Demographic survey questions, when used properly, can be a powerful tool for your online surveys. These types of questions help to sort respondents and their organizations, as well as cross-tabulate and compare subgroups to see how opinions vary. Some respondents may see them as tedious and intrusive, but demographic questions can provide invaluable insight into your survey sample if they’re used tactfully.
Benefits of Using Demographic Survey Questions
Using demographic survey questions is one of the simplest ways to optimize your survey results. When it comes to employee and customer engagement, more data is better. The more we learn about our survey respondents, the better we can serve them.
Some of the insights you receive by effectively implementing demographic survey questions are:
- Uncovering key details to include in employee and buyer personas
- Leverage demographic data to uncover market trends in your industry
- Confirm you’re targeting the right audience
- Gain a deeper understanding of survey responses
- Control the quality and validity of survey responses
It’s important to note that the power of your demographic survey questions will only be as good as your knowledge management. Having more data is great, but make sure you have the systems and procedures in place to extract the most significant impact out of these data points.
Examples of Typical Demographic Questions
Demographic survey questions are only limited by your creativity and imagination. There are many formats and methods you can use to retrieve this data from your survey respondents.
Here are just a few examples of demographic questions.
Age
In what year were you born? ____
Marital Status
What is your marital status?
- Now married
- Widowed
- Divorced
- Separated
- Never married
Education
What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? If currently enrolled, mark the previous grade or highest degree received.
- No schooling completed
- Nursery school to 8th grade
- 9th, 10th, or 11th grade
- 12th grade, no diploma
- High school graduate – high school diploma or the equivalent (for example, GED)
- Some college credit, but less than 1 year
- 1 or more years of college, no degree
- Associate degree (for example AA, AS)
- Bachelor’s degree (for example BA, AB, BS)
- Master’s degree (for example MA, MS, MEng, MEd, MSW, MBA)
- Professional degree (for example MD, DDS, DVM, LLB, JD)
- Doctorate degree (for example PhD, EdD)
Employment Status
Are you currently…?
- Employed for wages
- Self-employed
- Out of work and looking for work
- Out of work but not currently looking for work
- A homemaker
- A student
- Retired
- Unable to work
Housing
Is this house, apartment, or mobile home:
- Owned by you or someone in this household with a mortgage or loan?
- Owned by you or someone in this household free and clear (without a mortgage or loan)?
- Rented for cash rent?
- Occupied without payment of cash rent?
Household Income
What is your total household income?
- Less than $10,000
- $10,000 to $19,999
- $20,000 to $29,999
- $30,000 to $39,999
- $40,000 to $49,999
- $50,000 to $59,999
- $60,000 to $69,999
- $70,000 to $79,999
- $80,000 to $89,999
- $90,000 to $99,999
- $100,000 to $149,999
- $150,000 or more
Ethnicity
Please specify your ethnicity.
- Hispanic or Latino
- Not Hispanic or Latino
Race
Please specify your race.
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- White
Location
Where do you currently live?
- North America/Central America
- South America
- Europe
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia
- Caribbean Islands
- Pacific Islands
- Other: _____
When crafting your survey, you’ll want to think about your sample audience. For larger, random sampling, you may want to consider closed-ended questions. For smaller, convenience sampling, open-ended demographic survey questions may be a more appropriate option.
Ask and You Shall Receive
Whether you’re trying to delight customers or workforce optimization is your priority, survey data is invaluable to better understand your audiences.
Demographic survey questions are essential for taking that engagement to the next level. These demographic survey examples should be a good jumping off point for your team’s creative process to learn everything you need to know about employees and customers.
If you’re looking to take your customer and employee engagement to the next level, you’ll want to talk to the experts. Contact Verint today to learn more about how we can help you grow your business.