
Ensures standardization and comparability of the data across interviews

Increases speed and accuracy of recording

Facilitates data processing

Allows the researcher to collect the relevant information necessary to address the management decision problem

Logical Steps to Develop a Good Questionnaire

Plan what to measure.

Decide on format. E.g. personal interview, telephone, self.

Formulate questions to obtain the needed information

Decide on the wording of questions

Decide on the order and layout of the questionnaire

Using a sample, test the questionnaire for omissions and ambiguity

Correct the problems (pretest again, if necessary)

What should be asked?
How should each question be phrased?
In what order should the questions be presented?
What layout will best serve the research objectives?
The most difficult step is specifying exactly what information is to be collected from each respondent

1. Are the questions relevant. Do they pertain to the research problem
2. Are the questions accurate. Do they accurately depict the attitudes, behaviors, etc. intended to investigate
3. Do respondents have the necessary information?
• Qualify respondents
4. Do respondents understand and interpret the question correctly
5. Will respondents give the information?

Format: How much freedom do we give respondents in answering questions
Open-ended questions
– eg. What do you look for most in a job?
Some key advantages

Wide range of responses can be obtained
 Lack of influence. Don't channel respondents thinking

Particularly useful as introduction to survey or topic
 When it’s important to measure the salience of an issue
 When too many possible responses to be listed or unknown

Open-ended questions
Key disadvantages

Ability and/or willingness of respondent to answer
 Interviewer’s ability to record answers quickly or summarize accurately & probe effectively
 Interviewer’s attitude influences response

Time consuming (interview sessions, tabulation, classification, assignment, validation)

Difficulty in coding
 Require respondents to be articulate

Respondents may miss important points

Non-response

Closed-ended questions (Fixed-alternative questions)
What do you look for most in a job?
____ Work that pays well
____ Work that gives a sense of accomplishment
____ Work where you make most decisions by yourself
____ Work that is steady with little chance of being laid off.
Advantages

Ease of understanding

Requires less effort on part of interviewer and respondent

Ease of tabulation & analysis

Less error prone

Less time consuming

Answers directly comparable from respondent to respondent

Closed-ended questions (Fixed-alternative questions)
Disadvantages
 Middle/Neutral categories often selected inappropriately
(ignorance, safety)

Less opportunity for self-expression or subtle qualifications
 Less involving for respondents

Order of response categories can have major impact on results
Key tradeoff

Want to get respondent to address issues our research is concerned with (Forced response) and at same time give respondent opportunity to honestly opt out of question (i.e.,
Don’t Know, No Answer, Neither Agree nor Disagree) so as not to dilute data collected

Question Wording
Can have major impact on how respondent interprets question
Things to avoid

Avoid Complexity: use simple, direct, conversational language

Avoid leading questions -- that suggest or imply certain answers

Avoid loaded questions -- that suggest social desirability, or are emotionally charged
 Avoid Ambiguity and vagueness: Words such as “often”,
“occasionally”, “usually”, “regularly”, “frequently”, “many”, should be used with caution. If these words have to be used, their meaning should be explained properly.
 Which province is bigger Manitoba or Alberta? – would your answer be based on population or area?

More things to avoid

Avoid long-worded questions

Avoid double-barreled items. Questions that refer to two or more issues within the same question. Where respondent may agree with only 1 part of multipart statement.

E.g. do you think Nike offers better pricing and variety than other brands

Avoid making implicit assumptions

Avoid burdensome questions - that may tax the respondent’s memory

Surveys are more than a collection of unambiguous questions
How questions are specified and put together will influence the respondents’ willingness to participate & the responses they provide
Sequence & Layout Decisions
Initial stages
 Need to gain & maintain respondent’s cooperation

Make questionnaire simple for interviewer to administer

The opening questions should always be interesting, simple, and easy to answer
.


General questions should be asked before more specific ones
 Demographic questions should come at the end.

Use multiple questions instead of one

Similar questions together
– consistent mindset for respondents

Develop a logical flow

Use transitions between sections (E.g. In this section we ask questions about X)

Distinguish question and responses
CAPS or BOLD or Underline versus lower case or unformatted

LAYOUT A:
Do you agree, disagree or have no opinion that this company has:
•
A good vacation policy - disagree/not sure/agree.
• Good management feedback - disagree/not sure/agree.
• Good medical insurance - disagree/not sure/agree.
LAYOUT B:
Does this company have:
•
___
A good vacation policy
Disagree Not Sure Agree
1
• Good management feedback 1
•
Good medical insurance 1
2
2
2
3
3
3

–Filter and pivot questions should be used as necessary.
– A FILTER question is one that screens out respondents who are not qualified to answer a second question.
–A PIVOT question is a type of filter question that is used to determine what version of a second question to ask.

•
•
•
•
If the questionnaire deals with several topics, complete questions on a single topic before moving on to a new topic
If topics are related, ask questions on related topics before asking questions about unrelated topics
If you ask questions about behaviors over some time period, follow chronological order backward in time
When changing topics, use some transitional phrase

 Questionnaires should be designed to appear as short as possible

Questionnaires should not appear overcrowded

Questionnaires in booklet form are often recommended

Purpose of pretest: To ensure that the questionnaire meets the expectations in terms of the information that will be obtained

Missing important variables

Pretesting Specific Questions For
• Variation
•
Meaning
•
Task difficulty
•
Respondent interest and attention
• Ambiguous, ill-defined, loaded, double-barreled questions

Pretesting the Questionnaire
• Flow of the questionnaire
• Skip patterns
•
Length

Respondent Interest and Attention

Questionnaire Design Flow Chart
Step 1: Specify what information will be sought
Step 2: Determine type of questionnaire and method of administration
Step 3: Determine the content of individual questions
Step 4: Determine form of response for each question
Step 5: Determine wording for each question
Step 6: Determine sequence of questions
Step 7: Determine physical characteristics of questionnaire
Step 8: Revise steps 1-7, revise if necessary
Step 9: Pretest questionnaire, revise if necessary