Chapter 8 Designing the Questionnaire Mc GrawHillIrwin Copyright

Chapter 8 Designing the Questionnaire Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2013 by The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives • Describe the steps in questionnaire design • Discuss the questionnaire development process • Summarize the characteristics of good questionnaires • Understand the role of cover letters • Explain the importance of other documents used with questionnaires 8 -2

Value of Questionnaires in Marketing Research • Descriptive research designs use questionnaires to collect data that can be turned into knowledge about a person, object, or issue • Predictive survey questionnaires require the researcher to collect a wider range of data that can be used in: – Predicting changes in attitudes and behaviors as well as in testing hypotheses 8 -3

Value of Questionnaires in Marketing Research • Questionnaire: A formal framework consisting of a set of questions and scales designed to generate primary raw data 8 -4

Exhibit 8. 1 - Steps in Questionnaire Design 8 -5

Step 1: Confirm Research Objectives • Research objectives: – To collect data on selected demographic characteristics – To collect data on selected lifestyle dimensions – To identify preferred banking services, as well as attitudes and feelings toward those services – To identify demographic and lifestyle characteristics of market segments 8 -6

Step 2: Select Appropriate Data Collection Method • The data requirements and flow for a bank study are described below: – Section I: Banking services – Section II: Lifestyle dimensions – Section III: Banking relationships – Section IV: Demographic characteristics 8 -7

Step 3: Develop Questions and Scaling • Question format – Unstructured questions: Open-ended questions formatted to allow respondents to reply in their own words – Structured questions: Closed-ended questions that require the respondent to choose from a predetermined set of responses or scale points 8 -8

Step 3: Develop Questions and Scaling • Wording – Sensitive questions: Include income, sexual beliefs or behaviors, medical conditions, financial difficulties, alcohol consumption, and so forth that respondents are likely to respond to incorrectly 8 -9

Step 3: Develop Questions and Scaling • Questions and scaling – Bad questions: Any questions that prevent or distort the fundamental communication between the researcher and the respondents • A question is bad when it is: – Unanswerable – Leading (loaded) – Double-barreled 8 -10

Step 3: Develop Questions and Scaling • Skip questions: Used if the next question (or set of questions) should be responded to only by respondents who meet a previous condition 8 -11

Step 4: Determine Layout and Evaluate Questionnaire • Introductory section: Gives the respondent an overview of the research • Screening questions: Identify qualified prospective respondents – Prevent unqualified respondents from being included in the study • Research questions section: Second section of the questionnaire that focuses on the research questions 8 -12

Step 4: Determine Layout and Evaluate Questionnaire • Response order bias: Occurs when the order of the questions, or of the closed-end responses to a particular question, influences the answer given • Common methods variance (CMV): A biased variance that results from the measurement method used in a questionnaire 8 -13

Step 5: Obtain Initial Client Approval • Copies of the questionnaire should be given to all parties involved in the project • Client’s opportunity to provide suggestions of topics overlooked or to ask any questions 8 -14

Step 6: Pretest, Revise, and Finalize the Questionnaire • Final evaluation of the questionnaire is obtained from a pretest – Helps the researcher determine: • How much time respondents will need to complete the survey • Whether to add or revise instructions • What to say in the cover letter 8 -15

Step 7: Implement the Survey • Focus is on the process followed to collect the data using the agreed-upon questionnaire • Process varies depending on whether the survey is self-administered or interviewercompleted 8 -16

The Role of a Cover Letter • Cover letter: Separate written communication to a prospective respondent • Designed to enhance respondent willingness to complete and return the survey in a timely manner – Primary role - Obtain the respondent’s cooperation and willingness to participate in the research project 8 -17

Exhibit 8. 5 - Guidelines for Developing Cover Letters 8 -18

Other Considerations in Collecting Data • Supervisor instructions – Supervisor instruction form: Serves as a blueprint for training people on how to execute the interviewing process in a standardized fashion • Outlines the process by which to conduct a study that uses personal and telephone interviewers 8 -19

Other Considerations in Collecting Data • Interviewer instructions: Used to train interviewers how to: – Select prospective respondents – Screen them for eligibility – Conduct the actual interview • Screening questions • Quotas: A tracking system that collects data from respondents and helps ensure that subgroups are represented in the sample as specified 8 -20

Other Considerations in Collecting Data • Call or contact records: A recording document that gathers basic summary information about an interviewer’s performance efficiency 8 -21

Marketing Research in Action: Designing a Questionnaire to Survey Santa Fe Grill Customers • Based on the research objectives, does the selfadministered questionnaire, in its current form, correctly illustrate sound questionnaire design principles? – Please explain why or why not. • Overall, is the current survey design able to capture the required data needed to address all the stated research objectives? – Why or why not? – If changes are needed, how would you change the survey’s design? 8 -22

Marketing Research in Action: Designing a Questionnaire to Survey Santa Fe Grill Customers • Evaluate the “screener” used to qualify the respondents. – Are there any changes needed? – Why or why not? • Redesign questions #26– 29 on the survey using a rating scale that will enable you to obtain the “degree of importance” a customer might attach to each of the four listed attributes in selecting a restaurant to dine at. 8 -23