QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN
2.8 DESIGN A QUESTIONNAIRE
Anna Martin
m a r @ av c o l . s c h o o l . n z
J a c o b L e Ro u x
l r x @ av c o l . s c h o o l . n z
Av o n d a l e C o l l e g e
COMMON PERCEPTIONS?
Students (and some teachers)
Taken from: A guide to good survey design (Statistics NZ, 2005)
Students
Taken from: A guide to good survey design (Statistics NZ, 2005)
Teachers maybe
“MY QUESTIONNAIRE ABOUT BULLYING”
WHOS BEING BULLIED?
HAVE YOU BEEN BULLIED BEFORE?
YES
NO
HAVE ANY OF YOUR MATES BEEN BULIED?
YES
NO
IF YES PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW YOU OR YOUR
MATES FELT WHEN YOU GOT BULLIED GIVE A
SCALE FROM 1-10?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
WHAT THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF BULLYING THERE
IS?
HOW MANY DIFFTRENT TYPES OF BULLING YOU
KNOW?
WAT IS THE MOST COMMAN TYPE OF BULLING DO
YOU SEE AROUND THE ENVIOURMENT YOU LIVE
IN?
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST HARMFUL
TYPE OF BULLING THERE IS AND WHY?
HOW ARE YOU PREVENTING YOU AND OTHER
PEOPLE AROUND YOU FROM GETTING BULIED?
ARE YOU TRYTING TO STOP BULLYING FROM
HAPPENING?
HOW ARE YOU TRYING TO STOP BULLYING FROM
HAPPENING?
WOULD IT MAKE IT EASIER TO STOP BULLYING IF
YOUR MATES AND THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU
HELPD?
IS ANYONE DOING ANYTHING TO STOP THIS ACT
OF STUPIDITY?
IS THEIR ANYONE YOU KNOW THAT ARE TRYING
TO STOP BULLING?AND WHO?
WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO TRY AND STOP
BULLYING?
ARE YOU HELPING THEM?AND HOW?
FEEDBACK FROM OTHER STUDENTS IN
THE CLASS
• Questions are not specific
enough
• Make sure questions are
understandable
• Slang is not appropriate
• Maybe use more questions like
numerical, scale and mutli-
choice questions
• Maybe get some general
information as well
• Too fuzzy to read
• Question doesn’t make sense
• Need more space for answers
• Too many open ended questions
• What’s the rating scale? What’s
highest, what’s lowest?
• Most of the questions were the
same and they did not make
sense
INFORMATION ON QUESTIONNAIRE
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
• Some information in “old” Level 2 US books
• http://www.stats.govt.nz/surveys_and_methods.aspx
• Google searches ……. 
• These sources can give you great examples of good/bad
questions, good processes to follow when designing a
questionnaire, maybe even ideas for questionnaires for
students to develop BUT how do you teach the process of
questionnaire design to students?
KEY IDEAS FOR TEACHING QUESTIONNAIRE
DESIGN (WHAT WE’VE LEARNED!)
• Students need to see the place of a questionnaire in
a statistical enquiry
• Students need to develop a clear purpose/reason for
their survey
• Students need to think about what data the
questionnaire will generate
• Students should focus on writing good questions
• Teachers should focus on asking good questions
EXAMPLES OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Questionnaires and PPDAC
Developing a purpose
Writing questions
Thinking about data/analysis
Reviewing a questionnaire
Practising the process
Questionnaires and PPDAC
• Give students a copy of the census at school Q
• Get them to complete the questionnaire
• Ask them to identify the different types of questions
used and develop names for the types of questions
• Ask them to identify positive features of the
questionnaire and why they are used
• Access data from census at school and do some
simple analysis to make statements
Developing a purpose
• Develop a questionnaire for the school’s canteen……
• Who wants the questionnaire written?
• What is the purpose of the survey?
• Who will complete the questionnaire?
• What information do they need?
