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Survey Glossary
Your guide to common Survey terms
Here you'll find the definitions of the most frequently used online survey terms—compiled in a comprehensive, easy-to-use resource.
Definitions
- "Peeking"
- Occurs when a respondent looks ahead to upcoming questions, trying to gather information or insight about how to answer the question at hand; can be prevented by inserting appropriate page breaks.
- Balanced Scales
- Presentation of options in which there are an equal number of positive and negative choices; designed to reduce bias.
- Biased Questions (Leading Questions)
- Wording that influences respondents to consider a subject in a weighted manner, or injects a particular preference or opinion.
- Blind Survey
- A survey that hides the sponsor or product of interest; withholding this information is intended to reduce bias in responses.
- Coding
- Combining similar answers, and assigning them unique identifiers, to facilitate sorting and categorization.
- Completions
- Surveys in which all required questions are answered.
- Demographic Question
- A question used to gather data about specific attributes of the respondent. Typical demographic information includes Gender, Age, Marital Status, Family Size, Education Level, Income Level, Occupation, Zip Code, and Job Title.
- Directional Findings
- Survey results that provide a general indication of how to proceed, but do not have the statistical validity to project absolute conclusions about findings over the entire surveyed population.
- Distribution
- To make a live survey available to potential respondents-either by sending them an invitation or putting a link on a website.
- Double-Barreled Questions
- One question that asks for two responses, thus introducing uncertainty-and reducing bias-about how to answer (i.e., "How satisfied are you with our products and our service?").
- Filtering
- Segmenting of respondents based on answers to specified questions, enabling more targeted follow-up messaging and actions.
- Greeting Page
- Initial web page presented to respondents when they log in to fill out the survey.
- Leading Questions (Biased Questions)
- Wording that influences respondents to consider a subject in a specific manner, or to express a particular preference or opinion.
- Live
- To make a survey active, so it is ready to be taken by respondents.
- Multi-Select Multiple Choice
- Type of question where the respondent is asked to select all applicable answers from a list of choices provided; may select more than one.
- Multiple Choice
- A question that has the respondent select answer(s) from a predetermined list of options.
- Open-Text Question
- A type of question with no defined list of choices, allowing respondents to answer in their own words.
- Opt-In/Opt-Out
- Offering an email recipient the choice of whether or not to receive additional correspondence: to "opt-in" is to give permission to continue being contacted; to "opt-out" is to ask to be removed from the email list.
- Other/Comments Box
- Text area provided for respondents to draft an open-ended written answer in their own words.
- Page Break
- Tool that enables a survey author to put the next question on a new page, out of view of the respondent. This can help reduce bias by preventing the respondent from looking ahead ("peeking") in the survey.
- Partials
- Surveys in which a participant fills in some of the answers, but does not respond to all of the required questions.
- Qualitative
- Information in responses that cannot be measured, cannot be subjected to quantitative analysis, and is subjective in nature; often found in responses to open-ended questions, and involves feelings and motivations.
- Quantitative
- Information that is determined through data received and can be analyzed as measurable; typically found in responses to questions that are closed-end, and often are used to validate findings of qualitative research.
- Ranking (Numerically)
- Evaluating a group of items or attributes, and listing them in order of preference or value.
- Rating Scale
- A range of responses offered as statements or numbers to indicate the direction and intensity of the respondent's opinion or attitude.
- Required Question
- A question that is flagged as one the respondent must answer in order for the survey to be considered complete.
- Response Grid
- A question that asks about items or attributes, presented in rows, with response options across the column tops to indicate varying degrees of attitude or feeling; often used when the same question format applies to a number of items.
- Segmenting
- Groupings within a population or list, based on specific characteristics, such as online customers vs. in-store customers.
- Single-Select Multiple Choice
- A type of question in which the respondent is asked to select only one answer from a list of choices provided.
- Spam or UCE (Unsolicited Commercial E-mail)
- E-mail sent to someone who has not opt-in or given permission to the sender. Do you get spam? (a rhetorical question, to be sure) Find out how the sender obtained your e-mail address.
- Subject Line
- Appearing as a line of text on delivered email, it gives the recipient a summary preview or indication of the email's contents.
- Survey
- A questionnaire of closed-ended inquiries-designed to gather data or opinions from a portion of a population-to approximate what an analysis of the entire group may reveal.
- Template
- A document with pre-written questions and answers, that serves as a guide for preparing a survey.
- Unbalanced Scale
- A question that offers more alternatives in one direction or side, thus biasing the number of responses to that side.
