Scale your research
Quickly gather information from a large group of people in less time than it would take to interview them.
Validate hypotheses
Test a large population to make informed decisions about your solution, product or feature.
Measure and categorize
Collect self-reported data that can help track or discover important trends and issues.
Learn more about surveys
Whether gathering open-ended insights or validating and quantifying with significant numbers, surveys are useful for designers, researchers and product managers to quickly gather large-scale feedback. There are two kinds of survey questions, and each has a different purpose.
Open-ended
Open-ended questions collect what users think by allowing them to answer in their own words, instead of selecting a pre-defined answer. This qualitative insight can help you dive deeper into issues.
Closed
Closed questions ask participants to select from a list of pre-defined answers, such as checkboxes or radio buttons. This quantitative insight comes in the form of numerical ratings that enables you to put a number to certain aspects of your digital experience.
When to use
Surveys can be used to gather numerical data about your users, their attitudes, and their behaviors. They can also validate your hypotheses on a larger segment of the population when making more high risk decisions about a particular product or feature.
What to remember
Open-ended and closed questions are used to gather different types of user insights, but both types can be included within a single survey. Regardless of which type you use, make sure your written questions aren't biased or leading.
What to prepare
Carefully prepare your list of questions to ensure they're all providing you with an answer to your hypothesis. Decide which question type will work best, and ensure that you have enough time to analyze the results.