistical expertise.

Doesn’t get full story

CREE Considerations

Who responds can impact results and diverse voices can be lost if diverse respondents aren’t included in the original sample. 

If crafting your own survey, carefully consider the questions you are asking. Work with staff and participants to design questions. 

If using existing or questionnaires, look closely at the language used. Will it work with your participants? 

Be careful to not center dominant cultures and perspectives.