Graphical Language

Respondents interpret the meaning of survey questions from both the verbal and graphical language used in the questionnaire. Graphical language includes various elements such as contours and lines, images, numbers, and symbols and their attributes such as movement, spatial location, color or contrast, and size. These graphical elements influence how respondents perceive survey information and therefore significantly impact the survey response process. Graphical language can convey meaning independently, or it can influence or modify how written text is perceived. Thus, it can be compared to paralanguage that is conveyed aurally through a speaker's voice (e.g. inflection, tone) and to nonverbal communication in face-to-face interactions (e.g. gaze, facial expressions, body language, and gestures). Because paper and Web surveys transmit information visually, survey designers can strategically use graphical language to convey information and meaning to respondents. However, graphical language may also confuse survey respondents when used in competing ways, carelessly, or inconsistently.

Graphical language acts like a visual paralanguage to emphasize or draw attention to information in a survey, create groupings and subgroupings of information, and improve navigation through the survey. Graphical attributes such as size, contrast, color, layout, and position can influence the meaning assigned to written text in many ways. For example, in Figure 1, the larger size and use of reverse print for the question number and the “Next Page” button and the underlining of the word satisfaction in the question stem help draw respondents' attention to this information. In addition, locating the question number “1” in the upper left of the screen helps convey to respondents that the number, one, means this is where they should begin.

Furthermore, graphical language can encourage respondents to perceive information as belonging together in a group and therefore as related conceptually.

The Gestalt principles of proximity, similarity, connectedness, and common region indicate that information is grouped visually when items are located near each other, share similar graphical attributes (shape, size, color/contrast, etc.), and are connected or enclosed within a common region such as a square. For example, in Figure 1, using similar size, font, and reverse print for the question number and “Next Page” button encourages respondents to group them visually and then conceptually as tools to aid in navigating through the survey. In addition, using a larger size for the question stem but similar font size for each item helps respondents perceive the subgroups within the question group (i.e. response items separate from question stem). Grouping is also established by the gray lines in Figure 1 that connect the text of each item to the appropriate answer spaces and by positioning the radio buttons in closer proximity horizontally than vertically.

In addition to acting like a visual paralanguage, graphical elements such as symbols, logos, pictures, and other images can independently influence the tone of printed survey contacts (letters or emails), instructions to respondents, individual questions, and response categories. Appropriate logos and images on contact letters and survey instruments can increase respondent motivation and commitment to completing the survey. Moreover, pictures and other images can be used to convey information or enhance the meaning of written text in much the same way that facial expressions, body language, and gestures do in face-to-face communication. For example, in Figure 1 the combination of facial expression images and numbers are used to convey the meaning of each scale point.

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