Google Forms: Introduction and Overview

Objectives and Overview

This lesson introduces Google Forms and provides a walk-through on how to use the tool for data collection.

Lesson Objectives

• Identify how to create a new Google Form
• Be able to explain the uses and benefits of Google Forms
• Identify key vocabulary for working in Google Forms
• Draft questions into a Google Form
• Export data findings to Google Sheets

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What is Google Forms?

Google Forms is a tool for collecting data and feedback. It can build surveys, questionnaires, and games. It is free to use, easy to share, and accessible on all devices.

Creating a New Google Form

There are two ways to create a new Google Form. You can create a new survey from your Drive or go directly to the Forms page. 

From Google Forms

The first way to create a new form is through the Google Forms main site. To start, open your browser and go to forms.google.com. If this is your first time on that page, you’ll see a Welcome to Google Forms popup window. Click the Take the Tour button. The tour will walk you through the basics of Forms. You can complete the walk-through and come back to this lesson!

Once you’ve completed the tour,  let’s create a new form. 

The Google Forms homepage has a section at the top for creating new forms. From here you can create a new blank form or use a template. Underneath, you may see surveys you’ve created or have been shared with you. 

Click on “Blank” with the + to create a new form:

The new form will open in a new browser tab. Name your document by clicking then typing at the top left where you see “Untitled Form”:

You can leave your spreadsheet blank for now, we’re going to see how we can create a new spreadsheet from Google Drive. 

From Google Drive

The second way to create a new Google Form is from inside Google Drive. To start, open up your Google Drive by going to drive.google.com.

Once you have Google Drive open, find the New button at the top left sidebar. Click this button to start.

After clicking, a menu appears with options for Docs, Sheets, Slides, and More. Click on “More”.

Then click the purple Google Forms button to create a new form.

The new form will open in a new browser tab.

The GIF below shows these steps: