9 Tips for Writing Great Numeric Questions

Annie PettitChief Research OfficerPeanut Labs

Always Include Zero

• Even if people who should choose zero have been skipped or screened out• People misread, misremember,

and change their minds

How many movies did you watch last week?o1o2o3o4o5o6o7o8 or more

2

Always Include a Maximum

• Even if people who chose a high number should have been skipped or screened out• People misread, misremember,

and change their minds• Don’t forget 8 or more!

How many movies did you watch last week?o0o1o2o3o4o5o6o7

3

Don’t Duplicate Numbers

• Where do I put my answer for 10?• Be conscious of overlapping

answers• Get into the habit of testing

out each possible answer against the number ranges

How many movies did you watch last month?o0o1 to 5o5 to 10o10 to 15o15 or more

Don’t Skip Numbers

• Where is 15?• It’s easy to miss when you see

both 14 and 15 in the answer options• Get into the habit of testing

out each possible answer against the number ranges

How many movies did you watch last month?o0o1 to 4o5 to 9o10 to 14oMore than 15

Use Intuitive Breaks

• Use breaks that relate to how people talk about the topic

How many times did you go grocery shopping last month?o0o1 to 5o6 to 10o11 to 15o16 or morePrecise Flexible

1 to 4 Once per week

5 to 8 Twice per week

9 to 12 Three times per week

13 or more Four times per week

Use Common Breaks

• People are very comfortable with multiples of 2 and 5. Multiple of 3 and 4 are just strange.• 0• 1 to 4• 5 to 9• 10 to 14• 15 or more

• 0• 1 • 2 or 3• 4 or 5• 6 or 7• 8 or more

How many books about statistics do you have at home?o0o1 to 3o4 to 7o8 to 11o12 or more

Start With Numbers

• It’s easier to read if every answer starts with a number• It’s also easier to follow all the

rules if every answer starts with a number• 0• 1 to 4• 5 to 9• 10 or more

How many times did you go grocery shopping last month?

Less than 1

1 to 4

5 to 9

More than 9

OR does not equal TO

• Does the object being measured happen in decimal places?

How many children are in your household?o0o1 to 2o3 to 4o5 to 6o7 or more

1 or 2: 1 to 2:

Car Watched for half an hour

Movie Bought half a gallon

Child Drank half a cup of coffee

Website Used half a notebook

Is that a minus sign?

• What is clear to you may not be clear to other people• Reserve – for when it MUST be

usedo 0o 1 to 4o 5 to 8o 9 to 12o 13 or more

How many movies did you watch last month?o0o1-4o5-8o9-12o13 or more

Per f e c t i on Doesn’t Exist

In an average week, how many cups of coffee do you buy at coffee shops?01 or 23 or 45 to 78 to 1415 to 2122 or more

In an average week, how many cups of coffee do you buy at coffee shops?01 to 45 to 910 to 1415 to 1920 or more

In an average week, how many cups of coffee do you buy at coffee shops?01 to 78 to 1415 to 2122 or more

How To Contact Us

Annie Pettit

Chief Research Officer

Peanut Labs

annie@peanutlabs.com

twitter.com/LoveStats

ca.linkedin.com/in/anniepettit/

Questions about our Sample Services?

Jonathan Cheriff

Director of Sales & Marketing

jonathan.cheriff@peanutlabs.com

twitter.com/paperbackdad

www.linkedin.com/in/jonathancheriff

Thank you for your participation!

We hope you learned a few tidbits of information!