Preparation of Questionnaires It is an important method for collecting the primary data. It is a list of questions/set of questions used to collect factual information about someone or something from respondent. The questionnaire was invented by the Statistical Society of London in 1838. Defi n According to different authors the questionnaire defined as: * According to Goode and Hatt, “ In general the word questionnaire refers to a device for securing answers to questions by using a form which respondents fills in himself ”. * According to The Dictionary of Statistical terms “ The questionnaire is a sequence or group of questions designed to elicit information upon a subject or sequence of subjects from an information.” While drafting a questionnaire following points should be kept in mind:— © It should be as short as possible. Only the requisite questions should be asked to save time and money. * The questions should be simple, precise, and easy to understand and also avoid difficulty or ambiguous words. + If possible, questions should be set such that the answers to the question should be either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. © Questions that are not related to the specific purpose of the project should not be framed. © The units of measurements should also be clearly mentioned in the questionnaire. * Several questions related to the same aspects should not be jumbled up in the form. The arrangements of questions should be systemic such that the respondent should feel comfortable. + The questions should not use double negatives and they should be avoided, otherwise they may lead to biased responses. And also the questions does not indicate an alternate answer. * Pilot survey also known as ‘pre-testing the questionnaire’ is to be performed, i.e. the answers to the questionnaire should be tried on a few individuals before using them in the analysis. Cover letter for Questionnaire: A good questionnaire contains a covering letter (a cover is a formal request for getting co-operation and this will state the purpose of the enquiry). Precautions for making a covering letter: - - Itshould be politely worded. - Itshould highlight the importance and need of the survey. - It should ensure that the information supplied by the informants will be kept strictly confidential and used for only research purpose. - It should contain a promise that a copy of the result of the enquiry will be sent to them if they so desire. - It should be enclosed by a self-addressed and stamped envelope for the convenience of the respondents for sending back the questionnaire. lerent___Types of _Construction __of Questionnaire: 1. Close- Ended type or structured type questions: This type questions are very easy to use for the analysis but there is a possibility that individual’s true response is not given in alternatives. The dose-ended type or structured type questions can be classified into:- * Dichotomous or Alternative response type: It contains only two answers i.e., Yes or No, Agree/Disagree etc. Example:- Questions Answer What is your Marital |[] Married O Unmarried status? Select your Gender | Male O Female * Multiple choice questions : It contains two or more alternatives answers i.e., options given such as A, B, C, D etc. From the given options we have to select one option as answer. Example:~ Questions Answer Select your | Married [] Unmarrieq_] Marital status(tick in| Widow [] Divorced] the box) * Scaled type questions: In these type of questions, answers is collected by informing the respondent to give rating to each option or ranking to each option. Ranking T sone: Example: 1. Please rank the following based on your mental satisfaction. Rank them giving 1 to most preferred one and 3 to the least preferred one: Food Service: Transportation: O1 “ Rating Type questions: Example:- How do you rate your examination performance: . Excellent . Very Good . Good Rone . Average 5. Poor Advantages of structured type questions: + Time efficient and responses are easy to interpret “ Ideally used for quantitative type research. Disadvantages of Structure type questions: ~ Respondents should select the answers in the given options only and this does not reflect the exact answer that what respondent thinks. 2. Open-Ended Questions or unstructured questions: These type questions usually starts with ‘Why’, ‘What’ and ‘how'. It phrased as a statement which requires the individual responses which are either longer or shorter responses but not the one word responses. Example:- What is your opinion about the product?’. Advantages: ~ Respondents can give answer exactly what they think. Disadvantages: 4 Time consuming process ~ Difficult to interpret the responses. Types of Questionnaire: given below: On the basis of structure, Questionnaire is classified int 1. Structured Undisquised:- As we know the structured questions means the answers of the questions are predetermined i.e. limited options will be given and have to select the answer from the given list of options. Undisguised means the questions and the purpose of study/research is clear and understandable to respondent. These are asked in direct wording to respondent. Respondent can easily interpret the questions. Example:- there are three games xX, Y, and Z and Customers asked to select the most preferred game. 2. Unstructured Undisguised: In this type of questions, the question are designed in both Unstructured and Undisguised way. There is no selection of options and the answers are not pre-determined. Only free questions are asked to respondents in which their response is not limited. The respondents have full freedorn to answer the question either in one word or in a paragraph. Respondent knows the purpose and motive of study/research before answering the questions. For example, Respondent is asked to name the tourist spot that he/she preferred to visit ina particular state? 3. Structured Disguised: In this type, the answer for the questions given in options and respondent have to select the answer from the given options. Hence the answers are pre-determined. Disguised means indirect way of asking questions. Respondents do not know the exact purpose/motive of the study/research but the respondents can answer the questions easily by selecting a option from the given. For example, which of the following products is more useful? Why?. 4. Unstructured Disquised: In this type, the purpose/motive behind the study/research is not known to the respondents and also the options are not provided to answer the question because it is Unstructured. The response is not fixed to the given questions. Respondents have full freedom to answer the question according to his/her will. For example, which place is more favourite? Why? 1. Questionnaire for Personal Interview: In this, the questions of the study is prepared in such a way to get clear explanation or clarification from respondents. So, Researchers directly meet the respondent face to face and ask the questions. 2. Questionnaire for Telephone Survey: If the questions of the study is less and also requires simple answers then the researcher preferred the Telephonic survey. 3. Questionnaire for Mail Survey: This questionnaire is sent to respondents with a request to retum it dully filled. If the questions are more and also requires the simple and short answers, then this method is adopted. Mostly, this method is adopted by the research workers, other official agencies etc. he basis of a . b £ questionnaire: 1. Interviewer-administered Questionnaire: In this case, the presence of both interviewer and the respondents is very vital. Here, the response from respondents is recorded either in the same questionnaire or in a separate form. For Example:- Personal interview and telephone survey we use an Interviewer-administered Questionnaire. 2. Self-administered Questionnaire: Respondents themselves fill out the questionnaire. If no interviewer is there or the interviewer has any inconvenience Self-administered Questionnaire is used commonly. Eg: mail survey Advantages of Questionnaire Method: = Most economical method and helpful to collect the original data. - Lack of Personal bias. - Wide geographical area can be covered. - Respondents can be easily approached. - This method gives sufficient time to the respondents to think and send the reply according to their will. Disadvantages of Questionnaire Method: - Lack of co-operation from the respondents that negatively affects the data collection. - Lack of personal contact between interviewer and respondent. - If the respondent is illiterate, this method is not used for data collection. - Incomplete answers from the respondents may cause errors. - Difficult to verify the accuracy of the information. Practice questions: 1. Which of the following questionnaire is classified based on the structure? a. Questionnaire for Personal Interview b. Unstructured Undisguised Questionnaire c. Self-administered Questionnaire d. Interviewer-administered Questionnaire Answer Key: b 2. Which of the following one is the advantage of Questionnaire preparation? a) Wide geographical area can be covered. b) Lack of Personal bias. c) Lack of personal contact between interviewer and respondent. d) Both a &b Answer Key: d