Chap - 10 Designing Data Collection Forms

A Questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions, written or
verbal, that a respondent answers.
Typically, a questionnaire is only one element of a
data collection package that might also include:
 Fieldwork procedures, such as instructions for selecting,
approaching, and questioning respondents.
 Some reward, gift, or payment offered to respondents; and
 Communication aids, such as maps, pictures,
advertisements, and products as in personal interviews and
return envelops in mail surveys.

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 Objectives of Questionnaires

Any questionnaires have three specific objectives:

i)It must translate the information needed into a set of
specific questions that the respondents can and will
answer.
Developing questions that respondents can and
will answer to yield the desired information is
difficult.
Two apparently similar ways of posing a question
may yield different information.
Hence, this objective is a challenge.

ii) A questionnaire must uplift, motivate, and

encourage the respondent to become involved in the
interview, to cooperate, and to complete the
interview.

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 In designing a questionnaire, the researcher
should strive to minimize respondent fatigue,
boredom, incompleteness, and nonresponsive.
A well-designed questionnaire can motivate the

respondents and increase the response rate.

iii)A Questionnaire should minimize response
error.
A questionnaire can be a major source of

response error.
Minimizing this error is an important objective of

questionnaire design.

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 Questionnaire Design Process

1. Specify the information needed

2. Specify the type of interviewing method
3. Determine the content of individual question
4. Design the questions to overcome the
respondent’s inability and unwillingness to
answer
5. Decide on the question structure.
6. Determine the question wording
7. Arrange the questions in proper order
8. Identify the form and layout
9. Reproduce the questionnaire.
10. Eliminating bugs by pretesting.

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 1) Specify Information Needed
 The information needed becomes more and more clearly
defined.
 It is helpful to review components of the problem and the
approach, particularly the research questions, hypotheses and
the information needed.
 To further ensure that the information obtained fully addresses
all the components of the problem, the researcher should
prepare a set of dummy tables.
 It is also important to have a clear idea of the target population.
 The characteristics of the respondent group have a great
influence on questionnaire design.
 Questions that are appropriate for college students may not be
appropriate for housewives.
 Understanding is related to respondent socioeconomic
characteristics.
 Furthermore, poor understanding is associated with a high
incidence of uncertain or no-opinion responses.
 The more diversified the respondent group, the more difficult it
is to design a single questionnaire that is appropriate for the
entire group.
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 Type of Interviewing Method

An appreciation of how the type of interviewing

method influences questionnaire design can be
obtained by considering how the questionnaire is
administered under each method.
In personal interviews, respondents see the
questionnaire and interact face to face with the
interviewer.
Thus, lengthy, complex, and varied questions can be
asked.

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  In telephone interviews, the respondents interact with the
interviewer, but they do not see the telephone interviewer and the
questionnaire .

 This limits the type of questions that can be asked to short and

simple ones.
 Mail questionnaires are self-administered, so the questions must be

simple and detailed instruction must be provided.

 In computer-assisted interviewing (CAPI and CATI), complex skip

patterns and randomization of questions to eliminate order bias can

be easily accommodated.

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  Internet questionnaires share many of the characteristics of

CAPI, but e-mail questionnaires have to be simpler.

 Questionnaires designed for personal and telephone
interviews, should be written in a conversational style.

3) Individual Question Content

 Once the information needed is specified and the type of

interviewing method decided, the next step is to determine

individual question content: what to include in individual
questions.

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 Is the Question Necessary?

 Every question in a questionnaire should contribute to the

information needed or serve some specific purpose.

 If there is no satisfactory use for the data resulting from a

question, that question should be eliminated.

 In certain situations, however, questions may be asked that

are not directly related to the information that is needed.

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 It is useful to ask some neutral questions at the
beginning of the questionnaire than sensitive or
controversial.
Sometimes filler questions are asked to disguise the
purpose or sponsorship of the project.
Rather than limiting the questions to the brand of
interest, questions about competing brands may also be
included to disguise the sponsorship.
For example, a survey on personal computers
sponsored by IBM may also include filler questions
related to Dell and Apple.

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 Questions unrelated to the immediate problem may
sometimes be included to generate client support for the
project.
At times, certain questions may be duplicated for the
purpose of assessing reliability or validity?
5) Are Several Questions Needed Instead of One?
Once we have ascertained that a question is necessary,
we must make sure that it is sufficient to get the desired
information.
 Sometimes, several questions are needed to obtain the
required information in an unambiguous manner.

