Writing questions for SMS surveys? Five things to keep in mind.

Writing questions for SMS surveys? Five things to keep in mind.

We have collected our five most important tips for writing effective questions for SMS surveys.

  1. Keep it brief: SMS Survey questions can have a maximum length of 160 characters.  Our survey platforms does the counting for you and shows you if your question is too long.
  2. Use clear, concise language: Avoid using jargon or overly complex language. Make sure your questions are unambigous (they have only one meaning).
  3. Use closed-ended questions: Closed-ended questions, which provide a limited set of response options, are generally easier to answer via SMS and allow for faster data collection and analysis.
  4. Ask direct questions: Try to ask questions in a direct way. For example, if you want to know the number of children a participant has, directly ask for it instead of first asking whether they have children.
  5. Test your questions: Before going live in large samples, gather some feedback from colleagues or respondents to ensure that the questions are clear.