1. Designing a Questionnaire

3. Strategic Concerns in Instrument Design
What type of questions (“scales”) are needed?
What communication approach will be used?
Should the questions be structured?
Should the questioning be disguised?

4. Major Function of a Questionnaire
Translating the research objectives into specific questions
Iterative Process
A good questionnaire is not written, it is rewritten.

5. Sections in a Questionnaire
1. Introduction or Cover Letter
2. Opening Questions (warm up or screening, or both)
3. Core Questions (always correspond to objectives)
4. Classification data

6. 1. Introduction or a Cover Letter
Identification of surveyor or sponsor
Purpose of the survey
Explanation of respondent selection
Request for participation and specifying incentive, if any
Screening respondents (not always necessary)
Identify the specific response context (not always necessary)
Assure either anonymity or confidentiality (even if in-built, may not always be obvious)
Specify what to do after the survey is filled

7. Example of Introduction: The American Airline Survey
Dear Customer:
Welcome aboard American Airline. We appreciate your business and value your opinions. You have been randomly selected to receive this survey. This survey pertains to the flight you boarded today. Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions, then return the completed survey to the flight attendant.

8. Example: Toothpaste Survey
To determine the purchase frequency of toothpaste
To ascertain the favorite store format for buying a toothpaste
To gauge the brand loyalty among toothpaste users
To determine the most important attributes in toothpaste
To explore gender differences, if any, in desired attributes
To determine the amount of money a student is willing to spend on toothpaste

9. Example of Translating Objectives to Questions
Beer Survey for the current patrons, who drink at least 3 times a week
To ascertain the favorite retail place of buying beer
To find out the frequency of beer drinking
To find out the place/time of beer drinking
To find out the preferred brand of beer
To find out the satisfaction level with the favorite brand of beer
To uncover the most important attributes in beer
To estimate the average purchase price of beer

10. Requirements for Getting Good Results from Questions
Are you asking the right questions?
Do they understand the question as intended?
Does everyone interpret the question same way?
Do they know the answer?
Are they willing and able to respond accurately?
Other concerns

11. 1. Are you asking the right questions?
Does it fit the objective? If it does, then you are asking the right questions.

12. 2. Do they understand the question as intended?
Version 1
Version 2
As Uber driver, how do you communicate with the platform managers?
Synchronous Communication
Asynchronous Communication
This (platform, synchronous, and asynchronous) is jargon, please use simple language
As Uber driver, how do you communicate with the Uber managers?
Text
Phone Call
Something Else ______________ (Please specify)

13. 3. Does everyone interpret the question same way?
Version 1
Version 2
What is your income?
In year ****, about what was your household income before taxes?

14. Asking “Toyota-related questions” to someone who never drove it
4. Do they know the answer?
Asking “Toyota-related questions” to someone who never drove it
Can they remember?
how much did you pay for the breakfast bar the last time you bought it?
Are intentions meaningful?
how many AA batteries will you be buying in next 6 months?

15. Are they willing and able to respond?
Willingness: social desirability bias (if the respondents feel there are social norms about which answers are “right”, you may not get accurate responses).
Alcohol consumption (underreported)
Reading (overreported)

16. Minimizing social desirability bias
Casual approach
do you happen to have murdered your wife?
The numbered card
“Would you please read off the card what became to your wife?” (hand off the card)
Natural death
A car ran over her
She jumped off the roof
I killed her

17. Minimizing social desirability bias
The everybody approach
“As you know, many people have been killing their wives these days. Do you happen to have killed yours?”
The other people approach
Do you know any people who murdered their wives?
How about yourself?

18. Minimizing social desirability bias
Sealed ballot question
Put the question at the end of the interview

19. Minimizing other biases
Asking loaded questions
Double barrelled questions

20. Categories must be exhaustive Categories must be mutually exclusive
5. Other concerns
Categories must be exhaustive
Categories must be mutually exclusive

21. Guidelines for Question Sequencing
General to Specific
Interesting topics early
Simple before complex
Group questions by topic
Transition between topics
The question process must quickly awaken interest and motivate the participant to participate in the interview.
More interesting topical target questions should come early.
Classification questions that are not used as filters or screens should come at the end of the survey.
The participant should not be confronted by early requests for information that might be considered personal or ego-threatening.
Buffer questions are neutral measurement questions designed to establish rapport with the participant. These can be used prior to sensitive questions.
The questioning process should begin with simple items and then move to the more complex, as well as move from general items to the more specific. Taxing and challenging questions later in the questioning process.
Changes in the frame of references should be small and should be clearly pointed out. Use transition statements between different topics of the target question set. An example of a transition is provided in Exhibit
Sensitive questions later
Classification questions last

22. Insert instructions whenever necessary
Insert instructions whenever necessary. Make sure the instructions are clear, comprehensive, and as short as possible
Make sure you use 12-font size new roman
check for spelling, grammar, alignment etc.
Let the layout clarify what the respondents are supposed to do