CHAPTER IV

QUESTIONNAIRE
 Definition
A questionnaire is a research instrument
consisting of a series of questions (or other
types of prompts) for the purpose of
gathering information from respondents.

A questionnaire is defined as a research

instrument that consists of a set of questions
that aims to collect information from a
respondent to solve a defined problem.

The questionnaire was invented by

the Statistical Society of London in 1838.
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 Definition (Cont…)
A questionnaire a mix of close-ended
questions and open-ended questions; long
form questions offer the ability for the
respondent to elaborate on their thoughts.

A questionnaire is a set of questions typically

used for research purposes which can be
both qualitative as well as quantitative in
nature. A questionnaire may or may not be
delivered in the form of a survey, but a survey
always consists of questionnaire

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 Characteristics of a Questionnaire
Some basic characteristics of a
questionnaire are:
a)Uniformity
b)Exploratory
c)Question Sequence
Uniformity: Questionnaires are very useful to
collect demographic information, personal opinions, facts or
attitudes from respondents. One of the biggest
characteristics of questionnaires is that it is standardized and
uniform. Every respondent see’s the same questions. This
helps in data collection and statistical analysis of this data.
For example, a retail store evaluation questionnaire
template contains questions for evaluating retail store
purchase value, range of options for product selections,
quality of merchandise and more. These questions are
uniform for all customers.
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 Characteristics of a Questionnaire
Exploratory: To collect qualitative data, the questionnaire
could be exploratory in nature. There is no restriction of
the questions that can be in this questionnaire or the
specific objective that this collected.
For example, if a questionnaire is administered to the
female of the household to understand the spend
towards household incomes, a very structured question
list could limit the data collection.
Question Sequence: The questionnaire typically follows a
structured flow of questions to increase the number of
responses. This sequence of questions are screening
questions, warm-up questions, transition questions, skip
questions, difficult questions and classification questions.
For example, a motivation and buying experience
questionnaire template covers initial demographic
questions all the way through to time taken in a section
and rationale behind purchase decisions etc.
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 Types of Questions
The questionnaires can be either structured or free-flow.
To explain this a little better:
A.Structured Questionnaires: Structured
questionnaires collect quantitative data. The
questionnaire is planned and designed to collect very
specific information. It also initiates a formal enquiry,
supplements data and checks previously accumulated
data and helps validate any prior hypothesis.

A.Unstructured Questionnaires: Unstructured
questionnaires collect qualitative data. The
questionnaire in this case has a basic structure and
some branching questions but nothing that limits the
responses of a respondent. The questions are more
open-ended.
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 Types of Questions (Cont…)
There could be multiple question types in a questionnaire.
Some of the widely used types of questions are:
 Open-Ended Questions: Open-ended questions help
collect qualitative data in a questionnaire where the
respondent can answer in a free form with little to no
restrictions.
 Dichotomous Questions: The dichotomous
question is generally a “yes/no” close-ended question.
This question is generally used in case of the need of
basic validation. It is the easiest form of a
questionnaire.
 Multiple-Choice Questions: Multiple-choice
questions are a close-ended question type in which a
respondent has to select one (single select multiple
choice question) or many (multi-select multiple choice
question) responses from a given list of options.
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 Types of Questions (Cont…)

Scaling Questions: Another question type that is

widely used in a questionnaire are scaling questions.
These questions are based on the principles of the 4
measurement scales – nominal, ordinal, interval and
ratio. Some question types that utilize the
fundamental properties of these scales are rank order
questions, Likert scale questions, semantic differential
scale questions and stapel scale questions.

Pictorial Questions: This question type is the 2nd

easiest type of a questionnaire question. Respondents
are given the option from certain images limiting their
response to the options in the question but increasing
the number of responses.
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 Types of Questionnaires based on
Distribution

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 Questionnaires based on Distribution
(Cont..)
 Questionnaires can be administered or distributed in the
following forms:
 Computer Questionnaire: In this type, respondents are
sent the questionnaire via email or other online mediums
and the respondent is required to complete this
questionnaire. The advantages of this method is that is
cost-effective and time efficient. Respondents can also
answer at leisure and since they are not pressured,
responses could be even more accurate. The
disadvantage, however is that respondents can easily
ignore these questionnaires.
 Telephone Questionnaire: In this questionnaire type, a
researcher makes a phone call to a respondent to collect
responses. The advantages of this method is that
responses are quick once the respondent is on call and
willing to speak. But the disadvantage is that a lot of
times the respondents are hesitant to give out much
information over the phone. It is also an expensive way of
conducting a questionnaire. The sample also may not be a
representative of the whole population.
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 Questionnaires based on Distribution (Cont..)
 In-House Questionnaire: This type of questionnaire is
conducted by a researcher that visits the home or workplace
of the respondent. The advantage of this type of
questionnaire is that the respondent is in a comfortable and
natural environment and in-depth data can be collected. The
disadvantage though is that it is expensive