• The canteen is a business, so they want happy
customers who spend lots of money.
Developing a purpose
What is the favourite food item? How much money are you
willing to spend each week at the tuck shop? What would you
like to see an improvement of in the food menu? Do you find the
food affordable? Do you think the food we are selling is good
quality? Are the staff friendly towards you? How long are you
willing to wait in the busy tuckshop? What can we do to improve
this tuck shop in any way? Is the food worth the price? How
often do you spend money at the tuck shop? What do you think
about the hygiene of the tuck shop? Does the way the tuck shop
look make you want to buy there or put you off? Do you have to
wait too long for your food?
• Group these questions into three/four key areas
Explain more about the
purpose
Write a couple of sentences about the purpose for
the survey
Write down ideas about the kinds of questions you
could ask
Brainstorm the data you could collect related to the
purpose you have chosen
Group your ideas into three or four key areas to
investigate and write down what these are
Summarise the purpose
Write down what is the general thing you
want to find out
Write down what specific areas you will
focus on
Write down who are the users for the
questionnaire
Write down what information/data you will
collect and why this will be important to
person who wants the questionnaire
written – what “facts” will you be able to
present to them and why will they care
Writing questions
• After a brainstorm of questions that could be asked, and a
grouping of key areas, get students to try writing one of each
type of each question for each of the key areas for the
questionnaire then ask them….
• Is each question needed? Why would it be important to the tuck
shop?
• Why would you want a mix of types of questions in the
questionnaire?
• What do you need to be careful about when writing your questions?
• What kind of analysis/information could you produce with the
answers from your questions?
• How will you order your questions in the questionnaire? How will
you present your questionnaire?
• Are there questions that can be linked to each other?
Who does the tuck shop
want to find out
information about?
This is the target
population.
LO: Consider
the target
population
when
designing a
questionnaire
Who will they give the
questionnaire to?
This is called the sample.
LO: Consider
the target
population
when
designing a
questionnaire
How will they know who
has completed their
questionnaire?
Include a general
information section at the
beginning of the
questionnaire.
LO: Consider
the target
population
when
designing a
questionnaire
What questions should
they ask in the general
information section?
They should link to the
information they need to
make changes.
LO: Consider
the target
population
when
designing a
questionnaire
FIRST DRAFT
Design a one page
questionnaire for the
school tuck shop.
SAVE YOUR WORK!
Include a
general
information
section
Organise your
questionnaire
by sections
Include a
range of
question
types
Consider the
order of your
questions
Thinking about data/analysis
• Students should see a questionnaire as a tool for
gathering data
• It might be for a specific investigation, or provide data
that can be investigate (like census at school)
• They should link the types of questions they use to
the type of data they will generate to the
analysis/conclusions they will be able to make
For each question and
answers given, identify the
type of question, the type of
graph that could be drawn
and what statistics could be
calculated. Do the analysis
and then make a statement
that summarises the
answers using the displays
and measures.
LO: Describe
analysis that
could be used
to interpret
the results of
a question
Question One
What year level are you?
9 10
11 12 13
Answers:
9
10
11
12
12 people
18 people
35 people
8 people
13
27 people
LO: Describe
analysis that
could be used
to interpret
the results of
a question
Ide n t i fy t h e t y pe
o f q ue s t ion
Ide n t i fy w h i c h
g ra ph c o ul d be
draw n
Wh a t s t a t i st ics
c o ul d be
c a l c ula ted
P ro duc e di s pl ays
a n d m e a sure s
Wri te a s t a tement
t h a t s u m m arise s
t h e a n s we r s using
t h e di s pl ays a n d
m e a sures
Question Two
How long do you spend
doing homework each night
(to the nearest 5 minutes?)
