Questionnaires

The advantage of a questionnaire is that once produced it can provide a vast body of information A production of a good questionnaire is time consuming and if it is to be done correctly, it requires several stages. The questionnaires have to be examined after they have been collected and the findings have to be analyzed.

Questionnaires are a good source of attitude measurement. Questionnaires can be either interviewer administered or self-administered. Questions can be open or closed.

Open questions are good for gaining information on a broad basis and allow the respondents to answer in any way they choose. For example : –What aspects of the interface did you like most? The closed question is limited and the responses are chosen from a given list. For example: –Which aspects of the interface did you like most? (a) the color; (b) the sound; (c ) the ease of moving from area to area

 The problem with open questions is that they can produce too much data which is not easily analyzed because it is so diverse.  However, closed questions can distort findings simply because they suggest things to people that might not otherwise occur to them.

Interviewer administered questionnaires This implies the existence and availability of interviewers trained in the technique. It requires a considerable amount of time to carry out but it has the advantage that the gathering of data is controlled by the interviewer. Also, if there are difficulties over understanding, the interviewer can clarify what is necessary in the answer.

Self-administered questionnaires These require fewer person minutes/hours to deliver but there are several problems that can occur : –Questions cannot be explained by the interviewer so they have to be carefully written. –There is a high likelihood of bias because of the small number of responses.

Recommendations for questionnaire design Closed questions are better than open questions. Questions need to be structured carefully, and should progress from the general to the detailed. –The first questions should be neutral and easily answered. More sensitive questions should be left until later in the questionnaire. –It is important to order questions carefully.

Questionnaires must not be too long (15 ~ 20 questions) The questionnaire must be attractive so that it will appeal to the subject. It is also important to try the questionnaire out first prior to its actual use. This will allow the team to find out what difficulties might arise in providing answers, or where answers might be ambiguous.

Questionnaire types Multi choice questions and checklists –The simplest form of questionnaire might ask the user for a yes/ no response. –Some questionnaires add a don’t know/don’t have an opinion category. Example : Have you used Flash MX before? (a) Yes (b) No (c) don’t know

Example of checklist question –Which of the following command did you use? Tick all that apply. yesnonot sure Paste Cut Clear Copy

Scalar questionnaire A scalar questionnaire asks the subject to register an opinion based on a predefined scale. These scale have numerical values attached to them or a linguistic scale. –Example: –Rate the usefulness of the smart school system