Questionnaires A common method of collecting data for

Questionnaires A common method of collecting data for a survey is to use a questionnaire. Questionnaires take many forms and are carried out using a variety of methods.

Methods of collecting data The four main methods of collecting data by questionnaire are: • Face to face. • By phone. • By post. • Via the internet.

Types of question • • • You might be expected to design a questionnaire as part of your exam. Questionnaires can include: Yes/No answers. Tick boxes. Numbered responses. Word responses. Questions that require a sentence to be written.

Question 1 How much sleep did you get last night? □ Less than average. □ About average. □ More than average. Is this a well designed question?

Reason why question is poor • The question is not clear- different people are likely to have different ideas of what is meant by average! • Ask short questions which can be answered precisely; provide tick boxes. Improved question How much sleep did you get last night? □ Less than 8 hours. □ About 8 hours. □ More than 8 hours.

Question 2 Q: Do you agree that we need at least 8 hours of sleep each night? Is this a well designed question?

Reason why question is poor This is a leading question – the question is leading people to answer yes. Improved question Q: Do you think that we need at least 8 hours sleep each night? □Yes □Not sure

Question 3 Q: What do you sleep on? Is this a well designed question?

Reason why question is poor This question is ambiguous: it could have more than one meaning. The question is meant to be about sleeping position, but could be answered “a bed”! Improved question Q: Which side do you usually sleep on? □Back □Front □Side

Questionnaires should: 1. Use simple language. 2. Ask short questions that can be answered precisely. 3. Provide tick boxes. 4. Avoid open-ended questions. 5. Avoid leading questions.

Whichever style (or styles) of questions you use, it is important that they are: • Easy to understand. • Cover every possible answer. • Unbiased (they do not lead respondents to give a particular answer). • Unambiguous (they have a clear meaning).

Poor questionnaire questions You support Manchester United, don't you? This is a biased question. The interviewee might feel pressurised into saying 'yes'. A better question would be: 'Which football team, if any, do you support? '

Poor questionnaire questions Do you think maths is: 1. A very interesting subject. 2. Quite an interesting subject. This question is biased in favour of maths, and it does not cover every possible answer.

Poor questionnaire questions Are you a criminal? It is unlikely that you will get a truthful answer to this, especially in a face-to-face interview!

C grade question • A driving test centre is designing a questionnaire. • This question has been designed to find out how many hours of driving lessons have been taken by someone who is about to take a test. • “How long have you spent on driving lessons? ” • Design a better question for the driving centre to use. You should include some response boxes.

There are two main points to remember about the questions in a questionnaire: 1. They must be specific and have specific answers. So, ‘How do you feel about football? ’ would not be a good question, whereas, ‘Do you like watching football (Yes/No)? ’ would be better. 2. They must be fair and not leading questions. For instance, ‘Do you agree that the BBC has the best sports coverage? ’ is not a good question, whereas, ‘Which channel has the best sports coverage? ’ (with a list of options) is a lot better.