Designing the

Questionnaire
 Designing the
Questionnaire
Planning what to measure

Formatting
Formatting the questionnaire
the questionnaire

Questionnaire wording

Translation
Translation
a) Translate
a) Translate
from from
English English
to foreign to foreign language
language
b)back
b) Retranslate Retranslate back
to English to English
to ensure to ensure equivalency
equivalency

Measurement and construct equivalency

● Functional equivalency
a) Functional equivalency
b)b)Conceptual
Conceptualequivalency
equivalency
c) Category equivalency
c) Category equivalency

Sequencing and layout decisions

retesting and correcting problems

Questionnaire in multiple languages

 Designing the
Questionnaire
Questionnaire building is an art!

A questionnaire is always custom-built!

 Designing the
Questionnaire
Logical Steps to Develop a Good
Questionnaire
Plan what to measure
Formulate questions to obtain the needed
information
Decide on the order and wording of
questions and the layout of the
questionnaire
Using a sample, test the questionnaire for
omissions and ambiguity
Correct the problems (pretest again, if
necessary)
 Designing the
Questionnaire (Contd.)
Planning What to Measure
Specify research objectives and
information to be collected
Relevance of the study
Translating Research Objectives Into
Information Requirements
 Designing the
Questionnaire (Contd.)
Formatting the Question
Decision to be made regarding the
degree of freedom to be given to the
respondents in answering the
questions
Alternatives
● Open ended with no classification
● Open ended where the interviewer uses
precoded classifications to record the
response
● Close ended or structured format in which a
question or a supplementary card presents
the responses to be considered
 Organization of a
Typical Questionnaire
Location Type Function Example
ocation Starting
Typequestions Function Broad,Example
general To break the ice and Do you own a
questions Establish a rapport with personal computer?
Starting questions Broad, general To break the ice and Do you own a
questions establish a report with personal computer? the respondent
the respondent
Next few questions Simple and direct To reassure the
Simple
What brands of
and direct To reassure the respondent What brands of personal
Next few questions survey is simple and personal
questions respondent that the computers
did you consider that the survey is simple Computers did you
questions.
Questions up to a Focused questions
easy to answer
Relate more to the
when you bought it?
What attributes did
and easy to answer consider when you
third of the research objectives you consider when bought it.
questionnaire and convey to the you purchased you
Questions up to a respondent theFocused questions
area of personal computer? Relate more to the
research Research objectives and What kinds of personal
Major portion Third of thequestions;
of the Focused questionnaire
To obtain most of the Rank the following Computers did you consider
questionnaire some may be difficult information required attributes of a convey to the respondent
and complicated for the research personal computer the area of the research when you purchased
based on their
importance to you
Your personal computer
Major
Last few questions portion
Personal of theTo get classification
questions FocusedWhat questions;
is the highest
To obtain most of the
that may be perceived and demographic
questionnaire
by the respondent as information Some
level of education
about the may be attained?
difficult Rank the following
you have information required for Attributes of a personal
sensitive respondent and complicated
The research Computer based on their
importance to you
Last few questions Personal questions that To get classification
May be perceived by the and demographic What is the highest level
Respondent as sensitive Information about the of education you are
respondent obtained.
 Questions must meet 4
requirements
 You must ask the right questions

 Respondents must understand the questions

 Respondents must know the answers

 Respondents must be willing to tell you those

answers.
 Types of Questions
Open-response question:
People look for different things in a job. What would
you prefer most in a job?

2. Close-response question:
People look for different things in a job. What would
you prefer most in a job?
Work that pays well
Work that gives a sense of accomplishment
Work where you make most decisions by yourself
Work that is steady with little chance of being laid
off.
 Open Ended Questions
Open Ended Questions Are Good for the Following
Circumstances
Introduction to a survey or to a topic
When it is important to measure the saliency of an issue to a
respondent
When there are too many responses to be listed, or they can't
be foreseen
When verbatim responses are desired to give the flavor of
people's answers or to cite examples
When the behavior to be measured is sensitive or disapproved
 Open Ended Questions
(Contd.)
Advantages
Wide range of responses
Responses obtained without any
influence
Free choices
 Open Ended Questions
(Contd.)
Disadvantages
Variability in the clarity and depth of the
responses
Articulateness of the respondent in
personal interview
Willingness to compose a written answer
for a mail survey
Interviewer's ability to record the
verbatim answers quickly
 Open Ended Questions
(Contd.)
Disadvantages
These type of questions are also time
consuming
Involves subjective judgements during
summarization and are prone to error
Expensive
The answer to this type of question expands
or contracts depending on the space or time
available for it
Respondents may not use the same frame of
reference, when the options are not
available
 Closed-response
Questions
There Are Two Basic Formats for
Closed Ended or Structured
Questions
Choice from a list of responses
Appropriate single-choice rating on a
scale
 Closed-response
Questions
What type of fast-food restaurant do you visit
most often?

