Please note that this is a legacy page that is no longer maintained. Our current recommendations for survey questions can be found on the navigation menu under Research Advice > Survey Questions, or by clicking here.
Faunalytics worked with Animal Charity Evaluators to compile this question bank for animal advocates when conducting surveys and other research.
We have composed the following list of questions with the intention of making it easier for individuals and organizations to write quality surveys. It can be extremely difficult to decide on the ideal wording of even simple questions, and having the list of questions below available for cutting/pasting in surveys should help with the design process. For this reason and those listed below, we encourage others to use these questions in their own research efforts.
The data on the effectiveness of animal advocacy techniques is often difficult to compare across multiple studies, as different groups and individuals use different question formats with sometimes unique metrics. For example, one group might measure age demographics in 10-year increments, whereas another might use generational gaps (Baby boomers, Generation X, etc). This also applies to questions about consumption of animal products; some might ask if a respondent has “slightly reduced” consumption whereas another might ask for the number of times a product is consumed over a one week period.
While retaining questions in the exact forms in which they are presented here will allow for the most direct comparisons between studies, in some cases this may be impossible or undesirable. Certain questions may need to be edited to refer to the specific program being studied or to be applicable to the target audience. Some questions also include an answer choice of “Other,” with an optional blank for elaboration. Since write-in answers must be analyzed differently from multiple choice answers, some groups may choose to omit the blank. On the other hand, small or qualitative studies may benefit from adding this answer choice in some places where it does not already appear.
We’ve given examples of a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) that we believe will most accurately reflect eating habits. Later on, we’ve provided some questions about vegetarianism, but it is recommended (if using those questions) to place them after a FFQ so that they are unable to bias the respondent. We believe that measuring dietary change is the most important way to assess veg advocacy programs and so these types of dietary questions need to be privileged over other questions, which may mean asking fewer complementary questions if respondent fatigue is thought to be an issue. A substantial FFQ will often be more useful for evaluating program success than a survey of comparable length that touches on a variety of questions.
Additionally, we have selected a social desirability scale which we believe is most fitting for these types of surveys. In particular, we chose a scale that is well-studied in the psychological literature and provides a good combination of brevity and reliability. Including this measure will help the surveyor determine what, if any, social desirability bias there is in a respondent’s survey answers.
We encourage any groups that are conducting studies to consider the questions presented below as a way to make their data more useful in analysis. We welcome comments on this effort. If you are interested in using some of these entries but have questions, you can contact us.
Question Types
- Diet
- Barriers
- Motivations
- Attitudes and Beliefs
- Miscellaneous Evaluative
- Social Desirability
- Demographics
Diet
Current Diet
Food Frequency Questionnaires are flexible instruments for collecting dietary information that are commonly used in nutritional and medical studies. They always include a list of foods and a range of frequencies that respondents can select for each food; they sometimes also include options for serving sizes.
We recommend choosing one of the two versions given below. The first version does not indicate a specific interest in animal products and thus is useful, with or without the columns for serving size, when the purpose of the survey is hidden from the respondent. Including the columns for serving size allows more detailed calculations regarding total consumption to be made. The second version is shorter, but gives more information about the purpose of the survey, which could increase bias in responses.
If neither version as presented here suits your needs, or to read more about how to use this type of question in calculations, please visit our supplemental page on Food Frequency Questionnaires. You may also download either of the below tables in *.doc format.
1. Thinking about your diet over the past three months, please select the responses that best describe how often you eat each type of food and how much of it you eat at a time. Select only one frequency and one serving size per row, even if different responses have been correct for different days or weeks.
2. Thinking about your diet over the past three months, please select the responses that best describe how often you eat each type of food. Select only one response per row, even if different responses have been correct for different days or weeks.
The following question is a simplified way of determining whether respondents are vegetarian or vegan, or avoid certain animal products. It does not allow some other forms of meat-reduction to be recognized, so it is less informative than the Food Frequency Questionnaires above. Any food list and corresponding memory aids from the FFQ document could be used as the response set.
3. Which of the following types of food do you eat? (check all that apply)
- Dairy (cheese, milk, yogurt, etc.)
- Chicken (fried chicken, in soup, grilled chicken, etc.)
- Turkey (turkey dinner, turkey sandwich, in soup, etc.)
- Fish and Seafood (tuna, shrimp, crab, etc.)
- Pork (ham, pork chops, ribs, etc.)
- Beef (steak, meatballs, in tacos, etc.)
- Other meat (duck, lamb, venison, etc.)
- Eggs (omelet, in salad, in baked goods, etc.)
