3.3.3.

Questionnaire
• Questionnaire is a self-report data-collection
instrument (questions or statements) filled out by
research participants.
• Used to tap into and understand (gather
information about) the thoughts, feelings,
attitudes, beliefs, values, perceptions, personality,
and behavior intentions of research participants.
• Can collect quantitative, qualitative and mixed
data.
• Open-ended and/or close-ended
 Principles of questionnaire construction
1. Match your Q-items with your research
objectives.
2. Understand your research participants
3. Use familiar language
4. Write items that are clear, precise and
relatively short.
5. Do not use “leading” or “loaded” questions.
6. Avoid double-barreled questions
7. Avoid double negatives
 Cont …
8. Decide whether an open-ended or close-ended
question is needed.
9. Use mutually exclusive and exhaustive response
categories for close-ended questions.
10.Consider the different types of response
categories available for close-ended Q-items.
– Rating scale: A continuum of response choices
• VL= 1 2 3 4 5 =VH anchored
endpts.
• SDA=1 DA=2 Neutral=3 A=4 SA=5 anchored fully.
-Used by Guilford(1936), K. Pearson (1857-1936), R.
Likert (1903-81).
Commonly used response categories for rating
scale
• Agreement: SDA DA UN A SA
• Amount: (1)Too little (2)About the right
amount (3)Too much
• Approval: (1)SD (2)D (3)N (4)A (5)SA
• Belief: (1)Definitely false (2)probably false (3)
probably true (4)Definitely true.
• Evaluation: Excellent fair poor
• Satisfaction: VD SWD SWS VS
• Performance: US F G VG
 Cont…
– Rankings: the ordering of responses in ascending or
descending order.
• Please rank the seriousness of the following
disciplinary challenges in your school.
– Semantic differential: a scaling technique in which
participants rate a series of objects or concepts.
• Please rate your leader on each of the following
descriptive scales.
– Checklists: A list of response categories that
respondents check if appropriate.
• Where among the following do you get
information about drug?
 Principles …
11. Use multiple items to measure abstract
constructs.
– Summated rating scale: a multi-item scale that
has the responses for each person summed into a
single score
– Likert scale: a type of summated rating scale
invented by r. Likert.
12. Use multiple methods to measure abstract
constructs.
– Ex. Questionnaires, interviews, observations,
tests, etc.
 Principles …
13. Use caution when reversing the wording in
some items to prevent response sets in multi-
item scales.
– Response set: the tendency to respond in a
specific direction regardless of content.
• Ex. 1. All yes or all no response.
2. Social desirability response set.
– Reverse-worded item (reverse-scored item): an
item on which a lower value corresponds to a
higher level on the construct of interest.
– Caution in recoding.
 Principles …
14. Organize a questionnaire for easy use of the
participants.
– Sequence of items – Positive or non-threatening
items first and demographic set of questions last.
– Limit number of contingency questions (items
directing respondents to different follow-up questions
depending on their response).
– Clear instructions throughout your questionnaire
– Transitional statements for different topical sections
– White or blank space
– Appearance
 Principles …
15. Always pilot test your questionnaire.
– This checks whether the questionnaire operates
properly before using it.
– Think-aloud technique: having participants verbalize
their thoughts and perceptions while filling out items.
This helps determine whether participants interpret
the items the way you intended.
– Be sure how long it takes based on the try-out.
– Detect confusing or threatening items.
– Discuss the items with them for left-out issues, clarity
of instructions, and other outstanding matters.
 Organization of questionnaire
• Title: shows purpose of questionnaire.
• Introductory statement: Some techniques for
establishing trust and rapport are used:
1. Explain the sponsoring organization
2. Explain the purpose of study
3. Indicate that the responses are anonymous
or confidential
4. Let interviewee understand that the study
is important and that his/her response is
valuable.
 Cont…
• Ask about opinion or knowledge (past,
present or future)
• Note the use of white space
• Use lead-in instructions for each section:
Enhances both appearance and understanding
of the set of items
• Use the 15 principles wisely.
 Exercise 3.3.2
In groups of 2, discuss and select two survey
research topics of your interest. Each of you
construct a 20-item questionnaire to collect
data for the topic of your choice. Collect data
from 5 of you classmates. Have them
evaluate your data-collection instrument on
the basis of what they have learned in this
chapter. Revise your questionnaire and report
your findings.
 3.3.4 Other methods of data collection
• These include the following inquiry forms and
procedures:
– Interviews
• Quantitative interviews
• Qualitative interviews
– Focus groups
– Observation
• Quantitative observation
• Qualitative observation
– Visual data
• Photos
• videos
– Secondary data
 Interviews
• Interview: is a data-collection method in which an
interviewer asks an interviewee questions.
