How to incorporate gamification in survey design

What is gamification?

The application of game mechanics in a non-game context to promote desired behaviors.

Benefits of using gamification

Gamification gives the following to humans thus improving engagement and interaction:

How to incorporate gamification techniques in survey design

• Leader boards and badges - promote a sense of competition and accomplishment
• Avatars - this level of customization allows users to engage better and relate more to the survey
• Levels and progress bars - visualizing progress gives incentives to humans to work more towards it to get to the higher level as they establish goals for themselves
• Challenges and rewards - being challenged and then getting rewarded promotes excitement and happiness. If the user feels more excited, they will likely be more invested in the survey.

The key is to provide a hook to the user that keeps them engaged.

Effects of gamification

Incorporating gamification leads to the following benefits in surveys:

Risks of gamification

• Gamification out of context can make the survey pointless and will decrease engagement and response rates.
• Make sure to use gamification in the right manner - gamification used wrong can destroy the purpose.
• Do not over gamify - over gamification can make the survey excessively lengthy and reduce engagement and completion rates.