Essentials of Marketing Research Chapter 11: Questionnaire Design

It is not every question that deserves an answer It is not every question that deserves an answer. Publilius Syrus (Roman,1st century B.C.)

A QUESTIONNAIRE IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE QUESTIONS IT ASKS

The Functions of a Questionnaire Translates research objectives into specific questions Standardizes questions - every respondent answers same questions Fosters cooperation Permanent records of research Speed up the process.

Steps in the Questionnaire Development Process Determine Survey Objectives Decide Data Collection Method Question Development Question Evaluation Client Approval Pretest Revise as needed Finalize and Duplicate Gather Data Tabulate and Report Steps in the Questionnaire Development Process Note that this is an iterative process

A GOOD QUESTIONNAIRE APPEARS AS EASY TO COMPOSE AS DOES A GOOD POEM BUT IT IS USUALLY THE RESULT OF LONG, PAINSTAKING WORK

The Major Decisions in Questionnaire Design 1. What should be asked? 2. How should each question be phrased? 3. In what sequence should the questions be arranged? 4. What questionnaire layout will best serve the research objectives? 5. How should the questionnaire be pretested? Does the questionnaire need to be revised?

WHAT SHOULD BE ASKED? QUESTIONNAIRE RELEVANCE QUESTIONNAIRE ACCURACY

PHRASING QUESTIONS OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES FIXED-ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS unprobed or probed FIXED-ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS Closed Ended dichotomous or multiple category Scaled Response unlabeled or labeled

DEVELOPING A QUESTIONNAIRE NO HARD AND FAST RULES ONLY GUIDELINES

Avoid Complexity: use simple, conversational language Avoid leading and loaded questions Avoid ambiguity: be as specific as possible Avoid double-barreled items Avoid making assumptions Avoid burdensome questions

1. Do you believe that private citizens have the right to own firearms to defend themselves, their families, and property from violent criminal attack? Yes No Undecided

2. Do you believe that a ban on the private ownership of firearms would significantly reduce the number of murders and robberies in your community? Yes No Undecided

1a. How many years have you been playing tennis on a regular basis? Number of years: __________ 5-6 b. What is your level of play? Novice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1 Advanced . . . . . . . -4 Lower Intermediate . . . . . -2 Expert . . . . . . . . . -5 Upper Intermediate . . . . . -3 Teaching Pro . . . . -6 c. In the last 12 months, has your level of play improved, remained the same or decreased? Improved. . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1 Decreased. . . . . . . -3 Remained the same . . . . . -2

2a. Do you belong to a club with tennis facilities? Yes . . . . . . . -1 No . . . . . . . -2 b. How many people in your household - including yourself - play tennis? Number who play tennis ___________ 3a. Why do you play tennis? (Please “X” all that apply.) To have fun . . . . . . . . . . -1 To stay fit. . . . . . . . . . . . -2 To be with friends. . . . . . -3 To improve my game . . . -4 To compete. . . . . . . . . . . -5 To win. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -6 b. In the past 12 months, have you purchased any tennis instructional books or video tapes? Yes . . . . . . . -1

Dear Passenger: American Airlines is pleased to have you on board today. To help us provide the best service possible, we need to know more about you and your opinions of our service. If you are over 11 years old, we would appreciate it if you would complete this questionnaire. Your flight attendant will pick up your completed questionnaire shortly. Thank you.

1. Please indicate: Flight number ___________ Date_____________ 2a. At the city where you boarded this particular plane, did you make a connection from another flight? Yes, from American . . . . 1 Yes, from Other Airline . . 2 No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 b. Did you board this plane at the airport from which it just took off, or were you a through passenger for which that was an intermediate stop? Boarded here . . . . . . . . . . 1 Through passenger. . . . . . 2 3. How would you rate the overall service from American for this flight, all things considered, from your arrival at the airport terminal until now? Excellent Good Fair Poor Overall Service . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 4

4. Please rate each of the following with regard to this flight, if applicable. Excellent Good Fair Poor 1 2 3 4 Courtesy and Treatment from the: Skycap at airport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Airport Ticket Counter Agent . . . . . Boarding Point (Gate) Agent . . . . . Flight Attendants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Your Meal or Snack. . . . . . . . . . . . . Beverage Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seat Comfort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carry-On Stowage Space. . . . . . . . Cabin Cleanliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . Video/Stereo Entertainment . . . . . . On-Time Departure . . . . . . . . . . . .

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN QUESTION SEQUENCE QUESTION LAYOUT ORDER BIAS FUNNEL TECHNIQUE FILTER BIAS QUESTION LAYOUT

Questionnaire Organization Introduction Screening Questions first questions asked used to select specific respondents ex. have you bought a classical music CD in the last month? Warm-ups immediately after screening questions easy to answer, flows into other questions Ex. how often do you go shopping?

Questionnaire Organization Transitions Prior to major series of questions Can be used to branch respondents Complicated and Difficult to Answer Middle or close to end of questionnaire Classification and Demographic Questions Last section Could be sensitive questions

Questionnaire Organization Funnel Approach wide to narrow or general to specific Work Approach difficult to answer questions are placed deep in the questionnaire Sections Approach arrange in logical sets

Very Important: the Pretest A pretest is a dry-run of the real thing Can reveal errors which need to be corrected Look for common problems Can pretest both a representative sample and a sample of experts

Five Desirable Qualities of Question Writing The question should be focused on a single issue or topic The question should be brief The question should be interpreted the same way by all respondents The question should use the respondent’s core vocabulary The question should be grammatically simple

Errors to Avoid when Writing Questions Should not assume criteria that are not obvious Should not be beyond respondent’s ability or experience Should not use a specific example to represent a general case Should not request specific recall when generalities will be remembered

Errors to Avoid when Writing Questions Should not require respondents to guess a generalization Should not ask for details that cannot be related Should not use wording that overstates a condition Should not have ambiguous wording

Errors to Avoid when Writing Questions Should not be double-barreled Should not lead the respondents to a particular answer Should not have loaded wording or phrasing

Can you spot the sources of bias? Do you think a Porsche 911 is exorbitantly priced? Isn’t a Hyundai priced about as cheaply as a car can be? Should Americans buy a foreign car and hurt our economy or buy American cars and help our economy? If you won a million dollar lottery, would you want to buy a rolls Royce? The last time you saw a Cadillac ad, such as the ones that are usually in the Sunday paper, what model was it promoting? 1. Overstates condition of high price 2. Leads respondent to say yes 3. Loaded with Americna patriotism Beyond the respondents experience 5. Uses a specific example to represent a class.

Precoding the Questionnaire Precodes are code numbers placed on the questionnaire to facilitate data entry after the survey has been conducted. Example Have you bought a pair of blue jeans in the last three months? Yes (1) No (2) Unsure (3) The numbers in parenthesis are precodes

Cover Letters and Openers Cover letter and opening comments should be tailored to specific groups Must interest respondent enough to fill out survey Must overcome respondent’s concerns about privacy Disguised surveys do not reveal client’s name

Designing Observational Forms Observation form indicates what behavior is to be watched and how it should be recorded Should achieve consistency, structure, and completeness. Must pretest Build-Up Approach: observe, then decide on categories Break-Down Approach: create categories first