How to create an online survey: 14 steps to making a professional form

Currently, more than 70% of businesses and educators in Vietnam use online surveys to collect feedback from customers, students, or the community. However, not everyone knows how to create an effective online survey that is easy to understand, yields accurate data, and is truly useful.

If you've ever created a survey but received superficial, low-value responses — the problem isn't with the respondents, but with how you designed the questions.

This article will help you understand how to create an effective online survey, from setting objectives and asking targeted questions to optimizing the respondent experience. By applying these steps, you can transform a simple survey into a powerful tool for gathering valuable insights.

Part 1: How to design a scientific and engaging questionnaire

Step 1: How to define survey objectives

Clearly define survey objectives from the outset

• Before starting how to create an online survey, you need to clearly answer: what information do you want to collect?

• The more specific the objective, the easier the survey is to design and the more accurate the results.

• Practical examples:

  • If you are a business: want to know customer satisfaction levels

  • If you are a teacher: want to understand students' learning experiences

  • If you are a manager: need to measure employee engagement

Design questions that align with survey objectives

• Every question in an online survey must directly serve the stated objective.

• Two types of questions can be used:

  • Direct questions: "On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you?"

  • Indirect questions: "Do you feel your work is meaningful every day?"

• This approach helps you gather multi-faceted data while remaining focused.

Review each question before use

• After completing how to create an online survey, review all questions:

  • Does this question help achieve the objective?

  • Does it provide genuinely useful information?

• If a question does not contribute clear value, it should be removed to avoid making the survey too long and fatiguing for respondents.

Optimize the survey to improve data quality

• An effective online survey is not long, but "right and sufficient."

• Keep questions concise, easy to understand, and avoid rambling.

• Focus on important insights rather than asking too much unnecessary information.

Step 2: How to collect honest answers

Create a safe environment for honest responses

• When conducting online surveys, the goal is not just to collect answers, but to collect honest answers.

• Participants often hesitate if they believe their answers could affect their image, position, or benefits.

• Therefore, ensure:

  • No feeling of being "judged"

  • No leading or pressuring questions

Prioritize anonymous surveys to increase trustworthiness

• One of the most effective ways to increase honesty in online surveys is to allow anonymous responses.

• When they don't have to reveal their identity, participants will:

  • Be more likely to share their true opinions

  • Be less afraid of personal repercussions

• Practical examples:

  • Internal survey on employee satisfaction

  • Evaluating management quality or work environment

Design neutral questions that do not create bias

• In creating an online survey, question phrasing directly impacts the honesty of the answers.

• Avoid:

  • Questions that "suggest the correct answer"

  • Wording with judgmental connotations

• Instead:

  • Use simple, clear questions

  • Allow multiple choices or open-ended answers for users to share freely

Clearly explain the survey's purpose to build trust

• Before starting the online survey, clearly state:

  • What the data will be used for

  • Whether confidentiality is guaranteed

• When participants understand that their opinions are respected and used for the right purpose, they will tend to answer more truthfully.

Step 3: How to choose effective survey methods

Choose the right survey method for your objectives

• In creating an online survey, choosing the data collection method directly impacts the quality of the results.

• Some common methods:

  • Direct survey (face-to-face interview)

  • Telephone survey

  • Email or form survey

  • Online survey (Google Form, web survey)

• You need to consider:

  • Available budget

  • Number of participants

  • Personnel needed

  • Level of detail of data to be collected

Understand the pros and cons of each method

• Each format in creating an online survey or traditional survey has its own strengths:

  • Direct interviews:

    • Advantages: in-depth data, high accuracy

    • Disadvantages: time-consuming and costly

  • Telephone surveys:

    • Advantages: quick reach

    • Disadvantages: easily refused, hard to delve deep

  • Online surveys:

    • Advantages: fast, cost-effective, easy to deploy broadly

    • Disadvantages: potential for sample bias

Increase reliability when using online surveys

• If you choose an online survey, optimize it to reduce bias:

  • Expand the number of participants to increase representativeness

  • Distribute surveys through multiple channels (email, social media, website)

  • Ensure questions are clear and easy to understand to avoid misinterpretation

Combine multiple methods for more accurate data

• In practice, an effective online survey method should not be limited to a single approach.

