Concept Phase

In the second step, based on your research question, you prepare a structured questionnaire that will provide you with the information you need. You should always give participants enough space to convey what is important to them.

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How many questions should I ask? 📝

When it comes to questions, the rule is: as few questions as possible, as many as necessary. The more questions you ask, the quicker people will be put off by the survey – and the more work you will have to do when evaluating the results. Ask yourself whether each individual question helps to answer your research question. If not, it is usually superfluous.

Be sure to refrain from requesting detailed data that would only be useful for representative purposes. Crowdsourced research can practically never collect representative data.

Important: The entire survey should be as long as necessary, but as short as possible.

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What questions should I definitely ask? 🎤

The most important questions are those that only you, as the editorial team, can answer. This includes the question: 'You may contact me if you have any further questions' (answer option yes/no).

The more people have to say, the more interesting the story will be for you. That's why open-ended questions ('How do you experience the problem?') should be accompanied by long text fields.

One open-ended question you should definitely ask at the end is the most open-ended question possible: 'What else would you like to tell us about this topic?' This often provides valuable information that you may not have thought of when creating the questionnaire.

Depending on the tool you use, you also have the option of inviting the respondent to subscribe to your newsletter. This should always be a voluntary option. The wording should be something like: 'Send me the XYZ newsletter' (yes/no option) and a reference to any steps required under data protection law (for example, optional in the case of 'yes': 'You will receive an email that you must confirm').

Answers to crucial questions should be supported by evidence such as photos or documents wherever possible.

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Examples 💡

Who is renting the apartment to you? Please upload a copy of the rental agreement.

Do you have water damage? Please send a photo.

When searching for dangerous routes to school, a photo of the location provided was useful as evidence. The photo served as initial proof, so to speak. This made it possible to quickly determine the actual danger. A photo can also be used to illustrate the situation online and in articles.

Important: Information can always be submitted anonymously if desired. This ensures that you receive the information even if participants do not want to give their names.