Designing a questionnaire It is important to design a questionnaire so that: People will co-operate and answer the questions honestly. The answers to the questions can be analysed and presented. When designing you own questionnaire you should try to follow these rules: 1) Provide an introduction, so that the person filling in the questionnaire knows the purpose of your enquiry. 2) Write questions in a sensible order, putting easier questions first.

Designing a questionnaire 3) Make sure that questions are not embarrassing or personal. For example, you need to think carefully about questions asking about age or income. How old are you? Do not ask : Tick one box for your age group. 15-20 21-25 26-30 31 + A better question is : Discuss what would be a better question for “How old are you?” before revealing a possible alternative.

Designing a questionnaire 4) If possible, write questions so that they have a specific answer. Did you see the Olympics on TV ? For example : People could answer : Only the best bits No Sometimes Ask pupils for possible responses to this question before revealing them. Discuss what would be a better question for “Did you see the Olympics on TV?” before revealing a possible alternative on the next slide. Yes Once a day Not much

Designing a questionnaire A better question would be: How much of the Olympics coverage did you watch? Tick one box only. None Less than 1 hour a day Between 1 to 2 hours a day More than 2 hours a day Every eventuality has been accounted for and the person answering the question cannot give another choice.

Designing a questionnaire A scale can be used when asking for an opinion. For example, How would you rate the leisure facilities available in your local area? Tick one box only. Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Unsatisfactory Before revealing the suggested scale ask pupils to discuss what scale of responses they would find appropriate.

Designing a questionnaire 5) Do not ask leading questions. For example, this question conveys a particular opinion, Don’t you agree that football is the best sport? A better question is : Which one of the following sports do you like the best? football rugby tennis golf cricket boxing Stress that questions should not convey the questioner’s own opinion or indicate that one response would be preferable to another. Discuss what would be a better question for “Don’t you agree that football is the best sport?” before revealing a possible alternative.

Suggest a better question How much do you weigh? This is too personal, also some people don’t know their weight. A better question would be: Underweight Average weight Overweight Would you consider yourself to be: Add that if you needed to know peoples’ weights exactly then an experiment involving measuring and recording would be more appropriate than a questionnaire.

Suggest a better question Most people use a deodorant, do you ? This is a leading question and may offend people. A more useful question would be: Which make of deodorant do you use ? Male: Female: Sure Impulse Dove Other None Lynx Adidas Slazenger Please circle any that apply.

Suggest a better question How many books did you read last month? 0-2 2-4 4-6 The intervals given overlap. Also, if a person has read more than 6 books there is nowhere to tick. A better question would be: How many books did you read last month? Tick one box. 0-2 3-5 6-8 9+ Also, tell pupils that the intervals, unless they are open, should be of equal size.

Trialling a questionnaire Once you have written a questionnaire it can be a good idea to try it out on a small sample of people. This is called a pilot survey. Note down their responses and use these to improve any questions that are causing difficulty. Do I use a tick or a cross to show the box I want? There isn’t a box to cover my answer. I don’t want to answer this question because it’s too personal. What does this question mean?

Designing a data collection sheet A data collection sheet can be used to record data that comes from counting, observing or measuring. It can also be used to record responses to specific questions. For example, to investigate a claim that the amount of TV watched has an impact on weight we can use the following: age gender height (cm) weight (kg) hours of TV watched per week Point out that the headings used in the sheet should include units where appropriate.

Using a tally chart When collecting data that involves counting something we often use a tally chart. For example, this tally chart can be used to record people’s favourite snacks. favourite snack tally frequency crisps fruit nuts sweets 13 6 3 Point out that the fifth tally mark is made by crossing through the previous four marks. This makes it easier to count them up. Define frequency as the number of times something occurs. 8 The tally marks are recorded, as responses are collected, and the frequencies are then filled in.