Answers:
5, 20, 15, 35, 90, 20, 25, 30, 15, 0,
0, 20, 35, 30, 40, 120, 55, 45, 25
LO: Describe
analysis that
could be used
to interpret
the results of
a question
Ide n t i fy t h e t y pe
o f q ue s t ion
Ide n t i fy w h i c h
g ra ph c o ul d be
draw n
Wh a t s t a t i st ics
c o ul d be
c a l c ula ted
P ro duc e di s pl ays
a n d m e a sure s
Wri te a s t a tement
t h a t s u m m arise s
t h e a n s we r s using
t h e di s pl ays a n d
m e a sures
Reviewing a questionnaire
• Not just about good or bad questions (although this is
important)
• Focus on whether it is “fit for purpose” – hard to do if
the purpose is not clear!
• Identify positive features as well as areas for
improvement
For each question give,
identify which type of
question it is, identify any
issues with the question,
and explain how you
might improve the
question and why.
LO: Identify
issues with
questions and
discuss
improvements
Question One
‘Is there normally an
adult at home during the
day?’
LO: Identify
issues with
questions and
discuss
improvements
Identify which
type of
question it is
Identify any
issues with
the question
Explain how
you might
improve the
question and
why.
LO: Identify
issues with
questions and
discuss
improvements
Question Two
‘How much money would
you be prepared to spend
on a burglar alarm?’
$500
$1000
$1500
Identify which
type of
question it is
Identify any
issues with
the question
Explain how
you might
improve the
question and
why.
Question Three
‘How much television did
you watch last year?’
LO: Identify
issues with
questions and
discuss
improvements
Identify which
type of
question it is
Identify any
issues with
the question
Explain how
you might
improve the
question and
why.
Question Four
‘Do you agree that trains
and buses and taxis are
kept clean enough?’
LO: Identify
issues with
questions and
discuss
improvements
Identify which
type of
question it is
Identify any
issues with
the question
Explain how
you might
improve the
question and
why.
Question Five
Do you think teachers are:
very kind
fairly kind
not very kind?
LO: Identify
issues with
questions and
discuss
improvements
Identify which
type of
question it is
Identify any
issues with
the question
Explain how
you might
improve the
question and
why.
Desk review
Reflect on, analyse and refine your questions
Check your questions for clarity. Make notes about
why you think the questions will work well or what
you need to change about them and why
Consider the questionnaire as a whole and make
notes about how many questions you have, the
order of them, how they link to each other, and
whether you need to remove or re-order any of
them and why
Evaluate how well your questionnaire meets the
purpose
Consider the analysis that could be used for the
data generated from the questions
Think about
the overall
purpose for
your
questionnaire
and what data
you want to
get out of it
Pilot survey
Give copies of your questionnaire to others in the
class and get them to fill them out. Ask them to
also write feedback about your questionnaire e.g.
areas that need improvement and why
Check their responses and then write about what
you found out about the design of your
questionnaire: Did some questions work better than
others? Why? Are there any you need to change?
Why?
Use one of the copies of your questionnaire to write
notes and make changes to questions.
Think about
the overall
purpose for
your
questionnaire
and what data
you want to
get out of it
Journal notes
 How many people did you test your
questionnaire on? Did they have any difficulty
completing it? Why or why not?
 What data did your questionnaire produce (give
examples)? Is this what you expected?
 Do you need to make changes to your
questionnaire? What (be specific)? Why?
When you have made your notes, then create the
final draft of your questionnaire and re-submit.