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  “Do you think Coca-Cola is a tasty and refreshing soft

drink?” (incorrect)

 A “yes” answer will presumably be clear, but what if the

answer is “no”? Does this mean that the respondent thinks

that Coca-Cola is not tasty, that it is not refreshing, or that it

is neither tasty nor refreshing?

 Such a question is called double –barreled questions,

because two or more questions are combined into one.

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 To obtain the required information, two distinct
questions should be asked:
Do you think Coca-Cola is a tasty soft
drink?”
Do you think Coca-Cola is a refreshing

soft drink?”
6) Overcoming Inability to Answer
 Researchers are not assuming that respondents can provide
accurate or reasonable answers to all questions.
 The researcher should attempt to overcome the respondent’s

inability to answer.
 Certain facts limit the respondent’s ability to provide the

desired information.

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 The respondents may not be informed, may not
remember, or may be unable to articulate certain types
of responses.
7) Is the respondent informed?
Respondents are often asked about topics on which
they are not informed.
A husband may not be informed about the expenses for
groceries and department store purchases, if it is the
wife who makes these purchases, or vice versa.
Research has shown that respondents will often answer
questions even though they are uninformed.

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 In situations, where not all respondents are likely to be
informed about the topic of interest, filter questions
that measure familiarity, product use, and past
experience should be asked before questions, about the
topics themselves.
Filter questions enable the researcher to
filter out respondents who are not
adequately informed.
8) Can The Respondent Remember?
Many things that we might expect everyone
to know are remembered by only a few.
Test this out on yourself.

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 Can You Answer The Following?
 What is the brand name of the shirt you were wearing two
weeks ago?
 What did you have for lunch a week ago?
 What were you doing a month ago at noon?
 How many gallons of soft drinks did you consume during
that last 4 weeks?

These questions are incorrect because they exceed

the ability of the respondents to remember.

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  Evidence indicates that consumers are particularly poor at

remembering quantities of products consumed.

 In situations, where factual data were available for

comparison, it was found that consumer reports of product

usage exceeded actual usage by 100 % or more.

 Thus , soft drink consumption may be obtained by asking:

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 How often do you consume soft drinks in a typical week?
 _____________less than once a week?
 _____________1 to 3 times per week
 _____________4 to 6 times per week
 ____________7 or more times per week.

The inability to remember leads to errors of

omissions, telescoping, and creation.

Omissions are the inability to recall an event that

actually took place.

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 Telescoping takes place when an individual telescopes or

compresses time by remembering an event as occurring more

recently than it actually occurred.

For example, a respondent reports three trips to supermarket in

the last two weeks when, in fact, one of these trips was made 18

days ago.

Creation error takes place when a respondent “remembers “an

event that did not actually occur.

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 The ability to remember an event is influenced by:
 The event itself,

 The time elapsed since the event, and

 The presence or absence of events that would aid memory.

9) Can The Respondents Articulate?

 Respondents may be unable to articulate certain types of

responses.
 For example, if asked to describe the atmosphere of the

department store they would prefer to patronize, most

respondents may be unable to phrase their answers.

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 On the other hand, if the respondents are provided

with alternative descriptions of store atmosphere, they

will be able to indicate the one they like the best.
If the respondents are unable to articulate their

responses to a question, they are likely to ignore that

question and may refuse to respond to the rest of the
questionnaire.
Thus, the respondents should be given aids such as

pictures, maps, and descriptions to help them articulate

their responses.

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 Overcoming Unwillingness to Answer
Even if respondents are able to answer a particular
question, they may be unwilling to do so , either
because too much effort is required , the situation or
context may not seem appropriate for disclosure , no
legitimate purpose or need for the information
requested is apparent , or the information requested is
sensitive.
Context: some questions may seem appropriate in
certain contexts but not in others.
For example, questions about personal hygiene

habits.

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 Legitimate Purpose: respondents are also unwilling
to divulge information that they do not see as serving
a legitimate purpose.
 Why should firm marketing cereals want to know
their age, income, and occupation?
Sensitive Information: respondents are
unwilling to disclose,
at least accurately, sensitive information because this
may cause embarrassment or threaten the
respondent’s prestige or self –image.
If pressed for the answer, respondents may give
biased responses, especially during personal
interviews.

