THINGS I REPEAT OFTEN ENOUGH ABOUT SURVEYS THAT IT WAS TIME TO WRITE THEM DOWN

Summary from the TLDR Design newsletter

Well-designed surveys are powerful research tools when done thoughtfully, but they require practice and attention to the respondent's experience. Avoid asking for information you already have, unnecessary or required questions, ambiguous phrasing, lengthy or matrix-style questions, and predictions about future behavior. Always explain the survey's purpose, write clearly and conversationally, provide inclusive and edge-case answer choices, and include a catch-all question for additional insights. Surveys work best to signal trends, recruit people for deeper research, and foster team collaboration, rather than as a replacement for direct user engagement.