Writing Survey Questions

My offsider, Pauline, is embarking on the new world of question writing as we develop surveys for our Museum Shop and Science in the Suburbs. This got me thinking about what I would recommend as resources for question-writing.

Found a good online resource from the Committee on Audience Research and Evaluation called Visitor Studies 201 presented at the 2006 AAM, with a downloadable pdf on developing questions. There is a 'how to' on writing questions posted by the Evaluation and Visitor Studies SIG with a link to an online guide to designing and conducting visitor surveys by Julie Leones, The University of Arizona.

As mentioned before, Judy Diamond's 1999 book Practical Evaluation Guide: tools for museums and other informal educational settings (Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press) is a good starting point. For general advice on sampling and suggested questions for a whole range of areas try:
* McManus, P. (1991). Towards Understanding the Needs of Museum Visitors. In G. Lord & B. Lord (Eds.), The Manual of Museum Planning (pp. 35-52). London: HMSO. (I think there's a newer version of this book and it's in our Research Library).

You could also look at general social research texts - one I have used is:
* de Vaus, D. (1991). Surveys in Social Research (3rd ed.). London: UCL Press, especially Chapter 6 (also in our Research Library).

Good luck!