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Biased Survey Questions

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Surveys are an impressive tool for businesses to gain insights into their customers. Customer feedback is critical for organizations to function successfully. However, if these surveys are not formatted appropriately, you might lose out on the little chance of knowing your customers.

Biased questions influence respondents to respond in a certain way, thus creating a negative perception of the survey. It is important to ensure your surveys use neutral language, tone, and structure to gather reliable and representative data. In this article, we’ll discuss how to identify bias survey questions and why you should avoid them. 

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What are biased survey questions?

Biased survey questions are those that lead the respondents toward a specific response. They also refer to questions that are vague and unclear, leaving the respondents confused. 

 

Biased survey questions can put the customers in a dilemma as they are unsure how to respond to specific questions. This can affect the motive behind conducting a survey, which is to understand the customer experience. The users may unintentionally provide incorrect responses to survey questions. 

 

To improve response rates, a survey creator has to take care of the way questions are formatted, the style, colors, and the overall structure of the survey. If these details are overlooked, surveys can become biased. Results obtained from a biased survey can be unreliable, and companies may misjudge actions. 

Biased Survey Questions Biased Survey

Examples of biased survey questions:

Here are some biased survey question examples and their unbiased version. 

  1. Biased question: Don’t you agree that our mobile speakers are the best?

Unbiased question: How would you rate our mobile speakers compared to those available in the market?

  1. Biased question: Like every other guest, do you also agree that our hotel offers the best amenities? 

Unbiased question: On a scale of 0 to 10, how satisfied were you with the amenities our hotel offered?

  1. Biased question: Do you agree that our store has the best product inventory in town?

Unbiased question: What is your opinion about the product inventory of our store compared to other stores in the town?

Below are some examples of biased survey questions, as well as methods to avoid them.

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Types of biased survey questions

To ensure that your survey doesn’t include any biased survey questions, we have explained five types of biased questions. We have explained how you can identify and rephrase your question to change the language and tone of your bias survey question into neutral and unbiased. 

01. Double-barrelled questions

A common survey blunder is to ask a question that focuses on two topics at once, i.e., trying to get two answers in a single question. Companies may put the respondents in a tricky situation. By merging two questions, respondents may not be able to provide honest feedback.

How to identify and fix double-barrelled questions?

Questions with an “and” or “or” may fall into a double-barrelled question. 

For example,

  • How satisfied are you with our course and instructors?

There are 2 parts to this question, one part is concerned with the course, and the other part is concerned with the instructors. There is no way you could know if the answer was for the course or the instructor.

The best way to fix these questions is to split them into two separate questions, as given below.

  • How would you rate our course?
  • How satisfied are you with the instructors?

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02. Leading questions

Leading questions is the most typical example of a biased survey question. They lead the respondents towards a certain answer. The questions are phrased such that the respondents are forced to give their answers in favor of or against a subject. Such surveys do not give valuable insights as the results will be biased. It can frustrate the respondents and lead to lower response rates.

How to identify and fix leading questions?

Using certain adjectives that may influence the respondents’ answers can help identify leading questions. Subjective adjectives like “amazing”, “great”, etc can lead to biased responses. 

For example,

  • How amazing was your stay at our hotel?
  • Are you excited about our new online store?

The first question assumes that the customer had an “amazing” experience at the hotel whereas the second one assumes that the customer is in an “excited” state of mind. Using such words in a survey question could make them sound manipulative. 

To fix them, avoid using subjective adjectives and use neutral language. Frame the questions in a way that does not influence the respondents.

Instead of using wordings similar to the above examples, try this-

  • How was your stay at our hotel?
  • How do you feel about our new online store?

03. Loaded questions

By using loaded questions in a survey, you are practically forcing the respondents to answer in a certain way. They are prevented from expressing their views. Such questions make assumptions about the users’ behavior. The respondents may get a feeling that they are being forced to answer, regardless of whether the questions are relevant to their experiences. This prevents businesses from getting the best out of their surveys. 

How to identify and fix loading questions?

Firstly, go through the questions in a survey and check if they are relevant to the users. Identify if any assumptions are being made and understand the context of your assumption. 

For example,

  • “Which foreign country do you like to travel to on vacations?”

The question assumes that the respondent travels to foreign countries on vacation. The problem here is that what if the user does not take foreign trips and travels locally instead? Or does not prefer traveling? This could lead to inaccurate survey results.

The first step to fixing a loaded question is to avoid assumptions. Also, provide an option for irrelevant respondents to skip the question. 

In the case of the above example, we can ask if respondents take foreign trips and then follow up with specific questions.

  • Do you travel to foreign countries for vacation?
  • Which country are you planning to visit for your next trip?

04. Vague questions

An unclear question is referred to as a vague question. These questions can confuse the respondents. It is important to use words/slang that the respondents know to avoid them from dropping off the survey.

How to identify and fix vague questions?

Proofread the survey and try to look out for specific phrases that are irrelevant to the context. For example, if a survey is conducted for a general audience, using technical terms and jargon might confuse them. 

The key here is to be as specific as possible and to use simple language. 

Instead of asking a question like, “Are we better than our competitors?”, rephrase it as “How would you assess the quality of our service?”

05. Absolute questions

An absolute question restricts the users’ to two extreme responses. It is usually a binary question that gives “Yes/No” as the response option. They also include words like “rarely”,” never”,” always”, etc. It creates a bias because it ignores the other possible response options.

Biased Survey Questions Biased Survey

How to identify and fix absolute questions?

