Questionnaire design & Research ethics

Questionnaire Design

Activity Complete the survey of online activity (5 minutes)

Discussion: Do you think the Survey of Online Activity is a good questionnaire? How could it be improved?

Questionnaire Design Design of a questionnaire can be split into three elements: Determine the questions to be asked. Select the question type for each question and specify the wording. Design the question sequence and overall questionnaire layout. An excellent guide to questionnaire design can be found here: http://iss.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/top2.pdf

Determine the Questions to be Asked A link needs to be made between the research aims and the individual questions via the research issues. Issues and questions can be determined through a combined process of exploring the literature and thinking creatively. This process generates the focus for individual questions that can then be designed in detail.

Determine the Questions to be Asked Survey aims: to explore the factors that might explain the reasons that Cardiff University candidates are undertaking a degree in Social Sciences Issue: Question Focus: What reasons might candidates give for undertaking a degree in Social Sciences? Is the candidate looking for: Career advancement Higher wages… Could gender difference affect the reasons? Is the candidate male or female? Could past experience affect the reasons? Has the candidate been introduced to social Sciences before? Could educational attainment affect the reasons? What is the highest qualification obtained? What subject area(s) is this qualification in? Etc.

Survey Question Types

Open vs. Closed What do you think are the reasons for football hooliganism? Do you think football hooliganism is caused by: Lack of discipline at home Players’ behaviour on the pitch Family breakdown Youth unemployment Poor schooling Violence on T.V. Other (please specify) Try to make sure your categories cover all the possibilities by making broad suggestions that meet your research objectives. However, it is good practice to include an ‘Other’ option.

Single vs. Multiple Response Which of the following means do you use to travel to college? Bus Car Bike What is your most usual means of travelling to college (tick one box only) When designing questions make sure you have thought about whether you want the respondent to give a single or a multiple response.

Ranked Responses Place in order of importance to you the following features of a camping holiday (Indicate by numbering 1-4 in order where 1 is the most important) Open air Distance from home Cost People Atmosphere If doing this make sure to minimise the number of options as respondents find it difficult to discriminate meaningfully between too many options

Rated Responses Indicate your view of the following aspects of a camping holiday (circle the number under the initials that applies. VI=very important, N=neutral, U=unimportant, VU=very unimportant) VI I N U VU Community life 1 2 3 4 5 Low cost Outdoor life Ability to move around

Question Wording Rule: Example: Be concise and unambiguous Questions should be brief and clear Avoid jargon Check for ambiguity Avoid double questions Do you think the British should eat less and exercise more? Do you think the British should eat less? Do you think the British should exercise more? Avoid questions involving double negatives Are you against a ban on smoking? Do you agree with the smoking ban? Ask for precise answers Are you… Under 18 / 18-65 / Over 65 Give your age on 1st September 2001 in years *** Avoid leading questions Do you agree with the majority of people that the health service is failing? Do you think that the health service is failing?

Piloting It is important to test your questionnaire on a small sample of your subjects first (at least test on a few friends). This is to detect flaws in your questionnaire and correct them before you run the main survey. The piloting may also help to convert an open question into a closed question by providing a range of possible answers.

Question Purpose

Question Purpose Whether open or closed questions can be used for different purposes which can be classified as: To find out about the respondents’ behaviour To find out about their attitudes To gather detail about them for classification purposes

Behavioural Questions Factual information on what the respondent is, does, owns, or the frequency with which certain actions are performed. Factual so easy to answer. Usually placed at the beginning of questionnaires.

Classification Questions Information used to group respondents to see how they differ from each other. E.g.: age, gender, social class, location of household, type of house, family composition etc. These questions can either be at the beginning or end of a questionnaire depending on their sensitivity.

Attitudinal Questions What people think of something – their image and ratings of things or why they do things (perception). Require more thought than behavioural questions. Usually you want to discover not just whether an attitude is held but how strongly – “How satisfied is the customer?” vs. “Is the customer satisfied?”

Measuring Attitude Attitudes can be difficult to measure because they often deal with intangible subjects that people find it difficult to quantify.

Activity Can you come up with a short questionnaire to measure happiness? When you’ve finished your questionnaire pilot it on another group and make any necessary amendments. (20 minutes)

Discussion: What questions did you come up with? Were your questionnaires successful?

Office for National Statistics Personal Well-being Questions Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays? Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile? Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday? Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?

The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale

The Cantril Self-Anchoring Scale

Questionnaire Distribution

Method of Distribution Printed Questionnaire Online Questionnaire Send it in post – covers a large area but can’t be sure who will answer it. Ask people to pick one up – may lead to only extreme responses. Hand them out – ensures correct reach but is very time consuming. Cheaper than paper questionnaires. Can cover a large area. Easy to collect. Suffer from high non- response rates. Targeting only the correct population is difficult. You can distribute printed copies of your questionnaire or can distribute it online. Both methods have drawbacks that you need to consider.

Non-Response Non-response is when people don’t respond to the questionnaire. You can improve the response rate by: Using clear questions and are simple and easy to answer. Providing indication of how long survey will take to complete. Make it easy for people to return survey (postage paid). Follow up people with people who haven’t responded (if possible). Provide a completion incentive. Collect the questionnaires yourself (very time consuming).

Research ethics

Ethics The term “ethics” refers to questions of right and wrong. When researchers think about ethics they are considering whether it is right to conduct a particular study or carry out certain procedures.

Some of my students don’t want to take part in my research study so I’ve told them they won’t pass the course unless they take part. It’s not like the survey is difficult to complete or anything.

I’ve written a questionnaire designed to measure racism and levels of prejudice. I’ve told the participants that it’s just a simple lifestyle survey.

I’m conducting research into how pupil eating habits affect behaviour in a primary school. We’re not giving them anything nasty so there’s no need to tell their parents.

I am required to ask you to sign this consent form I am required to ask you to sign this consent form. You don’t need to read it: it’s just routine.

One of my research subjects has said she no longer wants to participate in the study. I’ve had a word with her and convinced her not to withdraw.

Looking at my data I’ve found a few anomalous results Looking at my data I’ve found a few anomalous results. I’ve excluded them to prevent them skewing the outcome of my analysis.

I’ve just got a job in a large factory to covertly observe working practices.

Ethical Guidelines

Informed Consent Participants need to understand that: they are taking part in research what the research requires them to do You should not fail to mention any information that might influence whether consent would be granted. Participants should not be coerced or deceived unless there are special mitigating circumstances.

The Right to Withdraw Research participants should have the right to withdraw from the research process at any stage. Participants should not be pressured to remain part of the study. All data associated with that participant should be destroyed and not used as part of any data analysis.

Privacy & Confidentiality Participants’ privacy should be respected as far as possible. All results or information gathered should be kept confidential. In qualitative research it is common to use pseudonyms or alternate place names to protect participants’ anonymity.

Minimising Risk of Harm Researchers must not cause any physical or psychological harm to participants. Participants should leave the study in the same state that they entered. This principle includes minimising risk of harm to yourself – a researcher should avoid dangerous (psychically or psychologically) situations as far as possible.

Useful Links http://goo.gl/ZReyNF http://goo.gl/HpB9Pr Questionnaire Design Ethics http://goo.gl/ZReyNF http://goo.gl/HpB9Pr http://goo.gl/WoQKo3 https://goo.gl/Hbgybl http://goo.gl/FUyKA9 http://goo.gl/054enR http://goo.gl/7KMV8m

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