Neither easy nor difficult? Huh?
The commitment to a neutral response category is strong. It always blows my mind how many neutral response choices I see on surveys. Now, I’m not saying you never need a neutral—there are definitely times when it makes sense. But you always have to ask yourself, Is this one of those times?
Recently, I came across a question on an Instagram survey that was just comical. Take a peak at it below.
If something is not easy, and it’s not difficult, what is it? That’s what I would consider a nonsensical response. How do they explain that data? "Ah yes, well people say Instagram isn't easy to use, but it isn't difficult ... it just is?"
Some people justify the neutral option by saying they want the scale (set of their answer choices) to be balanced, ensuring equal distance between each response. Well, here’s the harsh reality: You can’t possibly know if there’s an equal difference between “very easy” and “somewhat easy,” or “somewhat difficult” and “very difficult.” All of this is subjective! You’re capturing opinions and perceptions. So, adding that middle spot for balance is a farce (ridiculous, strange, seems useful but really isn't!). It might make you feel like the scale is even, but what you’re really doing is creating a scale that doesn’t make sense.
If there’s an answer choice on your survey, and you can’t explain what it means, that’s a big red flag that it shouldn’t be there.
So, what could Instagram do instead?
For starters, they would be wise to ask questions about the ease and difficulty of different aspects of their platform so that they get more specific data they can take action on.
They could simply cut the neutral response option.
If it seems like a stretch to go from somewhat easy to somewhat difficult, you could add in "a little easy" and "a little difficult." But, if that sounds like a lot...it's because it is.
I would recommend something more along these lines:
In these suggested questions, I anchor the question in a more specific Instagram feature. I also streamline the response options so that they are easier to interpret: sharing photos is easy, or maybe it's VERY easy. It's difficult, or maybe it's VERY difficult. Might you end up in a situation where someone is like: "It's actually a little easy, not easy"? Sure, and I'm quite alright with all those people being sorted into the easy category.
For someone who REALLY wants a neutral response, they can reframe the question as a comparison: is it about the same as another platform?
These new questions will give Instagram more actionable information…and that’s the point of the survey, right? They want to do something with the information.
