You have your hypothesis. You have identified your sample size. You are ready to launch your Google Form or SurveyMonkey link.

Stop.

The most dangerous phase of research is Data Collection. Why? Because you can’t fix it later. If you collect 500 responses using a flawed questionnaire, you cannot “edit” the data to make it better. You have to throw it all away and start over. In the analytics world, we call this “Garbage In, Garbage Out.”

At McKinley Research, we validate hundreds of questionnaires for PhD scholars and corporate clients. Here are the 4 silent killers of research data that you must avoid.

1. The “Double-Barreled” Question

This is the most common error. It happens when you ask two things in one sentence.

  • Bad: “How satisfied are you with our price and customer service?”
  • The Problem: What if the customer loves the price (5 stars) but hates the service (1 star)? How do they answer? They guess.
  • The Fix: Split it. Question 1: Price. Question 2: Service.

2. The “Leading” Question (Bias)

You want to prove your point, so you accidentally force the respondent to agree with you.

  • Bad: “Don’t you agree that remote work is better for mental health?”
  • The Problem: The phrase “Don’t you agree” pressures the user to say Yes. This destroys your data’s Validity.
  • The Fix: Neutrality. “How does remote work impact your mental health? (Positive / Negative / No Impact).”

3. The “Ambiguous Frequency”

Using vague words creates vague data.

  • Bad: “How often do you exercise? (Rarely / Sometimes / Often).”
  • The Problem: To me, “Often” means daily. To you, “Often” might mean once a week. The data becomes meaningless.
  • The Fix: Be specific. “(Less than once a week / 1-2 times a week / Daily).”

4. Skipping the “Pilot Study”

You wrote the questions. You understand them. But does your grandmother understand them? Does a stranger? A Pilot Study involves testing your survey on a small group (10-20 people) just to check for confusion.

  • Did they get stuck on Question 5?
  • Did they misunderstand the instructions? If you skip the pilot, you are gambling with your entire thesis.

Conclusion

Your analysis is only as good as your instrument. Don’t let a poorly worded question destroy months of hard work.

Need a “Validity Check”? Send your questionnaire to McKinley Research. Our experts will review your tool for bias, flow, and structural errors before you send it to your participants.