Think about
the overall
purpose for
your
questionnaire
and what data
you want to
get out of it
Practising the process
Give students a really good context to investigate – one that they will want to find out
more about 
• Take the opportunity to help improve your students literacy skills by
giving them background information to read and identify key points
• Get them to reflect on each stage of their design process – they can
go back and change things at any stage of the process
• Provide focus questions for each stage of the design process (this
can be in the form of a checklist) - make them thinking questions
rather than procedural questions
• Get other students in the class to review and give feedback on their
questionnaire – this helps them learn as well demonstrates to you if
they understand questionnaire design
• Use Moodle or tools like survey monkey to try their questionnaires
out on a larger audience
Practising the process
Give students a really good context to investigate – one that they will want to find out
more about 
• Take the opportunity to help improve your students literacy skills by
giving them background information to read and identify key points
• Get them to reflect on each stage of their design process – they can
go back and change things at any stage of the process
• Provide focus questions for each stage of the design process (this
can be in the form of a checklist) - make them thinking questions
rather than procedural questions
• Get other students in the class to review and give feedback on their
questionnaire – this helps them learn as well demonstrates to you if
they understand questionnaire design
• Use Moodle or tools like survey monkey to try their questionnaires
out on a larger audience
THE CONTEXT
Scientists fear that more
and more teenagers are
becoming addicted to
technology.
Planning the
questionnaire
On the next few slides you
will be shown information
from an article. Write
down 3 key points from
each page.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Have you ever interrupted childbirth,
a wedding, funeral or graduation
It talks about how sometimes we text during
ceremony to send a text? Does the
important stuff and how get interrupted or
thought of going cold turkey from
distracted. It also talks about how we can’t
technology make you want to daub
go without technology and how proud we
your social networking status in your
would be if the time we play video games
own blood across the nearest brick
got extended.
wall? Is your ideal six-month
sabbatical from work an extended
period playing World of Warcraft in a
windowless bedroom?
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
People are contracting the computer bug
early: according to research published last
It by
talks
aboutUniversity
how people
are contracting
September
Cranfield
School
of Management
in Northampton,
of 260
the computer
bug early.
It also talks about
secondaryhow
school
pupils
26 the
per internet and
much
wesurveyed,
spend on
cent spenthow
more
than six hours
a day on
technology
is taking
over the world.
the internet. This bevy of high-tech tykes
yielded 63 per cent who felt they were
addicted to the web, 53 per cent who had a
compulsive attachment to their mobile
phones and 62 per cent who were bought
their first computer before the age of 8.
But is technophilia really such a plague?
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
"If teenagers become more withdrawn they
run the risk of being developmentally out
This
article
talks
of step with
their
peers,"
saysabout
Capio how teenagers get
Nightingale's
consultant
psychiatrist Dr
sucked
into technology
and how they can
Richard Graham.
"It's asplit
very young
fieldour
of parents. It also
sometimes
us from
research, talks
but there
is some
to can have a big
about
howevidence
technology
suggest that girls who spend too much
impact
on
our
future.
time on Facebook miss out on key
developmental steps and could feel
immature. Extreme cases can put people's
education and employment at risk.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Then there are the physical aspects. You
can have a poor diet, lose weight, not eat
This
talks about
howalltechnology is bad and
properly. If
teenagers
are pulling
nighters they
stimulants,
likeand that. It also
howmight
it canturn
gettous
into drugs
caffeine or
taurine,
and we
there
is evidence
tells
us how
can
get so addicted it can
that can increase
in the long-term."
stop us anxiety
from eating.
Teenagers, necessarily, are a high-risk
group, as are those who've had a
bereavement, separation or redundancy.
But no one is free from its impact.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
"At the moment people are trying to study
the effects of high exposure to technology
about
how technology
during theThis
earlyarticle
parts oftalks
people's
lives,"
continueswrecks
Graham.our
"There
are and it effects our
studies
developmental
windows
in which
'wiring' our
of brain.
learning
and how
it affects
the brain takes place. For example, if you
have a squint and it is not dealt with in the
first five years of your life, part of your
visual cortex switches off. It's a 'use it or
lose it' principle in neurology and it might
have relevance here."
Final draft questionnaire
Produce the final version of your questionnaire.
Makes notes in your journal about:
 Three good things about your overall
questionnaire
 Three things you were thinking of when you
designed your questionnaire
 How well will your questionnaire will be effective
in generating data
 How will your questionnaire meet your purpose
Think about
the overall
purpose for
your
questionnaire
and what data
you want to
get out of it