In the field of usability, there is the notion of “Inference vs. Instruction” – ie, how well did the instructions we have provided lead everyone to explicitly understand the same set of parameters in how to answer the question.

In the past couple of years, surveys have become increasingly visual & eye-catching, with the goal of “engaging” respondents.

Our research into this issue, presented around North America – and most recently at The Market Research Event in Las Vegas, has shown that up to 42% of respondents don’t read marketing research survey questions, and highest when visuals dominated the screen.

What can we do? For starters, a simple tip –> ensure the font is large enough (often, survey software has default font sizes that are too small) … and use BOLD and underline in your questions to highlight important information. For example: “Which of these three ads did you prefer most?”

Next time you get a survey link … look beyond typos and skip logic … look for ways to also make sure respondents are clear on what you are asking.