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Sensitive topics include money, family life, political and
religious beliefs, and involvement in accidents or
crimes.
Increasing the Willingness of Respondents
Respondents may be encouraged to provide
information that they are unwilling to give by the
following techniques:
Place sensitive topics at the end of the questionnaire.
By then, initial mistrust has been overcome, rapport has
been created, the legitimacy of the project has been
established, and respondents are more willing to give
information.

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 Preface the question with a statement that the
behaviour of interest is common.

For example, before requesting information on

credit, say, “recent studies show that most
Americans are in debt.”
This technique, called the use of counter biasing
statements.
Choosing Questions Structures
A question may be unstructured or structured.

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 Unstructured Questions (UQ)
 UQ are open –ended questions that respondents answer in

their own words.

 They are also referred to as free-response or free –answer

questions.

The following are some examples:

 What is your occupation?

 What do you think of people who patronize discount

department stores?
 Who is your favorite political figure?

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 Structured Questions (SQ)
SQ is questions that prespecifiy the set of response

alternatives and the response format.

A structured question could be multiple choices,

dichotomous, or a scale.

Multiple Choices
In multiple choices –questions, the researcher provides a

choice of answers and respondents are asked - to select

one or more of the alternatives given.

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 Do you intend to buy a new car within the next six
months?
 ______ Definitely will not buy.
 ______Probably will not buy.
 ______ Undecided
 ______ probably will buy.
 ______Definitely will buy.
 ______Other (please specify).

Advantages
 Overcome the disadvantages of open-ended questions,
because interviewer bias is reduced and these questions are
administered quickly.
 Also, coding and processing of data are much less costly
and time consuming.
 In self-administered questionnaires, respondent
cooperation’s is improved, if the majority of the questions
are structured.

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 Disadvantages
Considerable time is required to design effective
multiple-choice questions.
Exploratory research using open-ended questions may
be required to determine the appropriate response
alternatives.
Even if an “other (please specify)”category is included,
respondents the list of possible answers produces biased
responses.
There is also the potential for order bias. (Order or
position bias is a respondent’s tendency to check an
alternative merely because it occupies a certain
position or is listed in a certain order.)

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 Dichotomous Questions (DQ)
A DQ is a structured question with only two response
alternatives, such as yes and no; agree or disagree, and
so on.
Often the two alternatives are supplemented by a
neutral alternative, such as “no opinion”, “don’t
know,” “both” or “none”.
Do you intend to buy a new car within the next six
months?
 _______Yes

 _______No

 _______Don’t Know

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 Scale is the generation of a commitment upon which
measured objects are located.
Do you want to buy a new car with in the next six
months?
Definitely Won’t Buy Probably Won’t Buy Undecided Probably Will Buy Definitely Will Buy

1 2 3 4 5

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 Choosing Questions Wording
 Question wording is the translation of the desired question
content and structure into words that respondents can clearly
and easily understand.
 To avoid these problems, we offer the following guidelines:
 Define the issue,
 Use ordinary words,
 Avoid implicit assumptions,
 Avoid leading questions,
 Avoid implicit alternatives,
 Avoid implicit assumptions,
 Avoid generalizations and estimates, and
 Use positive and negative statements

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 Define The Issue
 A question should clearly define the issue being addressed.

For Example:
 Which brand of shampoo do you use?
…………………….Incorrect.
 Which brand or brands of shampoo have you personally

used at home during the last month? In case of more than

one brand, please list all the brands that apply?
……………………………………Correct.

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 Use Ordinary Words
 Ordinary words should be used in a questionnaire and

they should match the vocabulary level of respondents.

 When choosing words, keep in mind that the average in

the USA has a high school level, not a college, education.

 For certain respondent groups, education level is even

lower.
 Most respondents do not understand technical
marketing words.

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For example, instead of asking:
 “Do you think the distribution of soft drinks is adequate?”…………….incorrect.

 “Do you think soft drinks are readily available when you want to buy

them?................correct.

Avoid Implicit Assumptions

 The words used in questionnaires should have a single meaning that is

known to the respondents.

 A number of words that appear to be unambiguous have different meanings

to different people.

