Every season, many teams come up with surveys. Here are some tips to consider.

1. Is a survey the best choice for collecting data?
   
   • You don’t have to do a survey to “win” or impress judges.
   • Consider what information you actually want to collect. If you are trying to evaluate a technical solution, an interview with an expert may give much better (and more accurate) data. If you want end-user data, consider who the end user is and where you can find them.
     
2. Proofread Surveys:
   
   • Surveys with many errors are hard to understand or complete. Children are supposed to do the work and come up with the questions, but coaches can help them proofread and ensure the questions/answers make sense.
   • Send the survey to a couple of team parents to make sure everything is okay before sharing it with a large audience.
     
3. Evaluate Questions:
   
   • Can the questions be answered? Was it specific enough?
   • Will a responder know what the words mean?
   • Do you define the scale (e.g. 1 is low and 10 is high)?
   • How long do you think the survey will take? If all the questions are free response, will the responders complete the survey?
   • Check the logic of the survey. If follow-up questions are required when the previous answer was “no” will some people just give up on the survey?
     
4. Don’t corner respondents:
   
   • Are your questions framed in such a way that you force an answer?
   • Are your answer choices only ones your team is willing to consider?
   • Locking a responder into choices that are convenient to your team is not good survey practice. What if your answers aren’t the only ones? Add an “other” choice or “none of the above”. Add a “do not know” answer.
     
5. Consider your audience:
   • Laypeople cannot answer specific questions about which solution is better or what specific features to have in a technical solution if we have no experience at all in the industry or activity.
   • If you collect feedback data from people who are just guessing, your data is inaccurate. Presenting this data to judges would not be right.
   • Should the survey be changed or should you post the survey in a group where there will be specialists?
     
6. Teach integrity:
   
   • Teach your team to report results accurately and follow rules.