How to write a friends and family survey

Friends and family surveys are used to recruit research participants for a particular study — such as panels or in depth interviews — from among a team’s social and professional network. Friends and family surveys tend to be faster and more affordable that traditional recruiting methods.

How do I start?

Before you begin writing your survey, you should put together a research plan that includes:

• What you want to learn — the objectives or intended outcomes of your research
• How you’ll learn it — what methods you’ll use
• Who you’ll speak to —A list of the qualities and behaviors of the people you want to speak to

It’s important to define this information before you write your survey so that you know what questions to ask in your survey, and to help you determine who among your survey respondents you will recruit for your research study.

Identify your survey questions

Look back at your research plan and put together a simple list of questions that you’d want to ask to identify those folks, and to learn a bit more about them. Refine this down to the essential questions, and I’d recommend keeping it under 15 questions.

Determine how best to ask each question

Do you want your participant to choose among a set of pre-determined options or to respond open-endedly? Do they get one choice or as many as they like? Consider which input type is most helpful for collecting the information you need. Here are some of the most common input types you’ll encounter:

• Dropdown — participants can only choose one response among a set of responses. Response options are hidden until the participant clicks to open a dropdown. This can be helpful for reducing the perceived length of your survey.
• Checkbox — participants select as many responses in a set as they like
• Multiple choice— participants can only choose one response among a set of responses. All response options are visible at all times.
• Checkbox grid — participants select as many responses as they like in a set of grouped responses. This is helpful for saving space when questions are very similar, and for obscuring the “correct” response.
• Multiple choice grid — participants choose one…