Welcome to class of Asking Questions by Dr

Welcome to class of Asking Questions by Dr. Satyendra Singh

Asking Questions • asking the right questions – define, e. g, sales? , margin? which? • understanding the question • knowing the answer • willingness to respond

Asking the Right Question • consistent with way market works? • address the research objectives? – how will questions be used? – ask what you want to know?

Understanding the Question • respondents understand the words? - specific) • all respondents interpret in same way? – engineer and high school leaver • interpret the way you intended? -pretest

Understanding the Question • • technical / trade words complex sentence structure different interpretations of terms minimizing mis-understanding – ask only one question at a time – make the question specific – use simple language – test your questions

Knowing the Answer • • • time period (absent) proxy reporting, is a manager okay instead of a CEO? memory errors estimation (over or under) do they have an attitude? • Buying intentions • minimizing respondent problems • qualify respondents for knowledge • use sensible time frame • provide memory cues • bounded recall, ask twice

Willingness to Respond • Minimizing social desirability effects – interviewer neutrality – choice between products – avoid loading the question – don’t identify the sponsor – use less personal administration – use proxies – use open questions – Use less threatening words

Response Format • Closed – Pros • easy to administer, tabulate, and analyze • reliable – Cons • subject to bias by forced choice situations • Open-ended – Pros • more accurate - own words – Cons • Difficult to tabulate and analyze.

Closed Questions • Exhaustive • Mutually exclusive • “Don’t know”

Measuring Knowledge • why important? • ask additional information • use fictitious products – sleeper

Classification Questions… • household size – problem in irregular households • age – year of birth • gender – only if ambiguous • income – difficult, use branching • education

Classification Questions • Occupation – details required – do not field code • • Own - rent Race / Ethnicity Location information (if needed) Organization size