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 These includes “ usually”, “ normally”, “ frequently,” “
often, “regularly,” occasionally,” and “ sometimes”.
Consider the following question
In a typical month, how often do you shop in
department stores?
 ____________Never.
 ____________Occasionally.
 ____________ Sometimes.
 ____________ 3 or 4 times.
 ___________ More than 4 times.

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 In deciding on the choice of words, researchers
should consult a dictionary and thesaurus and
ask the following questions of each word used:
Does it mean what we intended?
Does it have any other meanings?
If so, does the context make the intended
meaning clear?
Does the word have more than one
pronunciation?
Is there any word of similar pronunciation that
might be confused with this word?
Is a supplier word or phrase suggested?

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 Avoid Leading Questions
 A leading question that gives the respondent a clue as to
what answer is desired or leads the respondent to answer in
a certain way.
 Do you think that patriotic Ethiopians should buy imported
automobiles when that would put Ethiopian labor out of
work?
 ____________yes
 ___________No
 ___________ Don’t Know.

 This question would lead respondents to a “No” answer.

 A better question would be :
 Do you think Ethiopians should buy imported automobiles?
 ____________Yes
 ___________ No
 ___________ Don’t Know.

 Bias may also arise when respondents are given clues

about the sponsor of the project. Respondents tend to
respond favorably toward the sponsor.
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 The Question (s),
“Is collegiate your favorite toothpaste?” is likely to
bias the responses in favor of a colligate.
“Is St.George Your Favorite Beer?”
 A more unbiased way of obtaining this information would
be to ask,
“What is your favorite toothpaste brand?” .
“What is your favorite beer?”
Likewise, the mention of a prestigious or non
prestigious name can bias the responses, as in,
 “Do you agree with Ethiopian Dental association

that colligate is effective in preventing cavities?”

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 An unbiased question would be to ask,
 “Is colligate effective in preventing cavities?”

Avoid Implicit Alternatives

 Questions should not be worded so that the answer is
dependent upon implicit assumptions about what will
happen as consequences.
 Implicit assumptions are assumptions that are not stated in
the questions, as in the following example.
 Do you like to fly when travelling short distances:
……………….incorrect
 Do you like to fly when traveling short distances,

or would you rather drives?.........correct .

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 In the first question, the alternative of driving is only
implicit, but in the second question, it is explicit.
The first question is likely to yield a greater preference
for flying than the second question.
Avoid Implicit Assumptions
Questions should not be worded so that the answer is
dependent upon implicit assumptions about what will
happen as a consequence.
Implicit assumptions are assumptions that are not
stated in the question, as in the following example.
 Are you in favor of a balanced budget?
…………..incorrect.

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 Are you in favor of a balanced budget if it would
result in an increase in the personal income
tax? ..........correct.
Implicit in question 1 are the consequences
that will arise as a result of a balanced budget.
There might be a cut in defense expenditures,
increase in personal income tax, cut in social
programs, and so on.
Question 2 is a better way to word this
question.
Questions 1 ‘s failure to make its assumptions
explicit would result in overestimating the
respondents support for a balanced budget.

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 Avoid Generalizations and Estimates
Questions should be specific, not general.
Moreover, questions should be worded so
that the respondent does not have to make
generisations or compute estimates.
Suppose we were interested in households
annual per capit expenditure on groceries.
 If we asked respondents:
“What is the annual per capit expenditure
on groceries in your
household?”……………..incorrect.

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  A better way of obtaining the required information would
be to ask the respondents two simple questions:
 “What is the monthly or weekly expenditure on

groceries in your household?”

 “How many members can then perform the necessary

calculations?”………………….correct.
Dual Statements : Positive and Negative Statements
Many questions, particularly those measuring attitude
and lifestyles, are worded as statements to which
respondents indicate their degree of agreement or
disagreement.
Evidence indicates s that the response obtained is
influenced by the directionality of the statements:
whether they are stated positively or negatively.

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 In these cases it is better to use dual
statements, some of which are positive and
the others negative.
Two different questions could be prepared.
One questionnaire would contain half
negative and half positive statements in an
interspersed way.
The direction of these statements would be

reversed in the other questionnaire. (See

summated likert scale).

