DESIGNS, TESTS

AND REVISES
SURVEY
QUESTIONNAIRE
S English for Academic and Professional Purposes
OBJECTIVE:

Designs, tests, and

revises survey
questionnaires
 VOCABULARY LIST:

QUESTIONNAI SURVEY RESPONDENT

RE RESEARCH a person who provides
a written document the collection of data in a survey
containing questions information from a research
and other types of sample of individuals
items designed to through their responses to
solicit information questions or statements.
appropriate to
analysis.
True or False
1. A questionnaire is the same as a
survey.

2. When a staff handed you a piece of

paper that asks you to choose a smiley
to express how you feel about their
service is an example of a survey
question.
True or False
3. A questionnaire should be anchored
on the research problem.
4. In designing a questionnaire, a
researcher can always include all the
questions that come into his/her
mind.
True or False
5. Likert-Scale questionnaire items are
best used to measure the feeling or
opinion.
6. It is always good to appeal to the
emotions of the respondents in
creating questions.
True or False
7. Arrangement of questions does not
matter as long as it will provide the
information needed from the
respondents.
8. Always use multiple choice type of
questions or close-ended questions to be
able to gather data easily.
True or False
9. A questionnaire can be compared to a
newly sewn dress that needs to be fitted
before finally giving to a customer.

10.Testing and revising a questionnaire can be

ignored as long as the design of the
questionnaire hits the targeted research
problem and the required data.
 What is a QUESTIONNAIRE?

“ A questionnaire is a structured series of

questions designed to collect primary data
from respondents. A well-designed
questionnaire motivates respondents to
provide accurate and complete information
which is very helpful in attaining the survey’s
objective. (QuickMBA.com, n.d.)
Designing a Questionnaire

1 Determine the research problem of the target information

Choose the type of questions and method of administration:

(written, email or web form, telephone interview, personal
2 interview)

Determine the general question content needed to obtain

3 the desired information.
Designing a Questionnaire

4 Determine the form of responses.

5 Choose the exact question wording.

6 Make sure that the sequence of the questions is effective.

7 Test the questionnaire and revise if needed.

Wording Questions in Writing
Questionnaires
(Adapted from Filiberto, D. (2013) with some notes from Baxter, L. and Babbie, E. (2003))
1.Write short and simple
questions
Respondents are often unwilling to
study an item in order to understand it.
Assume that respondents will answer
the questionnaire quickly. Therefore,
provide clear, short items that will not
be misinterpreted.
EXAMPLE:
“Given the current trend of more hits, more home
runs, longer games in general, and more injuries
in baseball today, do you think that steroid use
should continue to be banned even though it is
not enforced?”
Better Example:
“Steroid use has both positive and negative
effects on baseball. Do you think that steroid use
should be banned?"
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Wording Questions in Writing
Questionnaires
(Adapted from Filiberto, D. (2013) with some notes from Baxter, L. and Babbie, E. (2003))

EXAMPLE:

2.Avoid leading “Do you hate the president of the Philippines?”

questions
“Who do you think of when you hear COVID -19?”
Wording that influences a) China b) Pres. Duterte
respondents to consider a subject c) Chinese d) Lockdown
in a weighted manner, or injects a
preference or opinion.
Better Example:
“What makes our product better than our
competitors’ products?”
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Wording Questions in Writing
Questionnaires
(Adapted from Filiberto, D. (2013) with some notes from Baxter, L. and Babbie, E. (2003))

3. Appropriately Open-Ended and

Closed-Ended Questions EXAMPLE:
“Why do you play sports?”
Use open-ended questions when responses
need to be elaborated by the respondents a) enjoyment b)
for exhaustive and comprehensive data friends
gathering.
c) health d)
Closed-Ended questions are popular other ____
because they provide greater uniformity of
responses, and are easily processed
compared to open-ended questions.

