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Guide To Make Questionnaire
Guide To Make Questionnaire
Guide To Make Questionnaire
Introduction
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questionnaire must be tested on a few persons similar to persons in the
target group. This will help to eliminate possible inherent problems.
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General remarks regarding the contents
The target group determines the level of the questions. The contents of
the questions as well as the language and the terminology should not
overestimate nor underestimate the abilities of the respondent.
The length of the questionnaire is determined by the size of the sample
as well as by the target group. A very long questionnaire frustrates and
exhausts the respondent. If the sample size is not sufficiently large,
questions with too many categories as possible answers can lead to
frequencies that are so low and "sparse" that the information can either
not be used at all or the categories must be grouped together to be of
any use at all.
The language must be correct and unambiguous. It is important that
the possible answers can be linked to the question. Questions must be
restricted to one topic only.
A few concepts
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Interval/Ratio e.g. Temperature, Mass, Distance, Age in year
intervals
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Classification of question types
Biographical questions
Only the necessary information must be collected.
Questions requiring sensitive information from the respondent must be
carefully worded.
Age must preferably be posed as an open question, and if necessary,
categorised at a later stage. This enables one to use a larger variety of
statistical methods.
The statistical techniques that will be used must be kept in mind during the
compilation of the questions. If the researcher plans to use techniques such
as regression analysis and analysis of variance then the information must,
where possible, be collected in an uncategorised form.
Poor example:
Do you travel by bus in the mornings or in the evenings? Yes/No
Better option:
Do you travel by bus in the mornings? Yes/No
Do you travel by bus in the evenings? Yes/No
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The possible answers provided for a question must be logical and relevant
for the target group. Once again, the researcher must be sure that the
required information is collected.
For example, if the target group is children between 13 and 16 years of age
and the question is about highest educational qualification, the following
options will not give much information
Poor example:
How often do you consult a doctor?
Regularly, frequently, occasionally, never
The concept frequently will definitely not have the same meaning for
everybody
Better example:
How many times did you consult a doctor between January, 1 2003 and
December,31 2003?
Once, two or three times, four or five times, more then five times, never
In the last example the period is clearly defined, the frequency of visits is
stated unambiguously and provision is made for respondents who did not
visit the doctor.
Sifting questions
In the previous example a sifting question can be used and followed by an
open question.
Example:
Did you consult a doctor during the period.........? Yes/No
If yes, how many times? ........
The advantage, again, is that more statistical techniques can be used.
Open questions
Open questions have no formulated categories for possible answers. This
type of questions are usually used when insufficient knowledge regarding
the particular subject exists and the researcher is uncertain whether
predefined categories will cover all possibilities. Open questions are,
therefore, particularly useful for exploratory studies. It can also be used to
obtain more information regarding previous closed questions or to test the
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intensity of the response. As the coding of this type of question is time
consuming it should only be used when absolutely necessary.
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"Answer each one" or "Choose only one"
The use of these two types of answers depends on the question and the
purpose of the study. "Answer each one" is used when there is more than
one possible answer to the question. It also forces the respondent to take
each given category into consideration. The following method is
recommended:
If the respondent was asked to choose all relevant reasons, as in the next
example, it cannot be assumed that a reason that has not been chosen
yields "No" as in the previous example.
"Choose only one" is used in cases where the question indicates that the
most important reason or aspect must be chosen.
The target group must be considered, as it is sometimes easier for
respondents to answer Yes/No to each possibility than to indicate the most
important reason.
Ranking
Questions that expect the respondent to rank a number of reasons, causes
or anything else must only be used when the researcher is sure that the
respondents will be able to manage this. Even then the number of
possibilities to be ranked must be kept to a minimum. It must also be
clearly indicated that the respondent must rank every possibility.
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Direct against sympathetic approach
Example:
Are you overweight?
Against:
Do you think that you are overweight?
Again there can be no fixed rule. The researcher must be guided by the
target group, the nature of the study and the specific question. Sometimes
a more sympathetic approach or a question that is worded in a
conversational style would be more effective in motivating a respondent to
answer a sensitive question. The length of the question must, however, be
restricted as much as possible.
It is sometimes possible, given the subject and the size of the sample, to
make deductions over time by restricting the question to a specific time.
Example:
How many times did you go to church during August?
(Where August is the month preceding the survey)
If the sample size is sufficient and one assumes that the church attendance
pattern is relatively constant, it is reasonable to expect that exceptional
behaviour will be cancelled out and that the monthly church attendance of
respondents will be reflected.
Reliability
It is difficult to check the answers to biographical questions and these
questions must be formulated in such a way that the respondent can give
honest answers.
Knowledge questions
Most questionnaires include such questions not to test the respondent’s
knowledge as such but because knowledge is the foundation of certain
behaviour or because it helps to form attitudes.
Sifting questions are valuable in this case, if a respondent indicates that
he/she has never heard of a chiropractor, then it does not make any sense
to ask this specific respondent any questions regarding the work of a
chiropractor.
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The respondent's frequency of contact with the subject must also be taken
into account. The knowledge about bus routes of a person who travels by
bus every day will be more "reliable" than the knowledge of a person who
only travels by bus occasionally.
For the same reasons as discussed previously with the Yes/No answers, the
preferred type is True/False. In some cases "Don't know" or "Uncertain" can
be added as a category. The two possibilities are not equivalent and must
be handled carefully.
Dichotomous scale
Example:
The bus service satisfies my needs Yes No
Buses depart on time Yes No
Bus tariffs are too expensive Yes No
Likert scales
This type of scale can be used to measure intensity of feelings. As
mentioned before, a specific theoretical construct is supposed and with
the help of statistical techniques it must be determined whether the
data confirms the theory.
Example:
Strongl Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
y Agree Disagree
Travelling by bus 1 2 3 4 5
is time
consuming
Buses are always 1 2 3 4 5
late
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Bus drivers drive 1 2 3 4 5
recklessly
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Diagram scale
This scale determines the respondents' tendency to both sides of a
central point.
Example:
Punctuality
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::
- 0 +
Example:
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Speeches against democracy should not be allowed.
Sequence of questions
Source
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