The following question can be useful for determining how respondents self-identify, but is not a good means of determining whether respondents eat animal-based foods, due to frequent misreporting even in neutral situations. It should not be used to replace questions that appear before it in this section.
4. a. Which of these best describes what you currently eat?
- Atkins Diet – eat low-carbohydrate, high protein foods
- Paleolithic Diet – consists of fish, meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts
- Pescatarian Diet – eat fish, egg, and milk products, but no other meat (including chicken)
- Vegetarian Diet – eat egg and milk products, but no meat (including fish or chicken)
- Vegan Diet – eat no meat (including fish or chicken), milk products, egg, or other animal products
- Meat Reduction Diet – A diet attempting to reduce meat consumption, example Meatless Mondays
- Mediterranean Diet – A diet mimicking the traditional dietary patterns of southern Italy
- No specific diet – A diet with no specific preferences or exclusions
- Other (please specify)
b. When did you start your current diet? A rough date is fine.
- Year Month [drop down menus for online administration, write-in blanks for paper administration]
Former Diet
If using question 5 or 6 and the individual responds with “yes,” we suggest using part (b) as a secondary check, as people often misreport their status as a vegetarian or vegan.
5. a. Have you ever eaten a vegetarian diet (one with no meat)?
- Yes
- No
b. Which foods did you eat when you were consuming a vegetarian diet? (check all that apply)
- Fruit (apples, bananas, oranges, etc.)
- Vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, etc.)
- Soft Drinks (cola, ginger ale, root beer, etc.)
- Cheese (in sandwich, on pizza/pasta, as hard cheese, etc.)
- Dairy (milk, yogurt, ice cream, etc.)
- Chicken (fried chicken, in soup, grilled chicken, etc.)
- Turkey (turkey dinner, turkey burger, turkey sandwich, etc.)
- Fish (salmon, tuna, fish sticks, etc.)
- Seafood other than fish (lobster, shrimp, oyster, etc.)
- Pork (ham, pork chops, ribs, etc.)
- Beef (steak, meatballs, in tacos, etc.)
- Other beef/pork products (hotdogs, sausages, pepperoni, etc.)
- Other meats (duck, lamb, venison, etc.)
- Eggs (omelet, in salad, in baked goods, etc.)
- Nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.)
- Beans (tofu, chickpeas, chili, etc.)
- Grains (breads, pasta, rice, etc.)
6. a. Have you ever eaten a vegan diet (one with no animal products including meat, dairy, eggs, etc.)?
- Yes
- No
b. Which foods did you eat when you were consuming a vegan diet? (check all that apply)
- Fruit (apples, bananas, oranges, etc.)
- Vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, etc.)
- Soft Drinks (cola, ginger ale, root beer, etc.)
- Cheese (in sandwich, on pizza/pasta, as hard cheese, etc.)
- Dairy (milk, yogurt, ice cream, etc.)
- Chicken (fried chicken, in soup, grilled chicken, etc.)
- Turkey (turkey dinner, turkey burger, turkey sandwich, etc.)
- Fish (salmon, tuna, fish sticks, etc.)
- Seafood other than fish (lobster, shrimp, oyster, etc.)
- Pork (ham, pork chops, ribs, etc.)
- Beef (steak, meatballs, in tacos, etc.)
- Other beef/pork products (hotdogs, sausages, pepperoni, etc.)
- Other meats (duck, lamb, venison, etc.)
- Eggs (omelet, in salad, in baked goods, etc.)
- Nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.)
- Beans (tofu, chickpeas, chili, etc.)
- Grains (breads, pasta, rice, etc.)
Future Diet
7. Do you have any specific intentions of changing your diet for the following foods? Please indicate how. (Cheese, Dairy, Chicken, Turkey, Fish, Seafood other than fish, Pork, Beef, Other meats, Eggs)
- Start eating
- Eat more
- Eat the same amount
- Eat less
- Stop eating
- Continue to not eat this food
Barriers
The two questions below address related behaviors with slightly different focuses. Question 8 appears more neutral, and may be a better choice if the respondent is not expected to know at this point in the survey that the survey is conducted by an animal advocacy group or about vegetarianism (or meat reduction more generally). Question 9 more directly addresses the barriers to vegetarianism, particularly for respondents who have already indicated that they would consider being vegetarian but are not. Either question could be adapted to refer to veganism or all animal products, but we provide them in this form because eating other animal products is even more normalized than eating meat, and we believe respondents’ motivations for eating them are likely correspondingly more obscure to them.
8. If you currently eat meat, why? Choose the most important reason.
- I like the taste.
- Vegetarian foods are too expensive.
- It is good for my health.