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 Determining the Order of Questions
Opening Questions
The opening questions can be crucial in
gaining the confidence and cooperation of
respondents.
The opening questions should be
interesting, simple, and nonthreatening.
Questions that ask respondents for their
options can be good opening questions,
because most people like to express their
opinions.

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  “Opening opinion question opens the door to
cooperation.”
 To begin with, I‘d like to know much do you like living in this
(town/city)?
 Would you say you like it a lot, a little, or not too much?”
Alot _____________.
 A little ___________.
 Not too much _____.
 Don’t Know _______.

Type of Information
The type classification information obtained in a
questionnaire may be classified as:
Basic information: relates directly to the research problem.

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 Classification Information: consisting of socioeconomic
and demographic characteristics, is used to classify the
respondents and understand the result.
Identification Information: a type of information
obtained in a questionnaire that includes name, address,
e-mail address, and phone numbers.
Difficult Questions
 Difficult questions or questions that are sensitive,

embarrassing, complex, or dull should be placed late

in the sequence.
 After rapport has been established and the
respondents become involved, they are less likely to
object to these questions.

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  Thus, in the department store project, information about
credit card and debt was asked at the end of the section on
basic information.
 Likewise, income should be the last question in the
classification section, and telephone number the final item
in the identification section.
Effect of Subsequent Questions
 Questions asked early in a sequence can influence the
responses to subsequent questions.
 As a rule of thumb, general questions should precede specific
questions.
 Thus, in the department store project, information about
credit card debt was asked at the end of the section on basic
information.

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 Likewise, income should be the last question in the
classification section, and telephone number the final
item in the identification section.
Effect on Subsequent Questions
Questions asked early in a sequence can
influence the response to subsequent questions.
As a rule of thumb, general questions should
precede specific questions.
This prevents specific questions from biasing
responses to general questions.

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 Consider the following sequence of questions:
Q1: “What considerations are important to you in
selecting a department store?””
Q2: In selecting a department store, how important is
convenience of location?”
Note that the first question is general, whereas the
second is specific.
This is the correct sequence.
If the questions were asked in the reverse order ,
respondents would be clued about convenience of
location and would likely to give this response to the
general question.

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 Funnel Approach is a synergy for ordering questions in
a questionnaire in which the sequence starts with
general questions that are followed by progressively
specific questions in order to prevent specific questions
from biasing general question.
Pretesting
Refers to the testing of the questionnaire on a small
sample of respondents to identify and eliminate
potential problems.
Even the best questionnaire can be used in the field of
survey without adequate pretesting.

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 As a general rule, a questionnaire should not be used in
the field survey without adequate pretesting.
A pretest should be extensive.
All aspects of the questionnaire should be twisted,
including question content, wording, sequences, form
and layout, question difficulty, and instructions.
The respondents in the pretest should be similar to those
who will be included in the actual survey in terms of
background characteristics, familiarity with the topic,
and attitudes and behaviors of interest.
In other words, respondents for the pretest and for the
actual survey should be drawn from the same
populations.

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 Pretests are best done by personal interviews, even if the
actual survey is to be conducted by mail, telephone, or
electronic means, because interviewers can observe
respondents reactions and attitudes.
After the necessary changes have been made, another r
pretest could be conducted by mail, telephone, or
electronic means if those methods are to be used in the
actual survey.
The latter pretests should reveal problems peculiar to
the interviewing method.
To the extent possible, a pretest should involve
administering the questionnaire in an environment and
context similar to that of the actual survey.

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 Questionnaire Design Check List
Step 1: Specify the information needed.
 Ensure that the information obtained fully address all
the components of the problem.
Review components of the problem and the approach,
particularly the research question, hypothesis, and the
information needed.
Prepare a set of dummy tables.
Have a clear idea of the target populations.
Step 2: specify the type of interviewing method.
Review the type of interviewing determined based on
considerations.

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 Step 3: Determine the content of individual
questions.
 Isthe question necessary?
 Are several questions needed instead one to
obtain the required information in an
unambiguous manner?
 Do not double –barreled questions.

Step 4: design the questions to overcome the

respondent’s inability and unwillingness to
answer.
 Is the respondent informed?

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 If respondents are not likely to be informed,
filter questions that measure familiarity, product
use, and past experience should be asked before
questions about the topics themselves.
Can the respondent remember?
Avoid errors of omissions, telescoping, and
creation.
Questions that do not provide the respondent
with cues can underestimate the actual
occurrence of an event.
Can the respondent articulate?
Minimize the effort required of the respondents.

