How to Create an Effective Survey with LimeSurvey ?

Objective

• Define the objectives and structure of your survey.
• Write effective questions adapted to your audience.
• Configure and test your questionnaire before launch.

1. Define your objectives

Before anything else, clearly determine:

1. Why you are conducting this survey (primary and secondary objectives).
2. Who is your target audience (students, teachers, general public, etc.).
3. What data you wish to obtain and how it will be used.

Tip: The more precise your objective, the easier it will be to formulate relevant questions.

2. Plan the structure

Organize your questions into thematic groups to logically guide the participant.

1. Create a group : define a specific topic (e.g. Profile, Experience, Suggestions).
2. Add questions : each group contains several related questions.
3. Reorganize easily : use drag-and-drop in LimeSurvey to rearrange your groups and questions.

Note: A clear structure improves understanding and reduces abandonment.

3. Write effective questions

Your questions must be simple, clear and adapted to your audience.

Best practices

• Short sentence : fewer than 20 words.
• Simple and neutral vocabulary : avoid jargon or biased terms.
• One topic per question : never merge two ideas.
• Vary formats : yes/no, multiple choice, scale, free text.

4. Question examples

Comparison between poor and good formulations:

Poor question: "Are you satisfied with the service and delivery times?"

Good question: "Are you satisfied with the delivery times?"

Poor question: "You like our new courses, don't you?"

Good question: "How do you rate the quality of the new courses?"

Poor question: "How often do you use our site and what do you think of its design?"

Good question: "How often do you use our site?" (followed by a separate question about design)

Tip: Avoid asking two questions in one. This distorts the interpretation of responses.

5. Configure the survey in LimeSurvey

When creating your survey, configure these important settings:

1. Title and description : clear and informative for participants.
2. Language : choose the language of your participants.
3. Navigation : show numbers, progress bar, back button.
4. Access : open (public link) or closed (codes or invitation tokens).
5. Confidentiality : anonymization, IP tracking, GDPR settings.

Tip: Enable anonymity to encourage honesty in responses.

6. Test before launch

Never launch a survey without pre-testing:

1. Invite 3 to 5 people to answer the questionnaire.
2. Verify the clarity of questions, response time, mobile display.
3. Collect feedback and correct errors before activation.

Note: After activation, some structural modifications are no longer possible.

7. Distribute and collect

Choose your distribution channels:

• Email sending with a unique token for each participant.
• Publication on a website or student space.
• QR code printed or displayed.

Tip: Set a deadline and remind regularly to maximize response rate.

8. Analyze the results

Once the survey is complete:

1. Use LimeSurvey's built-in graphics for a quick overview.
2. Export your data to Excel, SPSS, R or any other advanced analysis tool.
3. Write a clear summary with key findings and share it if necessary.

9. Final checklist

• Precise objective defined : you know exactly why you are conducting this survey.
• Logical group structure : your questions are organized by theme.
• Clear and varied questions : each question is relevant and well-formulated.
• Well-configured settings : title, language, access and confidentiality defined.
• Pre-test completed : you have tested with some participants.
• .lsa backup created : you have a copy of your questionnaire.
• Distribution plan established : you know how to reach your participants.
• Analysis planned : you know how to analyze the results.

Need help?

For any difficulty, contact the LimeSurvey team via: Cellule.Web@ulb.be