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Wording Questions in Writing
Questionnaires
(Adapted from Filiberto, D. (2013) with some notes from Baxter, L. and Babbie, E. (2003))

EXAMPLE:
“Who do you think consume more cigarettes:
4. Questions must be you or your friends?”
non-threatening
and attempt to
evoke the truth When a respondent is concerned about
the consequences of answering a
question in a particular manner, there is a
good possibility that the answer will not be
truthful.

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Wording Questions in Writing
Questionnaires
(Adapted from Filiberto, D. (2013) with some notes from Baxter, L. and Babbie, E. (2003))

5. Question Clarity EXAMPLE: Better Example:

“What is your number “On days you eat eggs,
Avoid ambiguities and vague of serving of eggs in how many eggs do you
words (e.g. usual, regular, normal) a typical day?” consume?”

Note: Questions should mean the same

thing to all respondents. All the terms
should be understandable or defined,
time periods specified, complex EXAMPLE: Better Example:
questions asked in multiple stages. “Do you watch “How often do you watch
television regularly?” television?"

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Wording Questions in Writing
Questionnaires
(Adapted from Filiberto, D. (2013) with some notes from Baxter, L. and Babbie, E. (2003))

6. Don’t use double-barrelled
questions
Ask one question at a time. Avoid
asking 2 questions, imposing
unwarranted assumptions, or hidden
contingencies.
Whenever you use ‘and’ on a
question or a statement, check if it is
double-barrelled.
EXAMPLE:
“Do you find the classes you took during your
first semester in SHS was more demanding and
interesting than your JHS classes?”
___ Yes ___ No
Better Example:
“Do you find the classes you took during your
first semester in SHS more demanding than
your JHS classes?”

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Wording Questions in Writing
Questionnaires
(Adapted from Filiberto, D. (2013) with some notes from Baxter, L. and Babbie, E. (2003))

EXAMPLE:
Response categories - Make them logical
7. Clearly define the and meaningful:
response scale dimension
or continuum NOT: Many......Some.......A Few......Very
Few.....None
When using a response scale,
clearly define the dimension or DO a Bipolar or Unipolar rating scale:
continuum respondents are to use
in their rating task. Bipolar measures both direction and
intensity of an attitude
Unipolar scale measures one concept with
varying degrees of intensity.
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Wording Questions in Writing
Questionnaires
(Adapted from Filiberto, D. (2013) with some notes from Baxter, L. and Babbie, E. (2003))

8.Minimize
presuppositions
an assumption about the world
whose truth is taken for granted.
Answering a question implies
accepting its presuppositions, a
respondent may be led to provide
an answer even if its
presuppositions are false.
EXAMPLE:
“Are you a DDS or a Dilawan?”
Problem: presupposes that one of the alternatives is
true.
“What are your usual hours of work?”
Problem: Does respondent have usual hours of
work?
Better Example:
“Do you not have usual hours?”

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What are the Type of
Questions and its Usage?
1. OPEN-ENDED
QUESTION
Best Used for: Example:
➔ Breaking the ice in an interview “What changes do you
➔ When respondent’s own words are recommend for the school
important
to do in order to help
➔ When the researcher does not
know all the possible answers students perform better?”
What are the Type of
Questions and its Usage?
1. CLOSED-ENDED
QUESTION
Best Used for: Example:
➔ Collecting rank ordered data “In which of the
➔ When all response choices are following do you live?”
known ● a house
➔ When quantitative statistical tool ● an apartment
results are desired ● a condo unit
OTHER FORMS OF CLOSED-ENDED
QUESTIONS:
A. LIKERT-SCALE
Best Used for:
➔ Assessing a person’s opinion and
feelings about something

Example:
Please circle the way you feel about the following:
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Agree 4=Strongly Agree
OTHER FORMS OF CLOSED-ENDED
QUESTIONS:
B. MULTIPLE CHOICE
Best Used for:
➔ When there are finite number of
options.

Example:
Which of the following best describes your current civil status?
A) Single C) Widowed
B) Married D) Divorced
OTHER FORMS OF CLOSED-ENDED
QUESTIONS:
C. RATING SCALES
Best Used for:
➔ Rate things in relation to other
things.

