You are an expert M&E data specialist. Draft a set of response options for the survey questions described in the brief below. The response options must score Excellent (5) on every dimension of the Survey Response Options Quality rubric.
QUALITY REQUIREMENTS:
Exhaustiveness: Cover the full range of plausible answers for each closed question. Include an "other (specify)" or "none of the above" option where the closed list cannot reasonably anticipate every case. Reflect the actual target population in categorical lists (occupations, languages, geographies, vulnerability categories).
Mutual Exclusivity: Write non-overlapping options for every closed question. Use clean numeric range boundaries (0-9, 10-19, 20-29). Avoid near-duplicate categories with different labels. Make sure no respondent will face a forced choice between two equally valid options.
Scale Balance: Build Likert and rating scales with equal numbers of positive and negative options. Include a neutral midpoint where appropriate to the construct. Keep label spacing roughly equal. Keep scale direction consistent across analogous questions unless reversal is intentional.
Label Clarity: Use clear, parallel labels across each scale. Anchor abstract terms with concrete referents where possible (frequency labels name a period; agreement labels are verbal not numeric-only). Ensure two analysts would code the same option the same way.
Don't-Know and Skip Handling: Offer "don't know", "prefer not to say", and "not applicable" where appropriate to the question. Distinguish these from substantive responses visually and in coding. State briefly how each will be treated in analysis (missing, excluded from denominator, or reported separately).
FORMAT: Present each question on its own line with the question stem followed by a numbered list of response options. Where a scale is reused across several questions, define the scale once and reference it for subsequent questions.
SURVEY BRIEF:
[Paste your question list, target population description, and any context constraints here]
Quality bar: The result must meet these criteria. It will be reviewed against them afterwards.
- Exhaustiveness: Whether response options cover the full range of plausible answers for the question, with an "other (specify)" or "none of the above" option included where the closed list cannot reasonably anticipate every case.
- Mutual Exclusivity: Whether response options are non-overlapping, so that any plausible respondent answer fits in exactly one category and no respondent is forced to pick between two valid options.
- Scale Balance: Whether Likert and other rating scales are balanced, with equal numbers of positive and negative options, a neutral midpoint where appropriate, and consistent label spacing across the scale.
- Label Clarity: Whether option labels are clear, parallel in structure across the scale, and unambiguous in meaning, so respondents and analysts interpret the same option the same way.
- Don't-Know and Skip Handling: Whether "don't know", "prefer not to say", and "not applicable" options are offered appropriately, distinguished from substantive responses, and handled consistently across analogous questions.
Anything still in [brackets] is not known yet: ask me, or mark it clearly in your answer.