Questionnaire Design It is not every question that

Questionnaire Design

“It is not every question that deserves an answer. ” Publius Syrus (Roman, 1 st century B. C. )

Major Decisions in Questionnaire Design ØWhat should be asked? ØHow should each question be phrased? ØIn what sequence should the questions be arranged? ØWhat questionnaire layout will best serve the research objectives? ØHow should the questionnaire be pretested? Does the questionnaire need to be revised?

Phrasing Questions • Open-ended questions • Fixed-alternative questions

Questionnaire Design Process Specify the Information Needed Specify the Type of Interviewing Method Determine the Content of Individual Questions Design the Question to Overcome the Respondent’s Inability and Unwillingness to Answer Decide on the Question Structure Determine the Question Wording Arrange the Questions in Proper Order

Questionnaire Design Process (continued) Identify the Form and Layout Reproduce the Questionnaire Eliminate Bugs by Pretesting

Types of Questions Unstructured Multiple Choice Structured Dichotomous Scales

The Funnel Approach to Ordering Questions Broad or General Questions Narrow or Specific Questions

Questionnaire Design Check List q. Step 1: Information Needed ØEnsure info obtained fully addresses all components of the problem ØMust have clear idea of the target population q. Step 2: Interviewing Method ØEnsure that the proper interviewing method is being used given the study objectives

Questionnaire Design Check List q. Step 3: Individual Questions ØIs each question necessary? ØIs each question unambiguous? ØAre the proper number of questions needed to measure a particular construct being asked?

Questionnaire Design Check List q. Step 4: Inability/Unwillingness to Answer ØIs the respondent informed? ØCan the respondent remember? ØCan the respondent articulate? ØIs the information sensitive? ØMake the information request legitimate. ØMinimize effort required of respondent.

Questionnaire Design Check List q. Step 5: Question Structure ØUse structured questions whenever possible. ØResponse alternatives should include all possible answers. ØResponse alternatives should be mutually exclusive. ØIf, on a particular question, a large % of respondents may be expected to be neutral, include a neutral alternative.

Questionnaire Design Check List q. Step 6: Question Wording ØUse ordinary words. ØAvoid ambiguous words (usually, probably, normally, etc. ) ØDo not use leading questions. ØAvoid implicit assumptions. ØUse positive and negative statements as much as possible.

Questionnaire Design Check List q. Step 7: Question Order ØQualifying questions first. ØGeneral questions before specific questions. ØUse logical order. ØDemographics? • Beginning of questionnaire • End of questionnaire

Questionnaire Design Check List q. Step 8: Form & Layout ØDivide questionnaire into multiple parts ØNumber each question? ØPrecode the questions ØKeep scale questions in same general vicinity ØAvoid temptation to “fill the blank spaces”

Questionnaire Design Check List q. Step 9: Questionnaire Reproduction ØProfessional appearance ØBooklet format for long questionnaires ØPlace directions as close to the questions as possible ØExpect reproduction errors

Questionnaire Design Check List q. Step 10: Pretesting ØAlways try to pretest first ØTest everything ØPretest sample should be extremely similar to test sample ØPretest using same methodology as the main test ØIf make changes to questionnaire, or methodology, pretest again before main test.