Example:
How likely would you recommend the current strand you are enrolled in
to your friend?
OTHER FORMS OF CLOSED-ENDED
QUESTIONS:
D. RANKING QUESTIONS
Best Used for:
➔ Ordering answer choices by way of preference.
This allows you to not only understand how
respondents feel about each answer option, but
it also helps you understand each one’s relative
popularity.
Example:
Rank the following subjects in order of preference – 1 being your favorite and 5 being
your least favorite.
ORDERING THE QUESTIONS:
(Adapted from Contemporary Communication Research by Smith, M.J., 1988)

1 Adapt a general organizational pattern

that complements a survey research
objectives.
Two General Patterns:
● Funnel Pattern – begins with broad questions followed by
progressively narrower or more specific ones

● Inverted Pattern – narrowly focused questions are followed by

more general ones. 26
ORDERING THE QUESTIONS:
(Adapted from Contemporary Communication Research by Smith, M.J., 1988)

2 Topically related questions should be

grouped together.

A researcher should group together questions pertinent to a

single topic then move to another topic.
It is easier for the answer questions this way.

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ORDERING THE QUESTIONS:
(Adapted from Contemporary Communication Research by Smith, M.J., 1988)

3 Easy-to-answer questions should be

placed first.

Easy questions serve as motivation.

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ORDERING THE QUESTIONS:
(Adapted from Contemporary Communication Research by Smith, M.J., 1988)

4 Questions should be in order to avoid

establishing a response bias.

*Response Bias – a tendency of a respondent to answer

all closed-questions the same way regardless of content.

Example:
A respondent check “Somewhat agree” to all criteria.
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Some Practical Tips on Testing a Questionnaire:
(Adapted from tools4dev.org)

1.Find 5 to 10
people from
your target
group

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Some Practical Tips on Testing a Questionnaire:
(Adapted from tools4dev.org)

*take note of their opinions and

2.Ask them to feedback
complete the
survey while
thinking out
loud.
Some Practical Tips on Testing a Questionnaire:
(Adapted from tools4dev.org)

*Note their hesitations or where they made mistakes in

answering. This is an indication that the survey questions and
layout are not clear enough and needs improvement.
3.Observe how EXAMPLE:
they complete
the survey.
Some Practical Tips on Testing a Questionnaire:
(Adapted from tools4dev.org)

Quick tips:
4.Make ➔ All questionnaires need an introduction. Be sure to have
improvements one.
based on the ➔ It is useful to begin every questionnaire with basic
results. instructions for completing

➔ The format of a questionnaire is as important as the

wording and ordering. Besure that it is spread out and
uncluttered.

➔ Physical aspects such as page layout, font type and

size, questions spacing, and the type of paper should
be considered. Always check on these.
 Survey Questionnaires
TASK # 1: 10 points
1.EXAMINE the questionnaires closely and IDENTIFY whether they are
ACCEPTABLE or NOT.
2.WRITE A for Acceptable, or REVISE the question if there’s any Non-Acceptable
question to make it acceptable.
3.COPY the QUESTIONS and ANSWER them (computerized)

4.SUBMIT outputs (hard copy) on Thursday – April 11, 2024 during F2F classes.

EXAMPLE:
Question: Was the school facility not unclean? (Non-acceptable)
Revised Question:
How would you rate the cleanliness of the school facility?
For TASK # 1:
COPY the QUESTIONS and ANSWER them (computerized)
 Survey Questionnaires
TASK # 2:
1. COMPOSE five (5) questionnaire
items that measures the
students’ feelings regarding the
actions of DepEd towards the
high temperatures (heat index)
in our country.
2. WRITE your answers on a sheet
of A4 size bond paper
(computerized)
3. SUBMIT outputs (hard copy) on
Thursday – April 11, 2024 during
F2F classes
THANKS!
Any questions?

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