BASIC MARKETING RESEARCH: A DECISION MAKING APPROACH (3rd ed.)
LECTURE NOTES
Presented by: Teoman Duman
Chapter 11. Questionnaire and form design
 This chapter describes the importance of a questionnaire and presents the process for developing questionnaires
and observational forms. Figure 11.2 provides an overviews of the topics in the chapter.
 Importance of the questionnaire – Questionnaires are used to collect data from large number of respondents in a
standardized way which allows researchers to compare data accross interviewers.
 Questionnaire design process – ten steps are used to design a typical questionnaire:
 1. Specifying the information need – Questionnaire design depends on information needs from
research problem, research questions and the hypotheses as well as target respondents’ educational
level and experience.
 2. Specifying the type of interviewing method – The type of interviewing method limits or broadens
the scope of the questionnaire. Telephone interviewing methods allow only short questionnaires to be
used while personal interview methods may allow longer questionnaires.
 3. Determining the content of individual questions – The resarcher should question whether all the
planned questions are necessary to include in the form. Sometimes separate questions are necessary
instead of one in the case of double-barreled questions.

A double-barreled question includes several isssues in the same question. Exp. Do you think
this store offers better variety and prices than other stores?
 4.a. Designing the questions to overcome the respondent’s inability to answer – The researcher should
make sure that respondents are informed about the issue, that they can remember the past events
propoerly and that they can articulate about the subjects asked to them. To make sure of these issues,
researcher can ask filter questions at the beginning of the questionnaire.

Filter questions – Initial questions that screen potential respondents to ensure that they meet
the reqirements of the sample.
 4.b. Designing the questionnaire to overcome the respondent’s unwillingness to answer – The
researcher should be aware that respondents will be unwilling to answer questions that require a lot of
effort to answer, don’t have legitimate reasons for answering and require sensitive questions.
 5. Deciding on the question structure – Overall, survey questions are two types (Figure 11.4):

Unstructured – open ended questions that allow respondents to convey their feelings freely.

Structured – categorized questions that ask respondents to choose from alternative categories.
These are usually used in three forms:
 Multiple choice – respondents select from one or more alternatives
 Dichotomous – Two category questions
 Scales – category-based items or questions that measure respondents’ beliefs,
attitudes, intentions etc.
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 6. Determining the question wording – Five considerations are important in determining the question
wording:

Defining the issue - The issue raised in a question should be specified with the 4W questions,
who, what, when, where. Exp. Which brand or brands of toothpaste have you personally used
at home during the past month? In case of more than one brand please list all the brands that
apply.

Using simple words

Using unambiguous words

Avoiding leading or biasing questions
 A leading question is one that clues the respondent to what the answer should be.

Balacing dual statements – using positive and negative statements in a balance.
 7. Arranging the questions in proper order – Funnel approach is used in the question ordering. Good
example is given in Table 11.2.

Funnel approach – a strategy for ordering questions in a questionnaire in which the sequence
starts with the general questions, which are followed by progressivelly specific questions.
 8. Choosing the form and layout – The researcher should pay attention to format, spacing and
positioning.
 9. Reproducing the questionnaire – Printing the questionnaire in a proper paper.
 10. Pretesting the questionnaire – Having 15-30 respondents to fill out the questionnaire to find out
mistakes and unclear points.
 Table 11.3. presents a good example of questionnaire design checklist.
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