If respondents are not given a range of options to choose from, they could either drop off or answer for the sake of it. 

A question like “Why have you never visited our restaurant?” can come across as aggressive.

Instead, reframe the question as,

“What is keeping you from visiting our restaurant?”

Here you are allowing the users to express their opinion comfortably.

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What factors lead to biased survey questions?

There are some factors that can lead to biased survey questions in a survey. Here we have mentioned some of the critical factors that you need to consider when designing surveys to ensure that your surveys remain unbiased. 

 

  1. The wording used in the question: 

The words or phrases you use in your question can lead to bias if it implies a certain response. The use of certain phrases/words can influence respondents to support the intent of the question despite their personal feelings. 

 

  1. The order of the questions: 

How you order your question can also influence a respondent. The order in which you ask your question can influence the participant’s response to a later question. 

 

  1. The response or answer options: 

The answer options you provide can lead to bias if the options are too limited or if they don’t include all possible responses. In a scale question, a completely positive or negative scale can also lead to bias. 

 

  1. The context/ information about the survey: 

You should also ensure that the information you give participants regarding the purpose of the survey uses neutral language and tone. The context can also lead to bias if it implies a certain assumption or perspective. 

Let’s now learn why you should avoid biased survey questions in your survey. 

Disadvantages of biased survey questions

  • A biased survey could impact the response rates. If the survey deviates from the context and asks vague questions, respondents are likely to drop off.
  • The data gathered from biased surveys do not represent what respondents truly feel. Most of the time, their responses are hugely influenced by the way questions are asked.
  • Biased survey questions can lead to inaccurate responses. This will not provide correct and accurate insights.
  • Biased questions can create a negative perception of the survey and your brand. The respondents may perceive your brand as unethical and unprofessional and think you are using surveys to influence them. 
  • Respondents can start questioning the motive and intent of such questions, thus undermining the credibility of the survey. 
  • Biased questions can discourage people from sharing their opinion. This limits the diversity of response, thus skewing the result. 

How to identify biased survey questions?

Here are three steps you can follow to identify if your survey has any biased questions. 

  1. Review question structure: 

Look for leading, loaded, or double-barreled questions, as mentioned above. Check for complex questions that may confuse or mislead the participants. 

  1. Test for emotionally charged language: 

Check the language used in the question to look for words or phrases that may appeal to the emotions or personal beliefs of the participant. Avoid using overly positive or negative language that may influence the participant’s perspective. 

  1. Analyze answer/response options: 

Make sure the answer options are not limited. The answer options should include multiple perspectives to ensure that participants have their options open. Look for answer options that might sway participants towards a particular response. Ensure that the answer options are not biased toward a certain group or demographic of respondents. 

How to avoid biased survey questions?

Biased survey questions can skew responses and result in misinformation or misleading data. Here we will discuss how you can avoid biased survey questions. 

1. Identify biased survey questions: 

We have explained five types of biased questions and how you can identify them. Avoid using words that suggest a particular answer to the respondents. Make sure you use neutral language and give respondents the opportunity to share their honest thoughts. 

Leading or loaded words can imply that you are expecting a particular response from participants. This can lead to inaccurate data while also harming the brand image. Respondents might see it as an attempt to influence their perspective on certain topics. 

If you are unable to form an unbiased question, simply use open-ended questions and ask respondents to share their opinion. 

2. Consider using alternative question structures: 

Applying different question structures in your survey can help you avoid falling victim to bias. Randomize question order to prevent order bias. You can also use skip-logic to tailor questions for each participant based on their previous response. 

You should also use different question types, such as open-ended, rating scale,s multiple-choice questions, to ensure participants have many ways to share their feedback. Survey software enables you to access all these alternatives to help you ensure that you don’t use biased survey questions. 

3. Pre-test your survey:

Conducting a soft launch of your survey is an essential step in survey design. A pilot test helps you evaluate the questions and the flow of the survey before you finally launch it for the audience. Share your survey with your colleague or among a few respondents. 

During the pilot test, gather feedback on the language, tone, clarity, fairness, and structure of the questions. It can help you identify any potential source of bias so you can make appropriate changes.

Conclusion

Biased survey questions can significantly impact the accuracy and validity of the research data. It’s important to be aware of how you can identify and avoid such questions. As a researcher, you can’t breach the trust of the respondents. You must ensure that the survey questions are fair and encourage honest responses. 

Leverage online survey tools that give you access to skip logic and multiple question types and enable you to randomize the order of the questions. Unbiased survey questions are important in promoting trustworthy research and gathering honest feedback.

FAQs

  1. What is a biased survey question?

Biased survey questions are written in a way that leads respondents to answer in a particularly aligned way. The questions urge participants to favor one viewpoint. Biased questions lead to unreliable data and leave you with false information. 

  1. What are some common types of biased survey questions?

Some common examples of biased survey questions are: 

  • Leading questions. 
  • Loaded questions. 
  • Double-barreled questions. 
  • Absolute questions. 
  • Assumptive questions. 
  1. Why should you avoid biased survey questions?

A biased question can result in skewed data. It influences respondents to provide a response in favor of a particular perspective. This also harms the authenticity of research and brand image, as respondents believe that the brand is trying to influence their perception. 

  1. How to avoid writing biased survey questions?

It’s important to be aware of the type of biases that may occur in survey design. You also should be aware of your own biased opinion and ensure it doesn’t reflect in your questions. Use neutral language, tone, and structure when designing a survey. Pre-test your survey and use alternative structural techniques to avoid writing biased surveys. 

 

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