Why Forcing Survey Responses Destroys Your Data

I received a survey from the BBC today. Probably like millions of other people.

Like everyone else, I don't respond to every survey in my inbox, but I actually wanted to participate in this one.

The survey was long, so (again, like everyone else) I instinctively allocated a reasonable amount of time to complete it by answering the questions where I had a clear opinion, and skipping those where I didn't.

To my surprise, I wasn't allowed to submit it like that.

• ❌ All the questions were mandatory.

• ❌ No skipping allowed.

In other words, I was forced to have an opinion about everything the BBC asked.

This is a very common mistake companies make when designing surveys: they assume that customers are as invested in the questionnaire as the team that designed it. Spoiler alert: they're not.

If you force people to answer every question, even when they don't have a real opinion, you are forcing them to give random answers.

• ❌ Random responses contaminate your data.
• ❌ Contaminated data will ruin your analysis.
• ❌ The whole project ends up (or should end up) in the bin, along with the budget you spent on it.

Instead:

• ✅ Make sure you don't force respondents. You can't force real feedback.

• ✅ Prioritise the quality of responses, not the quantity.

• ✅ Only make a question mandatory if it's critical to the logic of the survey.

It's a hard lesson that many companies, including, sadly, today, the BBC, still haven't learned.