Paid online surveys cause the most stress when we don’t know what we’re getting into. Many people get scammed of their time and money instead of earning extra. It’s difficult to trust online platforms, so you must rely on research.

Understanding what questions to expect in paid online surveys is a great safeguard against shady platforms. It’s easier to raise suspicions if you know what is normal and what is not. This article is a short introduction to what questions you can expect in paid online surveys.

The most common question topics

Demographic questions

Most paid survey questionnaires revolve around consumer opinions because that’s what companies are paying for. They outsource this process to paid survey platforms, and they share part of the profits with participants. However, depending on the company, some demographics are more valuable than others.

Expect some introductory questions about who you are – your age, gender, region, occupation, and similar. If the questions get too personal (asking for banking details, for example) or you need to identify yourself, proceed cautiously. It’s a red flag of platforms that might scam participants.

Customer feedback

We tend to give away our feedback for free to companies we either like or are dissatisfied with very much. However, from the companies’ point of view, your feedback is a valuable resource. Understanding the level of satisfaction customers have with products or services helps them make better decisions.

Customer feedback surveys will start by asking whether you have ever used a certain product or service. If you are eligible, you’ll need to give your feedback on specific aspects, often in an open-ended manner. I found such surveys to be the most popular type.

Product preferences

Unlike customer satisfaction surveys, you don’t need to be a customer of a specific company to participate in a product preference survey. Instead, you can expect the questionnaire to check whether you can be considered a potential customer.

The questions will revolve around your likes and dislikes, reactions to trends in the market, and what you might like to see improved. Interestingly, some product preference surveys are about products that aren’t actively sold yet.

Brand perception

Brand perception is how people perceive a certain brand. Many large corporations invest millions to be perceived positively by the public, even if they aren’t their customers. That’s why brand perception surveys are one of the best-paying ones.

You should expect some general questions about a brand and its comparison with competitors. Unlike other similar types, the questions are more general. Sometimes, questions are directed towards employment or investing possibilities, but the general aim is to figure out the participant’s feelings.

Medical topics

While many paid online surveys can be categorized according to what products they are researching, medical topics deserve a separate mention. These surveys are the best-paying ones as the information is rather private, yet life-savingly important for pharmaceutical companies to know.

In addition to common demographic questions, you might need to answer questions about your health condition, the drugs you take, how you feel about consulting doctors, and so on. If you are comfortable with answering such questions, I advise you to start with the best medical survey sites. They are paying the most, and you get to help companies save lives. 

Advertising impact

The impact of advertising campaigns is difficult to measure and control, and the marketing marketing campaign costs millions of dollars. Advertising impact surveys aim to find what audiences think about a particular product or brand in relation to a specific ad campaign.

In some cases, we conduct the survey before launching the campaign. However, more often, the questionnaires start by qualifying you as someone who knows about a certain campaign. Then, you can expect questions about the contents of the ads and your feelings towards the company and product displayed.

The most common question types

While the design of popular paid survey platforms like Pawns, Survey Monkey, or Swagbucks differ wildly, the main methods of questioning the participants are the same. Here are some of the most popular ones.

Multiple choice questions

Multiple-choice questions are among the most popular ones, not just in paid surveys but also in tests, exams, evaluations, and elsewhere. They are quick to answer and go straight to the point. You get a question and simply need to choose the correct answer from an option list.

However, be aware that some of these types of questions are Instructional Manipulation Checks (IMCs) crafted to check whether you are paying attention. You might be disqualified from the platform or the survey if you answer incorrectly.

Picture choice questions

Multiple-choice questioning is often used in the form of pictures to engage students. Instead of selecting a text answer, you might be asked to choose a relevant picture. Sometimes, the questions might evaluate your emotional associations with the topic. Don’t worry if it doesn’t make sense; just choose from your initial hunch.

Rating scale questions

Questions that use scales (Lickert scale, for example) are common when measuring the participant’s agreement, satisfaction, or other metrics that can be expressed numerically. 

For example, you can expect to rate your agreement on a scale from 0 to 10. Be sure to read the questions carefully before choosing a scale point, as some of them might be IMCs.

Open-ended questions

Open-ended questions, though less frequent, consume the most time. Instead of choosing from an option or rating, you’ll need to provide a written answer. Most of the time, the answer field will have a limit for characters or words. Make sure to use flawless grammar and answer to the point. You may discard irrelevant answers.

Conclusion

Online survey questions should not ask much about you personally or require any skills or additional evaluations. There are exceptions, but most survey sites that pay will have some multiple-choice questions with occasional scale or picture selections about things that interest companies. Product preferences and user experience surveys are the most common.