1. PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook The University of West Alabama William G. Zikmund Barry J. Babin 9 th Edition Part 4 Measurement Concepts © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved. Chapter 15 Questionnaire Design

2. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–2 LEARNING OUTCOMES 1.Explain the significance of decisions about questionnaire design and wording 2.Define alternatives for wording open-ended and fixed- alternative questions 3.Summarize guidelines for questions that avoid mistakes in questionnaire design 4.Describe how the proper sequence of questions may improve a questionnaire 5.Discuss how to design a questionnaire layout 6.Describe criteria for pretesting and revising a questionnaire and for adapting it to global markets After studying this chapter, you should be able to

3. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–3 Questionnaire Quality and Design: Basic Considerations Questionnaire design is one of the most critical stages in the survey research process.Questionnaire design is one of the most critical stages in the survey research process.  A questionnaire (survey) is only as good as the questions it asks—ask a bad question, get bad results.  Composing a good questionnaire appears easy but, it is usually the result of long, painstaking work.  The questions must meet the basic criteria of relevance and accuracy.

4. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–4 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? 6.Does the questionnaire need to be revised?

5. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–5 What Should Be Asked? Questionnaire RelevancyQuestionnaire Relevancy  All information collected should address a research question in helping the decision maker in solving the current marketing problem. Questionnaire AccuracyQuestionnaire Accuracy  Increasing the reliability and validity of respondent information requires that:  Questionnaires should use simple, understandable, unbiased, unambiguous, and nonirritating words.  Questionnaire design should facilitate recall and motivate respondents to cooperate.  Proper question wording and sequencing to avoid confusion and biased answers.

6. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–6 How Should Questions Be Phrased? Open-ended Response QuestionsOpen-ended Response Questions  Pose some problem and ask respondents to answer in their own words.  Advantages:  Are most beneficial in exploratory research, especially when the range of responses is not known.  May reveal unanticipated reactions toward the product.  Are good first questions because they allow respondents to warm up to the questioning process.  Disadvantages:  High cost of administering open-ended response questions  The possibility that interviewer bias will influence the answer  Bias introduced by articulate individuals’ longer answers

7. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–7 How Should Questions Be Phrased? (cont’d) Fixed-alternative QuestionsFixed-alternative Questions  Questions in which respondents are given specific, limited-alternative responses and asked to choose the one closest to their own viewpoint.  Advantages:  Require less interviewer skill  Take less time to answer  Are easier for the respondent to answer  Provides comparability of answers  Disadvantages:  Lack of range in the response alternatives  Tendency of respondents to choose convenient alternative

8. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–8 Types of Fixed-Alternative Questions Simple-dichotomy (dichotomous alternative) QuestionSimple-dichotomy (dichotomous alternative) Question  Requires the respondent to choose one of two alternatives (e.g., yes or no). Determinant-choice QuestionDeterminant-choice Question  Requires the respondent to choose one response from among multiple alternatives (e.g., A, B, or C). Frequency-determination QuestionFrequency-determination Question  Asks for an answer about general frequency of occurrence (e.g., often, occasionally, or never). Checklist QuestionChecklist Question  Allows the respondent to provide multiple answers to a single question by checking off items.

9. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–9 Phrasing Questions for Self-Administered, Telephone, and Personal Interview Surveys Influences on Question Phrasing:Influences on Question Phrasing:  The means of data collection—telephone interview, personal interview, self-administered questionnaire— will influence the question format and question phrasing.  Questions for mail, Internet, and telephone surveys must be less complex than those used in personal interviews.  Questionnaires for telephone and personal interviews should be written in a conversational style.

10. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–10 EXHIBIT 15.1 Reducing Question Complexity by Providing Fewer Responses Source: Don A. Dillman, Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1978), p. 209. Reprinted with permission.

11. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–11 The Art of Asking Questions No hard and fast rules; however avoid:No hard and fast rules; however avoid:  Using complex question language  Asking leading and loaded questions  Using ambiguous phrasing in questions  Asking confusing double-barreled items  Making internal assumptions in questions  Asking burdensome questions that tax the respondent’s memory

12. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–12 What Is the Best Question Sequence? Factors Influencing the Sequencing QuestionsFactors Influencing the Sequencing Questions  Order bias  Bias caused by the influence of earlier questions in a questionnaire or by an answer’s position in a set of answers.  Funnel technique  Asking general questions before specific questions in order to obtain unbiased responses.  Filter question  A question that screens out respondents who are not qualified to answer a second question.  Pivot question  A filter question used to determine which version of a second question will be asked.

13. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–13 What Is the Best Question Sequence? (cont’d) Factors Influencing the Sequencing Questions (cont’d)Factors Influencing the Sequencing Questions (cont’d)  Anchoring effect  The first concept measured tends to become a comparison point from which subsequent evaluations are made.  Randomization of items on a questionnaire susceptible to the anchoring effect helps minimize order bias.  Order of alternatives on closed questions  The order of choices should be rotated if producing alternative forms of the questionnaire is possible.

14. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–14 EXHIBIT 15.2 Flow of Questions to Determine the Level of Prompting Required to Stimulate Recall Source: “General Foods Corporation: Tang Instant Breakfast Drink (B),” © 1978 F. Stewart DeBruicker and Harvey N. Singer, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Reprinted with permission.

15. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–15 What Is the Best Layout? Traditional QuestionnairesTraditional Questionnaires  Multiple-grid question  Several similar questions arranged in a grid format.  The title of a questionnaire should be phrased carefully:  To capture the respondent’s interest, underline the importance of the research  Emphasize the interesting nature of the study  Appeal to the respondent’s ego  Emphasize the confidential nature of the study  To not bias the respondent in the same way that a leading question might

16. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–16 EXHIBIT 15.3 Layout of a Page from a Telephone Questionnaire

17. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–17 EXHIBIT 15.4 Telephone Questionnaire with Skip Questions

18. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–18 EXHIBIT 15.5 Personal Interview Questionnaire Source: Reprinted with permission from the Council of American Survey Research, http://www.casro.org.

19. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–19 EXHIBIT 15.6 Example of a Skip Question

20. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–20 Internet Questionnaire Layout Graphical User Interface (GUI) SoftwareGraphical User Interface (GUI) Software  The researcher can control the background, colors, fonts, and other features displayed on the screen so as to create an attractive and easy-to-use interface between the user and the Internet survey. Layout IssuesLayout Issues  Paging by going from screen to screen  Scrolling layout gives the respondent the ability to scroll down

21. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–21 Internet Questionnaire Layout (cont’d) Push ButtonPush Button  A small outlined area, such as a rectangle or an arrow, that the respondent clicks on to select an option or perform a function, such as submit. Status BarStatus Bar  A visual indicator that tells the respondent what portion of the survey he or she has completed. Radio ButtonRadio Button  A circular icon, resembling a button, that activates one response choice and deactivates others when a respondent clicks on it.

22. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–22 Internet Questionnaire Layout (cont’d) Drop-down BoxDrop-down Box  A space saving device that reveals responses when they are needed but otherwise hides them from view. Check BoxesCheck Boxes  Small graphic boxes, next to an answers, that a respondent clicks on to choose an answer; typically, a check mark or an X appears in the box when the respondent clicks on it.

23. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–23 EXHIBIT 15.7 Question in an Online Screening Survey for Joining a Consumer Panel Source: J.D. Power and Associates, “JDPowerPanel,” https://ia.jdpa.com/20/survey/onsurvey.phtml, accessed June 25, 2006.

24. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–24 Internet Questionnaire Layout (cont’d) Open-ended BoxesOpen-ended Boxes  Boxes where respondents can type in their own answers to open-ended questions. Pop-up BoxesPop-up Boxes  Boxes that appear at selected points and contain information or instructions for respondents.

25. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–25 EXHIBIT 15.8 Alternative Ways of Displaying Internet Questions

26. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–26 Internet Questionnaire Layout (cont’d) Software That Makes Questionnaires InteractiveSoftware That Makes Questionnaires Interactive  Variable piping software  Allows variables to be inserted into an Internet questionnaire as a respondent is completing it.  Error trapping software  Controls the flow of an internet questionnaire  Forced answering software  Prevents respondents from continuing with an Internet questionnaire if they fail to answer a question.  Interactive help desk  A live, real-time support feature that solves problems or answers questions respondents may encounter in completing the questionnaire.

27. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–27 How Much Pretesting and Revising Are Necessary? Pretesting ProcessPretesting Process  Seeks to determine whether respondents have any difficulty understanding the questionnaire and whether there are any ambiguous or biased questions. Preliminary TabulationPreliminary Tabulation  A tabulation of the results of a pretest to help determine whether the questionnaire will meet the objectives of the research.

28. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–28 Designing Questionnaires for Global Markets Back TranslationBack Translation  Taking a questionnaire that has previously been translated into another language and having a second, independent translator translate it back to the original language.  A questionnaire developed in one country may be difficult to translate because equivalent language concepts do not exist or because of differences in idiom and vernacular.

29. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–29 Key Terms and Concepts open-ended response questionopen-ended response question fixed-alternative questionfixed-alternative question simple-dichotomy (dichotomous-alternative) questionsimple-dichotomy (dichotomous-alternative) question determinant-choice questiondeterminant-choice question frequency-determination questionfrequency-determination question checklist questionchecklist question leading questionleading question loaded questionloaded question counterbiasing statementcounterbiasing statement split-ballot techniquesplit-ballot technique double-barreled questiondouble-barreled question order biasorder bias funnel techniquefunnel technique filter questionfilter question pivot questionpivot question multiple-grid questionmultiple-grid question push buttonpush button status barstatus bar radio buttonradio button drop-down boxdrop-down box check boxcheck box open-ended boxopen-ended box

30. © 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved.15–30 Key Terms and Concepts (cont’d) pop-up boxespop-up boxes variable piping softwarevariable piping software error trappingerror trapping forced answering softwareforced answering software interactive help deskinteractive help desk preliminary tabulationpreliminary tabulation back translationback translation