Here are some of the best questions for a student survey about study resources, plus tips on how to create them. If you want to build your own, Specific can help you generate student surveys about study resources in seconds.
Best open-ended questions for student survey about study resources
Open-ended questions help students share their honest thoughts and describe their real experiences—often surfacing insights you might never anticipate. You’ll use them when you want to hear in students’ own words what works, what’s missing, or why they feel a certain way. But be aware: open-ended questions sometimes result in fewer people answering, or answers that are short and unclear. According to the Pew Research Center, open-ended questions often have a higher nonresponse rate—averaging 18%—so balance thoughtful depth with respondent effort [1].
What study resources do you use most often, and why?
Can you describe a time when a study resource made a big difference in your learning?
Which resource has helped you best prepare for exams or assignments? What stood out about it?
What challenges have you faced when looking for helpful study resources?
How do you decide which study resources to trust or use?
Are there any resources you wish existed but haven’t found yet?
How do the available study resources support your preferred learning style?
What features or aspects make a study resource useful for you?
How do you usually find out about new study resources?
If you could improve one resource you use, what would you change?
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for student survey about study resources
Single-select multiple-choice questions are perfect when you want results you can easily quantify or visualize—especially with a large student group. They’re also great conversation starters: it can be much easier for students to pick a choice from a simple list than to think through a full written answer. You often get higher completion rates, because it takes less mental effort for students to select an option [1]. Specific’s AI survey generator can help you create, tweak, or add more choices as needed.
Here are three example questions:
Question: Which study resource do you use the most?
Printed textbooks
Online articles/websites
Educational apps/tools
Study groups
Other
Question: Where do you typically access new study resources?
School/university library
Recommendations from friends or peers
Online search engines
Social media
Question: How satisfied are you with your current study resources?
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neutral
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
When to follow up with "why?" Adding a followup "why?" is smart when you want to dig deeper or understand the reasoning behind an answer. If a student selects "Study groups" as their main resource, you might ask, "Why do you prefer study groups over other resources?" You’ll quickly get at the real, actionable insight—like needing social support or liking collaborative learning.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always add "Other" if you suspect your options may miss something important. When a student selects "Other," a followup like, “Can you describe which resource you meant and how you use it?” can uncover new resources, trends, or needs that weren’t on your radar.
NPS question for student survey about study resources
NPS, or Net Promoter Score, measures how likely students are to recommend a resource or service to others. For study resource surveys, this question helps you get a clear picture of which tools students actually value—not just use out of necessity or habit. NPS is trusted by organizations worldwide for assessing user loyalty and satisfaction.
You’ll ask: “On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend [study resource or type] to a friend or classmate?” NPS not only benchmarks satisfaction but can quickly flag which resources are truly making an impact. Try building an NPS survey for students about study resources to capture this key metric.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions can totally transform your surveys, letting you adapt in real time to what each student shares. Instead of stopping at surface-level answers, a well-phrased followup can clarify, deepen, or even reveal patterns you never knew existed. This is where conversational surveys truly shine—check out our deep-dive into automated AI followup questions to see how the best-in-class approach works.
Specific uses AI to generate smart, in-context follow-ups tailored to each answer. The responses feel natural—more like chatting with a research pro than filling a static form. This means fuller stories, richer feedback, and less need to follow up later by email. For example:
Student: "I mostly use online videos for studying."
AI follow-up: "What makes online videos more helpful for you than other resources?"
Student: "I wish there were more examples in my textbooks."
AI follow-up: "Can you share what kinds of examples would be most helpful for you?"
How many followups to ask? In most student surveys, two or three well-placed follow-ups are ideal—just enough to get full context, but not so many that students get fatigued. Specific lets you set limits, so you get rich detail but can skip ahead when you’ve learned what you need.
This makes it a conversational survey. The feedback process feels much more like a real, two-way conversation, not just a form. Students engage better and are more willing to share details.
AI analysis, unstructured feedback, summary: You might worry that all these open responses are tough to review. Modern AI, like Specific’s AI survey response analysis tools, can cluster, summarize, and analyze qualitative replies—finding key themes and insights in minutes.
Automated follow-up questions are a new concept for many. Try generating your own survey to see the difference in depth and engagement.
How to compose a prompt for ChatGPT or GPTs to generate student survey questions
Start simple and then add context for even better results. Here’s a base prompt:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for student survey about study resources.
Want better and more relevant questions? Tell the AI about your audience, goals, or known challenges. For instance:
We’re running a survey for college students on how they discover and use study resources. Our goal is to understand which tools they rely on, what’s missing, and why certain resources are preferred. Suggest 10 open-ended questions that help us get these insights.
Next, group the questions:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Once you have categories you want to dig into, try:
Generate 10 questions for categories online resources and peer collaboration.
This focused approach leads to sharper, more actionable survey drafts.
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey uses AI to mimic real, back-and-forth conversation—much like messaging a knowledgeable friend or tutor. Instead of giving the same questions in a rigid order, each question and follow-up is tailored to the student’s previous answer. The feedback is richer, and students are much more likely to feel heard and understood.
Here’s how conversational AI-driven surveys and manual form-based surveys stack up:
Manual Survey Forms | AI-Generated Conversational Surveys |
|---|---|
Static questions, defined in advance | Dynamic questions & real-time follow-ups |
Low engagement, higher drop-off | Feels like a chat, higher engagement |
Time-consuming to analyze | Instant AI-powered summary and insight |
No clarification or probing | Always asks for clarification or deeper detail |
Why use AI for student surveys? AI surveys (especially through a tool like Specific) don’t just save time—they surface deeper insights by reacting to student input and adapting follow-up questions in real time. You get the best of both worlds: rich qualitative stories and clean, quantitative results, all in a fraction of the effort. Explore more in our guide on how to easily create student surveys about study resources.
Specific is built for best-in-class conversational experience—engaging for students, efficient for you, and incredibly easy to analyze later.
See this study resources survey example now
Experience how conversational surveys can unlock richer, more authentic student insights with powerful automated follow-ups and easy response analysis. See firsthand how Specific makes every step—from survey creation to insights—effortless and insightful.