Burger Mexican
Chicken Pizza
Seafood Chinese
Don’t know Other (please specify)
 Closed-response
Questions (Contd.)
Advantages
Easier to answer
Require less effort by the interviewer
Tabulation and analysis is easier
Less potential error in the way the
question is asked and the way it is
recorded
The responses are directly comparable
from respondent to respondent
 Closed-response
Questions (Contd.)
Limitations of Closed Response
Questions
Disagreement among researchers on the
type of responses that should be listed
The answer to a closed response question
will be received no matter how relevant or
irrelevant the question is in that context
May not produce meaningful results
Dichotomous questions are prone to a large
amount of measurement error because the
alternatives are polarized
 Closed-response
Questions (Contd.)
Limitations of Closed Response
Questions (Contd.)
Good questions are hard to develop
Provides fewer opportunities of self
expression
The list of alternative responses provides
answers that might have not been
considered by the respondent who are
reluctant to admit ignorance, and thereby
selecting a "reasonable" response
 Issues in Questionnaire
Design
Ideally, the multiple choices should be
mutually exclusive.

How many long-distance calls do make in a

week?
 less than 5
 5-10
 More than 10.
 Number of Response
Categories
Generally five to seven categories
Ideally the multiple choices should be
mutually exclusive
 Order of Response
Categories
Responses are likely to be affected by the order
in which they are presented.

What factor influences your fast-food restaurant choice most ?

 Convenient location
 Quality of food
 Menu selection
 Fast service
 Reasonable prices
 Brand name
 Cleanliness
 Order of Response
Categories
To prevent order bias, place the
average or expected response at
various positions in the sequence of
categories
 Range of Response
Categories
Respondents who do not know the answer
might take categories as cues.

How many long-distance calls do make in a

week?
 less than 5  less than 10
 5-10 or  10-20
 More than 10.  More than 20.
 Handling uncertainty

Should respondents be provided with a

Don’t know or No opinion option?
Sometimes this is an easy way out
Sometimes it is the true fact
Error is introduced either way!
 Question Wording

Care Has to Be Taken That

Is the vocabulary simple, direct, and familiar to all
respondents?
Do any words have vague or ambiguous meanings?
Are any questions " double-barreled”?
Are any questions leading or loaded?
Are the instructions potentially confusing?
Is the question applicable to all respondents?
Are the questions of appropriate length?
 Question Wording
Avoid ambiguous words

How many times per month do you visit a fast-food

restaurant?
 Never
 Occasionally
 Sometimes
 Often
 Question Wording

Are any questions loaded?

1) Don’t you think, because its so greasy, fast-

food is one of the worst types of food?

2) Do you prefer a hamburger that is grilled on

a hot stainless-steel grill or cooked by passing
the raw meat through an open gas flame?
 Question Wording

Are any questions "double-barreled”?

Are you satisfied with the price and the

service of Taco Bell?
 Question Wording

Is the question applicable to all

respondents?

“Why do you like fast-food?”

Assumes that respondent likes fast-

food.
 Sequence And Layout
Decisions
Open with an easy and non threatening
question
The questionnaire should flow smoothly
and logically from one topic to the next
Proceed from broad general questions
to the more specific
 Sequence And Layout
Decisions (Contd.)
Sensitive questions should not be
placed in the beginning of the
questionnaire
Use good quality of paper
Physical layout should be appealing
and interesting
Order bias
 Randomized Response
Technique
P[Yes] = P[Yes|S.Q] * P[S.Q] + P[Yes|
I.Q] * P[I.Q]

where
S.Q = Sensitive Question
I.Q = Innocent Question
 Pretesting and
Correcting Problems
Pretest Design
Pretesting Specific Questions For
● Variation
● Meaning
● Task difficulty
● Respondent interest and attention
Pretesting the Questionnaire
● Flow of the questionnaire
● Skip patterns
● Length
Respondent Interest and Attention
Thank You!