Here are some of the best questions you can use for a student survey about laboratory safety, along with expert tips on crafting them. If you want to build an effective survey fast, Specific can help you generate a tailor-made conversational survey in seconds.
Best open-ended questions for student survey about laboratory safety
Open-ended questions help us uncover honest perspectives and detailed experiences that multiple-choice formats might miss. They’re best when you want students to share reasons, stories, suggestions, and real examples about their lab environment or habits.
Can you describe a situation where you felt unsafe or unsure in the laboratory?
What steps do you take to ensure your own safety before starting lab work?
How clear are the instructions and safety protocols provided in your lab courses?
Have you ever witnessed or experienced an accident in the lab? Please describe what happened and what was done afterward.
What could be improved in your laboratory safety training or orientation?
How often do safety discussions happen during your laboratory sessions?
What kind of personal protective equipment (PPE) do you use in the lab, and how do you decide when to wear it?
Why do you think some students might not follow safety instructions in the lab?
What resources or supports would help you feel more confident about lab safety?
Is there anything else you'd like to share about laboratory safety at your school?
Open-ended feedback reveals knowledge gaps and unique insights—especially important given that studies show only 54% of teachers received proper safety training in their education, so varied experiences are common. [1]
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for student survey about laboratory safety
Single-select multiple-choice questions are great when you want to quantify responses or make it easy for students to quickly share their views. This format helps start the conversation and sets the stage for deeper follow-up questions. They can also highlight trends—like how only 40% of researchers report always wearing PPE in the lab. [2]
Question: How often do you receive formal laboratory safety training?
Every semester
Once a year
Only at the beginning of my studies
Never
Question: Which of the following personal protective equipment (PPE) do you use most during lab sessions?
Gloves
Lab coat
Safety glasses/goggles
I don't regularly use PPE
Other
Question: How well do you understand what to do in an emergency in the laboratory?
Very well
Somewhat well
Not very well
Not at all
When to followup with "why?" Use a follow-up "why" when a student's answer suggests incomplete understanding, a surprising choice, or a strong opinion. For example, if someone chooses “I don’t regularly use PPE,” follow up with, “Why do you not use PPE regularly in the lab?” Their reasoning might uncover issues with availability, comfort, or awareness.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? “Other” is vital for capturing answers you didn’t anticipate—like alternative safety gear students might use. It allows follow-up questions to uncover unexpected insights that could improve your safety protocols or equipment choices.
NPS-type question for laboratory safety feedback
Net Promoter Score (NPS) isn’t just for customer satisfaction—you can use it to quickly gauge how likely students are to recommend your lab’s safety environment to others. It’s a fast benchmark for lab safety culture, especially since only 61% of first-year doctoral candidates frequently discuss safety in lab courses, showing room for improvement. [3] You can easily launch an NPS survey for students about laboratory safety with Specific’s AI-powered generator.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions give us the context that forms and static surveys often miss. By digging deeper into students’ initial answers, we can surface details about their behavior, concerns, and ideas for improvement. Automatic follow-ups are a standout feature of AI-powered conversational surveys like those from Specific—they prompt the right clarifications at the right time, just as an expert interviewer would.
Here’s what unclear feedback can look like without follow-ups—and how AI changes it:
Student: Sometimes I skip wearing gloves.
AI follow-up: Can you tell me more about why you choose not to wear gloves in certain situations?
How many followups to ask? We’ve found that 2-3 well-timed follow-up questions usually capture the key context without overwhelming respondents. In Specific, you can configure this setting—plus, if you get the detail you want sooner, respondents can skip to the next question.
This makes it a conversational survey: With automated, context-aware follow-ups, your survey becomes an ongoing dialogue that feels natural and engaging for students.
Response analysis, summarize, themes: Even with lots of open-ended, unstructured responses, it’s easy to analyze everything with AI—see how in this guide to AI response analysis for lab safety surveys.
AI-powered follow-ups are a fresh approach—try generating a survey and experience how much richer the feedback can be.
How to prompt GPT for better student survey questions about laboratory safety
Want to write your own questions or explore new angles? Here’s how to craft prompts for GPT or other AI tools to generate survey questions tailored to your needs.
Start simple:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Student survey about Laboratory Safety.
You’ll get better results by giving more context about your goals, situation, and audience:
I am designing a survey for undergraduate chemistry students to understand their perceptions of laboratory safety, especially regarding PPE use and emergency preparedness. Suggest 10 open-ended questions that invite honest and detailed feedback, and help identify knowledge gaps.
Next, ask AI to organize its output for you:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Then, pick the categories you’re most interested in and focus your next prompt:
Generate 10 questions for categories PPE Use, Emergency Preparedness, and Safety Training.
What is a conversational survey—and why it matters
Conversational surveys transform student feedback from static forms into active, real-time chats. Instead of ticking boxes, students engage naturally, making it easier to share honest input. This method is especially valuable for topics like laboratory safety, where the deeper context and “why” behind behaviors matter. Plus, using an AI survey generator makes the survey-building process lightning-fast—and higher quality.
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated Conversational Surveys |
|---|---|
Static, little context, hard to adapt | Dynamic chat, adapts to responses instantly |
Linear, often incomplete answers | Follows up, clarifies, dives deeper |
Manual analysis, time-consuming | AI-powered theme extraction and summaries |
Why use AI for student surveys? AI survey generators help you get more accurate, complete insights—quickly and at scale. They bring consistency, adapt to each respondent, and surface themes that might be lost in manual analysis. For an AI survey example with conversational depth, nothing beats Specific's best-in-class user experience. The entire feedback process feels smooth, engaging, and natural for both students and survey creators—far beyond what form-based tools can do.
If you’re considering DIY survey creation, check out our step-by-step guide to creating student surveys for laboratory safety; it’s the fastest way to get started with AI-powered questions and follow-ups built in.
See this laboratory safety survey example now
Ready to uncover actionable insights on lab safety from your students? Start your conversational survey now with AI-powered follow-ups and response analysis—capture richer feedback in minutes, and make your lab safer and smarter for everyone.