Asking Questions
Questionnaire Design
Sudman & Bradburn (1988)
Question Wording
Question wording is a crucial element in
maximizing the validity of survey data obtained
by a questionnaire.
 Small changes in wording can cause huge
differences in perception.
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Whether smoke and pray at the same time is a
sin:
Smoking while praying
 Praying while smoking
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Ethical Principles in Question Asking
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Three principles:
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the right of privacy
Individuals’ control of the data about themselves
 Individuals’ right to not to disclose information if they
do not wish to.
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informed consent
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Individuals should be informed what, why being asked,
how data will be used
Confidentiality
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Norm may vary from situation to situation
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Ethical Principles in Question Asking
Inform the general purpose and scope of the
survey
 Explain the general content of the questions
 Answer the questions about the use of the
survey data
 Whether data to what degree will be held
confidentially
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Research Questions vs. Other
questions
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In questionnaire design, we must distinguish between
research questions and other questions
Research question defines the purposes of the study,
and decision will be made later on
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American public on gun control
Research question can be illustrated as a set of
specific questions which help clarify the research
question
Why am I asking this question?, So each question
should be closely related to the research question
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Looking at other examples
New York Times Poll
 The Gallup Poll
 General Social Surveys
 Index to International Public Opinion
 Measures of Political Attitudes
 Measures of Social Psychological Attitudes
 Survey data for Trend analysis
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Asking questions

Do you happen to jog, or not? vs. Do you jog?
Happen to: is intended to reduce or eliminate
possible biases caused by socially desirable
answers
 Or not: to give equal weight to both the positive
and negative answer
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Asking questions
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Using aided recall
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If the question is memory based, it is better to provide a
list of actions
When the list is too long, the order of the list becomes
important
For example: do you happen to have read any magazines in
the past two weeks, or not?
Making question specific


What brand of soft drink do you usually buy? Vs. Do you
happen to drink Coca-Cola at work last week?
Time should be specific: last week, vs. the week of Sept 15?
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Using right words

Using the right words
Do you procrastinate?
 Do you put off until tomorrow that we can do
today?
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Avoiding words with multiple meanings in a
context.
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Problem words: any, fair, just, most, see,
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Length of questions
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Making questions as short as possible
But longer questions can provide memory cues and
act as a form of aided recall.
Example
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Did you ever drink, even once, wine or champagne?
Wines have become increasingly popular in this country
over the last few years; by wine, we mean liqueurs, cordials,
sherries, and similar drinks, as well as table wines, sparkling
wines, and champagne, Did you ever drink, even once, wine
or champagne?
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Measuring Attitudes
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The central problem for the measurement of attitude
is how to organize the discussion.
Lack of clarity, many respondents do not understand
your words
Example
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Question: Is it better not to try to plan when to have
children, but just to accept them when they come?
Answer: Of course, you accept them when they come, you
cannot just leave them in the hospital.
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Components of attitudes
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Aspects of attitudes
Affective or evaluative: like vs. dislike
 Cognitive: what the respondent knows about the
attitude object
 Action: what the respondent will do with regard
to the object of the attitude
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Different wording may produce different
results
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Examples
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Q1: As you know, we recently switched from standard time to daylight savings time.
That means that it now gets light an hour later in the morning than before we
switched over. It also means that is now gets dark an hour later in the evening than
before we switched over. How do you feel about being on daylight savings time
now? Would you say you like it very much, like it somewhat, dislike it somewhat, or
dislike it very much?
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Q2: As you know, the United States Congress put our country back on daylight
savings time this winter as part of a two-year experiment to try to save energy.
Some people think that we should continue to have daylight savings time all year
round- that is, not turn the clocks back at the end of next October. Would you
approve or disapprove of remaining on daylight savings time all year round next
year, or don’t you care one way or the other?
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14% like year-round daylight savings time “very much” disapproved Q2
10% dislike Q1 approved Q2.
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Strength of attitude
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