• In-person interview: interview conducted face to face.
• Telephone interview: interview conducted over the
phone.
• Some techniques for establishing trust and rapport are:
1. Explain the sponsoring organization
2. Explain the purpose of study
3. Point out that the responses are anonymous or
confidential
4. Let interviewee understand that the study is
important and that their response is valuable.
 Probes
• Probes: prompts made by the interviewer to obtain
response clarity or additional information
• Examples of standard probes
• Repeat question
• Any thing else?
• Any other reason?
• What do you mean?
• How?
• Could you tell more?
• Why do you feel that way?
• What could be done in that situation?
 Quantitative interviews:
• Interview protocol: written data-collection
instrument used in the interview.
• It has instructions, items (sometimes open-
ended items), response categories, etc. that
help standardize what is presented.
• It is read to the interviewee and responses are
recorded by the interviewer.
• It is similar to a questionnaire except that the
responses are recorded by the interviewer.
Qualitative interviews (Depth interviews)
• Contain open-ended questions and provide
qualitative data.
• Interviewer should be asking, probing,
listening and recording as a repository of
detailed information
• Three types of depth interview are:
– Informal conversational interview
– Interview guide approach
– Standardized open-ended interview
 Tips for effective interview
• Train interviewer
• Establish rapport be neutral and empathetic
• Use gentle head nods and show interest
• Maintain respect for the interviewee’s time
• Be reflexive, clear, focused, and insightful
• Let him/her talk, provide enough time and listen
• Tolerate difference
• Tape-record the session
• Utilize probes for in-depth response
• Check your notes and recordings for quality and
completeness.
 Focus groups
• Focus group: a type of group interview in which a
moderator leads a discussion with a small group
(6-12) of people to examine in detail how they
feel and think about a topic. The topic is the
focus.
• Focus group interview guide or protocol helps in
leading discussion.
• It can give general background information about
a topic, generate research hypothesis, stimulate
new ideas of innovation, diagnose potential or
existing problems, generate impressions,
strategies, improvements, etc regarding the
topic.
 Observation
• Observation: watching the behavioral patterns
of people/things in certain situations to obtain
information about the phenomenon of interest.
• Advantage of observation data over self-report
methods data is getting actual behavior.
• Two types of environments in which to observe:
– Laboratory observation: observation set up in a lab
or other setting by researcher.
– Naturalistic observation: observation done in real-
world setting where the behavior occurs.
 Quantitative observation
• Quantitative observation: a structured
observation with standardized observational
procedures in order to obtain reliable data.
• It involves:
– Who is observed?
– What is observed?
– When to observe?
– Where to observe?
– How to observe?
• It results in quantitative data.
Observational sampling techniques
• Observation involves time-interval sampling
and event sampling techniques.
• Time-interval sampling: checking for events
during specific time interval
• Event sampling: observing only after specific
events occurred.
• Use of checklist, laptop computer, recorders.
• Close-ended list used for confirmatory
purposes.
 Qualitative observation
• Qualitative (Naturalistic) observation: observing all
potentially relevant phenomenon and taking
extensive field notes without specifying in
advance exactly what is to be observed.
• The researcher is a data-collection instrument.
Why?
• Researcher may play a role of one the following in
a single qualitative research:
– Complete participant,
– participant as observer,
– observer as participant, or
– complete observer.
• Observation can take extended time.
 Qualitative observer
1. Complete participant: essentially a member
of the group of participants; take a role of an
insider without telling that they are studied ;
ethically questioned because of covered
observation done; takes extended time with
the group; lacks objectivity.
2. Participant as observer: plays insider role but
tells members that they are studied; takes
extended time with the group; can collect and
record data and seek feedback.
 Cont…
3. Observer as participant: plays observer role
much more than the role of a participant but tells
members that they are being studied; spends a
limited time and interaction with the group;
difficult to have an insider’s view but easy to
maintain objectivity.
4. Complete observer: Observes as an outsider
without telling the group members that they are
observed; minimizes reactivity (change of
behavior bc they now they are observed); needs
ethical clearance, lacks insider view.
• 2 and 3 are the most common and useful styles
of observation for they allow voluntary consent
among participants
 Secondary and existing data
• Common types are:
– Personal documents (Private)
– Official documents (Organizational)
– Physical data (materials)
– Archived data (stored)
• Prints
• Pictures
• CD-ROM
• Recordings