- Avoiding meat doesn’t help animals.
- It is natural to eat meat.
- It would be inconvenient not to.
- My friends or family eat meat.
- I don’t have a specific reason.
- Not applicable; I am vegetarian or vegan.
9. If you are not vegetarian, why not? Choose the most important reason.
- I like the taste of meat.
- Vegetarian foods are too expensive.
- Meat is good for my health.
- Avoiding meat doesn’t help animals.
- It is natural to eat meat.
- It would be inconvenient.
- My friends or family eat meat.
- I don’t have a specific reason.
- Not applicable; I do not eat meat.
Motivations
10. If you are vegetarian or vegan, why? Choose the most important reason.
- I like the taste.
- Meat or other animal products are too expensive.
- It is good for my health.
- It helps animals.
- It is good for the environment.
- It is required or encouraged by my religion.
- Some of my friends or family are vegetarian or vegan.
- I don’t have a specific reason.
- Not applicable; I eat meat.
Attitudes and Beliefs
11. Do you agree or disagree that farm animals have individual personalities just like dogs and cats?
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- No Opinion
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
12. Do you agree or disagree that eating animal products (like meat, eggs, and dairy) directly contributes to the suffering of animals?
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- No Opinion
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Miscellaneous Evaluative
13. Have you discussed the [program the survey intends to evaluate] with friends or family?
- Yes
- No
Social Desirability
Ideally, studies should control for social desirability bias (the tendency for responses to reflect what is presumed to be desired, rather than the truth) through overall design. Specifically, studies should not reveal their purpose or the fact that they are being conducted by an animal advocacy group prior to asking questions believed to be affected by social desirability bias. In the event that such control is not possible, we propose controlling for social desirability bias through scores on the following short form of the Marlowe-Crowne scale (Reynolds’s Form C). See our supplemental page for information on scoring the scale and using scores to address the presence of social desirability bias in survey responses.
Response options of True and False should be provided for each statement.
14. Listed below are a number of statements concerning personal attitudes and traits. Read each item and decide whether the statement is True or False as it pertains to you personally.
- It is sometimes hard for me to go on with my work if I am not encouraged.
- I sometimes feel resentful when I don’t get my way.
- On a few occasions, I have given up doing something because I thought too little of my ability.
- There have been times when I felt like rebelling against people in authority even though I knew they were right.
- No matter who I’m talking to, I’m always a good listener.
- There have been occasions when I took advantage of someone.
- I’m always willing to admit it when I make a mistake.
- I sometimes try to get even rather than forgive and forget.
- I am always courteous, even to people who are disagreeable.
- I have never been irked when people expressed ideas very different from my own.
- There have been times when I was quite jealous of the good fortune of others.
- I am sometimes irritated by people who ask favors of me.
- I have never deliberately said something that hurt someone’s feelings.
Demographics
Demographic questions can be sensitive, causing people to abandon the survey, especially if they are required. We recommend saving any of these questions for the end of the survey and programming web surveys not to require answers to them unless absolutely required for the purpose of the survey.
15. What is your gender?
- Female
- Male
16. What is your age?
- Drop-down menu with ages in years (e.g., “13 or under, 14, 15…”) for online administration
- Write-in line for paper administration
17. What race/ethnicity do you consider yourself? (Select all that apply)
- African American or Black
- Asian
- European/Caucasian
- Indian
- Middle Eastern
- Latino, Hispanic, or Spanish
- Native American
- Pacific Islander
- Other (please specify)
18. What is the highest grade of school or the highest degree you have completed?
- Less than 12th grade, no diploma
- High school diploma (or equivalent)
- Some education past high school, no degree
- Associate’s degree or other non-Bachelor degree
- Bachelor’s degree
- Graduate or professional degree
19. In what state do you currently live? Please select from the list below.
- Drop-down box with 50 states, District of Columbia, U.S. Territory, and “Other”
- Write-in line for paper administration
20. Which of the following best describes where you live?
- City
- Suburb
- Rural Area
21. What is your household income?
- less than $24,999
- $25,000 to $49,999
- $50,000 to $74,999
- $75,000 to $99,999
- $100,000 or more
22. If you actively practice a particular religion, please select it from the list below:
- Buddhist
- Christian (Catholic, Protestant, etc.)
- Hindu
- Jewish
- Muslim
- Spiritual practice not associated with a specific religion
- Other (please specify)
- Do not actively practice a particular religion
23. Do you or have you lived with a pet that you interacted with regularly? (can select multiple boxes)
- Cat
- Dog
- Other
- None
24. Do you have access to the Internet at home or through your phone?
- Yes
- No