In any venture, those with battle scars are bound to point out that proper preparation is a major key to success.
Surveys are no exception to the rule.
It is possible to conduct a survey without the necessary planning, but the process will be an inefficient use of your time and the results potentially meaningless. The best starting point is not scribbling down questions or wrestling with obscure mathematical formulas, but establishing your goals clearly and concisely. The whole point of asking questions of people is to get answers that will help you make important decisions, so knowing what you want to learn, and why, is crucial . Your goals will affect the questions you ask, the people you ask, and the way in which you ask them. Try starting with a short explanation of the reason for the survey, similar in concept to a company s mission statement.