 Mail Questionnaire: Mail questionnaires are now turning

obsolete but are still being used in some market research
studies. This method involves a researcher sending a
physical questionnaire request to a respondent that can be
filled in and sent back. The advantage of this methods is
that respondents can complete this at leisure and hence
answer truthfully and entirely. The disadvantage though is
that this method is expensive and time consuming. There is
also a high risk of the not being able to collect enough
number of responses.
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 Steps Involved in Questionnaire
Design
1. Identify what you want to cover in a questionnaire: Clarity
of the topic is of utmost importance as this is the primary step in
designing the questionnaire. Once you are clear on what the
questionnaire is going to be about the rest of the steps simply
follow.
2. Don’t grind your words: It’s essential that the words or
phrases that you use while writing the questionnaire are easy to
understand because there are chances that not all respondents
will understand the meaning behind it. If the questions are unclear
the respondents they may simply choose any options, leading to
inaccurate data at the end.
3. Ask only one question at a time: At times a researcher may
be tempted to add two similar questions as one. However, this is
also something that should be avoided as each question might
have a different outcome. It may seem like common sense, but it’s
an easy trap to fall into when compiling questions. If any of your
questions contain the word “and”, take another look at it. This
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question likely has two parts, which can tamper your data quality.
 Steps Involved in Questionnaire Design
(cont…)
4. Be flexible with your options: While designing, the survey
creator needs to be flexible in terms of “option choice” for the
respondents. Sometimes the respondents may not necessarily
want to choose from the answer options provided by the survey
creator, in such a situation it helps to have “other” option.
5. Open-ended or closed-ended question, it’s a tough
choice: The survey creator might end up in a situation where
he/she would need to make distinct choices between open
or close-ended questions. Again the question type should be
carefully sorted as it defines the tone and importance of asking
the question in the first place.
If the questionnaire requires the respondents not to restrict their
thoughts, open-ended question is the best choice. But, if the
surveyor wants a specific response then close-ended questions
should be their primary choice. The key to asking closed-ended
questions is to generate data that is easy to analyze and spot
trends; not to mention, closed-ended questions are easier for
the survey taker.
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 Steps Involved in Questionnaire Design
(cont…)

6. It is important to know your audience: As a

thumb rule, a researcher should know their target
audience. Use simple language and terminology that
your respondents will understand, and avoid
technical jargon and industry-specific language that
might confuse or frustrate your respondents.
For example, if the target audience is Spanish,
sending the questionnaire in any other language will
not yield desired responses.

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 Differences between a Questionnaire
and a Survey
Questionnaire Survey
Meani A questionnaire can A Survey is defined is a
ng be defined as a research method used
research instrument for collecting data from
that consists a set of a pre-defined group of
questions or other respondents to gain
types of prompts that information and insights
aims to collect on various topics of
information from a interest.
respondent.
What Instrument of data Process of collecting
is collection and analyzing that data
it?
Charac Subset of survey Consists of
teri questionnaire and
15 stic survey design, logic and
 Time Fast and cost Much slower and
and effective expensive
Cost
Use Conducted on the Distributed or
target audience conducted on
respondents
Questio Close-ended and very Close-ended and
ns rarely open-ended open ended
Answer Objective Subjective or
s objective
At a A questionnaire is an A survey is a process
glance instrument for of gathering data
collecting data, and that could involve a
almost always wide variety of data
involve asking a collection methods,
given subject to including a
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respond to a set of questionnaire.
oral or written
 Basic rules for questionnaire item
construction
 Use statements which are interpreted in the same way
by members of different subpopulations of the
population of interest.
 Use statements where persons that have different
opinions or traits will give different answers.
 Think of having an "open" answer category after a list
of possible answers.
 Use only one aspect of the construct you are interested
in per item.
 Use positive statements and avoid negatives or double
negatives.
 Do not make assumptions about the respondent.
 Use clear and comprehensible wording, easily
understandable for all educational levels
 Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation.
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 Basic rules for questionnaire item
construction (Cont..)

Avoid items that contain more than one

question per item (e.g. Do you like
strawberries and potatoes?).
Question should not be biased or even
leading the participant towards an answer.

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