The order of how questions are presented can affect the way people respond. Grouping questions that are on a similar topic will make the survey easier to complete, and the respondents feel more comfortable. Questions should be clustered into logically coherent sections, but here are some other points for consideration.

1. Ask easier questions first

Field easier questions at the beginning of your survey. Sensitive questions, or hard questions, which require respondents to recall memory or events, should be placed at the end. Easier questions will encourage people to prowl through your survey in a quicker fashion. The more questions they answer, the less likely they are to abandon midway through the survey.

2. Smooth transition between questions

Questions which appear sequentially of another should typically be of the same subject matter. Break questions into another page, or use headers and descriptions to lead the respondent into your discussion. Surveys that jump from one unrelated topic to another may leave the respondent feeling lost, and less likely to produce high response rates.

3. Same format goes together

If possible, group questions which have the same answering format together. For example, group multiple choices together, and open ended responses together. Respondents gather momentum as they begin answering questions in a section, and interlacing questions of different types may confuse or slow your survey participants.