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 Is the context in which the questions are asked
appropriate?
Make the request for information seem legitimate.
If the information is sensitive.
 Place sensitive topics at the and of the
questionnaire.
 Preface the question with a statement that

the behaviour of interest is common.

 Ask the question using the 3rd person

technique.

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 Hide the question is a group of other
questions that respondents are willing to
answer.
Provide response categories rather than asking for
specific figures.
Use randomized techniques, if appropriate.
Step 5: Decide on the Question Structure
Open-ended questions are useful in exploratory
research and as opening questions.
Use structured questions wherever possible.
In multiple –choice questions, the response
alternatives should include the set of all possible
choices and should be manually exclusive.

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 In a dicthomus question, if a substantial
proportion of the respondents can be expected
to be neutral, include a neutral alternative.
Consider the use of the split ballot technique to
reduce order bias in dichotomous and multiple-
choice questions.
If the response alternative is numerous,
consider using more than one question to
reduce the information processing demands on
the respondents.
Use positive and negative statements.

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Step 7: Arrange The Question In Proper Order.
The opening questions should be interesting, simple, and
non- threatening.
Qualifying questions should serve as the opening questions.
Basic information’s should be obtained first, followed by
classifications, and, finally, identification information.
Difficult, sensitive, or complex questions should be placed
late in the sequences.
General questions should precede the specific question.
Questions should be asked in a logical order.
Branching questions should be designed carefully to cover all
possible contingencies.
The question being branched should be place d as close as
possible to the questions causing the branching , and the
branching questions should be ordered so that the
respondents can not anticipate what additional will be
required.

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 Step 8: Identify the Form and Lay Out
 Divide a questionnaire into several parts.
Question in each part should be precoded.
The questionnaires themselves should be numbered
serially.
Step 9: Reproduce The Questionnaire.
 The questionnaire should have a professional
appearance.
Booklet format should be used for long questionnaire.
Each question should be reproduced on a single page or
double -page spread.
Vertical response columns should be used.
Grids are useful when there are a number of related
questions that use the same set of response categories.

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 The tendency to crowed questions to make the
questionnaires look shorter should be avoided.
Directions or instructions for individual questions
should be placed as close to the questions as possible.
Step 10: Eliminate Bugs To Pretesting
Pretesting should be done always.
All aspects of the questionnaire should be
tested, including question content, wording,
sequence, form and layout, question difficulty
and instructions.
The respondents in the pretest should be
similar to those who will be included in the
actual survey.

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 Begin the pretest by using personal
interviews.
Pretest should also be conducted by mail
or telephone if those methods are to be
used in the actual survey.
A variety of interviewers should be used
for pretests.
The pretest of interview sample size is
small varying from 15 to 30 respondents
for the initial testing.

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 Use protocol analysis and debriefing to identify
problems.
After each significant revision of the questionnaire,
another pretest should be conducted, using a different
sample of respondents.
The responses obtained from the pretest should be
coded and analyzed.
Observational Forms
Forms for recording observational data are easier to
construct than the questionnaires.
The researcher need not be concerned with the
psychological impact of the questions and the way they
are asked.

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 The researcher need only develop a form that
identifies the required information clearly ,
makes it easy for the field worker to record the
information accurately , and simplifies the
coding , entry, and analysis of data.
Observational forms should specify the who,
what, when, where, why, and way of behaviour
to be observed.
In the department store project, an
observational form for the study of purchase
would include space for all of the following
information.

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 Project Research : Observations
Who: purchases, browsers, males, females,
parents with children, children alone.
What: products /brands considered,
product/brands purchased, size, price of
package inspected, influence of children or
other family members.
When: day, hour, date of observation.
Where: inside the store, checkout counter, or
type of department within the store.

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 Why: influence of price, brand name, package size,
promotion, or family members on the purchase.
Way: personal observer disguised as sales clerk,
undisguised personal observer, hidden camera, or
obtrusive mechanical device.
The form and layout as well as the reproduction of
observational forms should follow the same
guidelines discussed for questionnaires.
A well designed form permits field workers to record
individual observations, but not to summarize
observations as that could lead to error.
Finally, like questionnaires, observational forms also
require adequate pretesting.

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