Questionnaire Design

Reference: Zikmund

Learning Objectives
At the end of the discussion you should be able to: Identify and explain the key factors that determine what to ask in the questionnaire Identify the different ways in which questions can be phrased and explain the characteristics of alternative question phrasings Summarize key guidelines in the art of asking questions Describe the issues to consider in determining question order Describe alternative ways to improve questionnaire layout Describe the importance and approaches to questionnaire pre-testing and revision

What Should be Asked

What to ask in questionnaire depends on: 1. The research problem definition/objectives 2. The communication medium to be used E.g. some questions cannot be asked in personal interviews 3. The type of statistical analysis to be performed

Two important guidelines are: 1. Relevancy ask only questions that are relevant to the research objective. 2. Accuracy ask only questions that will provide accurate information.

Question Phrasing
Need to decide how what is to be asked should be phrased Alternative question formats are shown below

Each format has its advantages and disadvantages

Open ended Simple dichotomy/ division Multiple choice

Question type

Closed ended

Determinant choice

Check-list

Alternative Question Formats

1. Open-ended Questions in which the respondent answers in his own words 2. Closed-ended (or Fixed Alternative) Question in which respondent selects one or more options from pre-determined set of responses
Simple dichotomy Closed ended question with only two response alternatives Multiple Choice Closed ended question with more than two response alternatives

Determinant choice Multiple choice question in which respondent must select only one of the response alternatives Checklist question - Multiple choice question in which respondent can select more than one of the response alternatives

THE ART OF ASKING QUESTIONS

Avoid complexity: use simple, conversational language. Be as specific as possible. Avoid making assumptions.

Question Sequence
Two related issues: 1. Order of questions in questionnaire. 2. Order of answer alternatives for specific questions. Both can lead to order bias.

Order of Questions
Use simple, interesting opening questions e.g asking for respondents opinion on an issue. Ask general questions before specific questions Use branching questions with care. Place difficult or sensitive questions late in questionnaire. Finish asking questions on one topic before moving to another.

Questionnaire layout
Keep questionnaire short if possible, but not too short that you sacrifice needed information Do not over crowd questionnaire

Provide decent margin space

Use good quality print paper. Use booklet form if possible Carefully craft the questionnaire title: 1. Captures respondents interest. 2. Shows importance of the study. 3. Shows interesting nature of the study.

Questionnaire Pre-testing
Pretesting Process
Seeks to determine whether respondents have any difficulty understanding the questionnaire and whether there are any ambiguous or biased questions.

Preliminary Tabulation
A tabulation of the results of a pretest to help determine whether the questionnaire will meet the objectives of the research.