Big Effort for a Small Survey

I spent more time today than I would have ever dreamed creating a simple staff survey.  


     As part of my internship research, I need to collect some preliminary data on my campus' current readiness for our new technology implementation and on the background knowledge and interest in professional learning communities.  At the outset, it seemed to be a short, simple endeavor.  However, almost immediately I realized that there were challenges to getting the information that I truly need.  
     My first goal was to develop useful organization.  How do I organize the questions?  Will my logic be meaningful to my colleagues?  I know from my own experiences that a random, disorganized survey can make it more difficult to respond with clarity.  I created an outline much as I would for any other writing, to ensure that my questions followed a narrative thread. Next, the individual questions required forethought and planning.  Would the wording be confusing for the respondents?  Are we using terms/vocabulary in a uniform way?  With so many different roles on campus, how would I make sure that the answer choices I offered were comprehensive?  And finally came the challenge of length.  I wanted to ask enough questions to ensure that I collected all the data I need, but I know that I need to avoid "numbing" my respondents with too many questions.  
     After 3 hours of writing, rewriting, format changes, and review, I have a survey that I hope will bring me insight into the starting point for my research.  I suppose that, in the spirit of continuous improvement, I will reflect on my results and develop new knowledge for the next survey.