Creating A Good Questionnaire IB Geography Internal Assessment

Requirements for the IA 50 Completed Questionnaires (English/Spanish) No limit on how many questions, though it must not take up more than the front and back of 1 sheet of paper. Include demographic questions first, then closed, then open 6 Completed Interviews Typed Transcripts must be submitted

Advantages and Disadvantages of Questionnaires Can assess a large group quickly Easy to analyze if constructed correctly Disadvantages Requires “good” language skills Some people give answers they think you want Not very good for getting in-depth information

The Basics The purpose of a questionnaire in this case is to yield quantifiable data based on participant responses. There are 2 main types of questions asked in questionnaires: open and closed.

Open Questions Used to explore topics in-depth Advantage: Gives people a chance to respond in detail and explain their opinion Disadvantage: They are time-consuming for you to summarize and analyze

Examples of Open Questions What do you think of ….? What do you like about….?

Open Questions Open-ended Questions Stem Plus Questions Example: What changes would you like to see in our science class? Stem Plus Questions Some things I would like to see change in our science class are _________________

Closed Questions A closed question is one where the respondent is limited to one or more of a limited range of options. Advantages: Questionnaires based on closed questions are much easier and quicker to analyze. A large amount of information can be processed in a short period of time.

Closed Questions Disadvantages: Respondents tend to presume the answer in advance Respondents may put what they think you want to see Data may not be entirely accurate because they may be rounding to fit your answer choices More inclined to lie when they see possible answers it is sometimes necessary to add a catch-all category of “Other”. Questionnaires that have numerous Yes/No questions are unlikely to yield much useful data, or allow for interesting methods of presentation

Examples of Closed Questions Here are 2 examples of closed questions: Do you agree that the new school is good for the community? Yes/No How many times do you visit the grocery store each month? 1, 1-2, 3-5, >5

Closed Questions Dichotomous Questions (2 choices) Yes/No Agree/Disagree Do you think a paper recycling program should be started in your school? Yes No

Closed Questions Multiple-choice Questions Give respondents options May ask for single or multiple answers Example: How did you hear about our Website? ___ Newspaper ___ Magazine ___ Radio ___ Internet ___ Other: Please specify __________

Closed Questions Rank Order Questions Respondents place things in order Example: Which activities do you like to do in your spare time? Place a “1” next to the activity that you like to do most, a “2” by the next favorite, and so on to the least favorite. ___ Watch TV ___ Read ___ Visit friends ___ Surf the Internet ___ Shop

Closed Questions Rating Scale (Semantic Differential) Also called a “Likert Scale” Give a statement; choose your response along a scale Example: My students are motivated to learn. Strongly Disagree Disagree Not Sure Agree Strongly

Demographics Questions Demographic questions may ask about personal characteristics such as -- age race/ethnicity gender neighborhood

Things to Avoid Unclear or ambiguous questions Examples: What do you think about school? What role should the principal play in educating students?

Things to Avoid Know your audience Make sure that the length, content, and wording matches the intended audience Keep questions clear and concise Avoid technical wording

Things to Avoid Will the question help you to answer the fieldwork question? Will it help you formulate a good argument? A question may be well-written, but possibly won’t yield you good enough data to answer the fieldwork question. This is why it is so important to sit down with your group and really think about what data you need to answer your fieldwork question.

Some Guidelines for Interviewees Choose who you interview very intentionally. Divide your interviewees into 2 groups: Experts: doctors, alderman, police, park district workers, priests, grocery store managers, etc. Sample of the varying population groups: sample of men/women, black/white/hispanic, high education/low education, many children/no children, good health/poor health, someone who lives in food desert/someone who doesn’t, someone from high crime neighborhood/someone from low crime, etc.

The Questions Your questions will change depending on who you’re interviewing. Aim to have enough questions to get an in-depth response in between 15-20 minutes. Questions should all be open ended, providing plenty of opportunity for interviewee to respond with explanations, details, and examples. Avoid bias at all costs!