Data Detective · Lesson 2

Building Our Survey

You've learned what makes a good question, now it's time to build your very own survey from scratch!

Unit 1 · Lesson 2 of 4 25 XP available Download Worksheet

Welcome back, Detective! 🕵️

In Lesson 1 you cracked the case of the good survey question and met the five question types. Today you become a survey designer, you'll pick a topic you're curious about and build a real survey, one question of each type.

Fill in the parts below as you go. Your XP meter further down fills up automatically as you finish each part, aim for all 25 XP!

🎯 Part 1: Choose Your Survey Topic

Pick one topic you're most curious about:

Screen Time & Sleep Homework Habits Pet Ownership Birthday Patterns Snacks & Energy Weekend vs. Monday Reading Preferences My own topic

My topic is about…

❓ Part 2: Your Big Question

What do you want to discover? (your main research question)

Why are you curious about this?

🛠️ Part 3: Design Your 5 Questions

Write one question of each type. Each one should help answer your big question, and each gives you a different kind of chart! 0 / 5 written

1Yes / No

Write your yes/no question:

📊 Gives you a pie chart with 2 parts.

2Multiple Choice

Write your question:

📊 Gives you a bar chart to compare categories.

3Check All That Apply

Write your question:

📊 Shows which combinations are most common.

4Likert Scale (1–5)

Write your rating question:

1 means…

5 means…

📊 Shows trends and average opinions.

5Numeric

Write your number question:

Minimum

Maximum

Units

📊 Gives you averages and can show scatter plots.

📋 Part 4: Data Collection Plan

Who will you survey? (check all that apply)

Classmates Family Friends Neighbors

How many people will you survey? (aim for at least 20 for good patterns!)

How will you collect responses? (check all that apply)

Paper forms In-person interviews Online form Phone / video call

🔮 Part 5: Make Your Predictions

What pattern do you think you'll find?

Which question do you think will give the most surprising results? Why?

⚖️ Part 6: Check for Bias

Great detectives double-check their own work. A biased survey pushes people toward an answer or leaves people out.

Could any of your questions lead people to a specific answer? How could you fix it?

Is your sample fair? Who might be left out?

🏆 Your XP Progress

○ Chose a topic +3 XP
○ Wrote all 5 questions +10 XP
○ Made a collection plan +5 XP
○ Made a prediction +5 XP
○ Checked for bias +2 XP

Total XP earned: 0 / 25

📝 Preview & Download My Survey

Ready to see it come together? Preview a clean copy on screen, then download a printable survey you can hand out to real people!

💡 Survey Design Golden Rules

Keep each question clear and simple · avoid double-barreled questions · define your scales · and make sure every question helps answer your big question.

🧭 Keep Going

← Lesson 1: Good Questions Revisit the five question types. ➡️ Next: Lesson 3 Collect & organize your data in the field. 🏠 Math Enrichment Hub Explore all the modules.

🖨️ Save Your Whole Session

Download everything you did today, all six parts, your XP, and a teacher-review page, as one printable worksheet PDF. Great for handing in or keeping in your detective notebook.

🏆 Complete This Lesson!

Designed your survey? Mark this lesson complete to track your progress.

✅ Lesson 2 complete: your survey is ready to run! Head back to Math Enrichment for your next adventure.