Creating new research questions is perhaps one of the most exciting and challenging parts of research. As explained above, a literature review is crucial to help experts gain a better understanding of the topic of interest and the existing measurements. Knowing if there are other similar and valid surveys is vital, and in fact, it can save precious time (Peat, 2011).

All questions should be easy to understand and relevant. Therefore, the main characteristics of each sample (including size) should be considered. In fact, when it comes to participants, the sampling procedures (randomized, etc.) also need to be established. On top of that, researchers must decide if the questionnaire will be confidential for follow-up purposes or completely anonymous.

The content, the wording, the order and the length itself are other vital aspects researchers need to focus on. Note that sometimes the same question can be asked twice but in a different way to double check responses and social desirability.

We should mention that, usually, research questions tackle two types of medical information: qualitative (which is used to generate hypotheses) and quantitative (which is needed to test hypotheses) (“Questionnaire Design”). For qualitative data, exploratory and open questions might be better. Although they are more difficult to code and analyze, open questions widen the scope of research and help experts generate new ideas (Peat, 2011). On the other hand, standardized close-ended items are needed for collecting quantitative information. They also come with lots of challenges, such as attracting random responses. Still, they help researchers collect data quickly, via fixed and pre-coded replies (Peat, 2011).

In any case, experts should always try to reduce unambiguity. If one could measure exposures, confounders, outcomes, and demographics at the same time, this would be the ultimate testing tool. Therefore, focus groups can be extremely valuable to collect new ideas, census forms to help research generate questions, and peer review to establish internal validity.

Note that when sensitive information, such as ethnicity or income, is needed, surveys become more complicated. Do not forget that such questions may reduce the response rate, so they can be excluded or added at the end of the survey. In fact, using wording similar to the national census, for instance, is a good method to make participants feel more comfortable (Peat, 2011).