• You can:

  • Use online surveys to collect data quickly

  • Combine with in-depth interviews with a small group to understand insights

• This approach helps:

  • Compensate for the weaknesses of individual methods

  • Increase the reliability and practical relevance of the data

Step 4: How to Ensure Accuracy When Conducting Surveys

Accurately define the survey audience size

• When creating an online survey form, you need to know exactly who you are surveying and the size of the audience.

• This size is called the “survey population.”

• Real-world examples:

  • Employee survey → the population is the entire company

  • Customer survey → the population is all people who have made a purchase

• If the population is defined incorrectly, the data collected will not accurately reflect reality.

Understand that sample size directly affects accuracy

• An online survey form with only a few respondents will not be sufficient to conclude a trend.

• The more participants there are:

  • The more reliable the results

  • The more accurate the insights gained

• Therefore, when applying the method of creating an online survey form, prioritize expanding the sample size appropriately for the goal.

Understand the margin of error in surveys

• The margin of error is the difference between the survey results and reality.

• For example:

  • A margin of error of ±5% means the result can deviate up or down by 5% compared to reality.

• In an effective online survey form, the lower the margin of error, the higher the reliability.

• Ways to reduce the margin of error:

  • Increase the number of respondents

  • Select a diverse, unbiased sample

Understand the confidence level of the results

• Confidence level indicates how much you "trust" the survey results.

• Common examples:

  • 95% confidence level → results are highly likely to reflect reality accurately

• When implementing the method for creating online survey forms, aim for:

  • High confidence (90–95%)

  • Low margin of error (±3–5%)

Balance between cost and accuracy

• In reality, it's not necessary to survey the entire population.

• You only need:

  • A sufficiently large sample size

  • Appropriate distribution across different target groups

• This is how an online survey form can save costs while ensuring reliable data.

Step 5: How to Accurately Determine Survey Sample Size

Determine the number of people to survey (sample size)

• In the online survey creation method, after knowing the population and desired accuracy, you need to calculate how many people should be surveyed.

• This step determines:

  • Whether the results are reliable

  • Whether there is enough data for analysis

Understand the principle: more surveys, lower margin of error

• An important rule in an online survey form:

  • Larger number of respondents → smaller margin of error

  • Smaller margin of error → more accurate data

• However, it's not necessary to survey the entire population, just a "sufficiently large and reasonable" sample.

Quickly apply common benchmarks

• Here's a quick estimation method for creating an online survey form (with a confidence level of approximately 95%):

  • Population of 100 people → need about 74–80 respondents

  • Population of 500 people → need about 176–218 people

  • Population of 1,000 people → need about 215–278 people

  • Population of 10,000 people → need about 264–370 people

  • Population of 100,000 people → need about 270–383 people

  • Population over 1 million → about 271–384 people is sufficient

• You will see:

  • As the population increases, the required sample size also increases, but not excessively.

  • This is a point that many newcomers to online surveys often misunderstand.

Choose the appropriate margin of error for practical goals

• In an effective online survey method, you should choose:

  • Margin of error ±5% → suitable for most needs (marketing, education, internal)

  • Margin of error ±3% → used when higher accuracy is required

• If resources are limited, prioritize:

  • Keeping the margin of error at a reasonable level

  • Increasing sample quality instead of just quantity

Optimize sample size to save cost and time

• Matthew Snipp, PhD Research Fellow, U.S. Census Bureau

  C. Matthew Snipp is a professor of Sociology at Stanford, director of the Social Science Research Center, a demographer, worked for the U.S. Census Bureau, and has published numerous important academic studies.