1. Questionnaire Design

2. “It is not every question that deserves an answer.”
Publius Syrus (Roman, 1st century B.C.)

3. Major Decisions in Questionnaire Design
What should be asked?
How should each question be phrased?
In what sequence should the questions be arranged?
What questionnaire layout will best serve the research objectives?
How should the questionnaire be pretested? Does the questionnaire need to be revised?

4. Fixed-alternative questions
Phrasing Questions
Open-ended questions
Fixed-alternative questions

5. Figure 11.3 Questionnaire Design Process
Specify the Information Needed
Specify the Type of Interviewing Method
Determine the Content of Individual Questions
Design the Question to Overcome the Respondent’s Inability and Unwillingness to Answer
Decide on the Question Structure
Determine the Question Wording
Arrange the Questions in Proper Order

6. Figure 11.3 Questionnaire Design Process Continued
Identify the Form and Layout
Reproduce the Questionnaire
Eliminate Bugs by Pretesting

7. Figure 11.4 Types of Questions
Unstructured
Structured
Multiple
Choice
Dichotomous
Scales

8. Figure 11.5 The Funnel Approach to Ordering Questions
Broad or General Questions
Narrow or Specific Questions

9. Questionnaire Design Check List
Step 1: Information Needed
Ensure info obtained fully addresses all components of the problem
Must have clear idea of the target population
Step 2: Interviewing Method
Ensure that the proper interviewing method is being used given the study objectives

10. Questionnaire Design Check List
Step 3: Individual Questions
Is each question necessary?
Is each question unambiguous?
Are the proper number of questions needed to measure a particular construct being asked?

11. Questionnaire Design Check List
Step 4: Inability/Unwillingness to Answer
Is the respondent informed?
Can the respondent remember?
Can the respondent articulate?
Is the information sensitive?
Make the information request legitimate.
Minimize effort required of respondent.

12. Questionnaire Design Check List
Step 5: Question Structure
Use structured questions whenever possible.
Response alternatives should include all possible answers.
Response alternatives should be mutually exclusive.
If, on a particular question, a large % of respondents may be expected to be neutral, include a neutral alternative.

13. Questionnaire Design Check List
Step 6: Question Wording
Use ordinary words.
Avoid ambiguous words (usually, probably, normally, etc.)
Do not use leading questions.
Avoid implicit assumptions.
Use positive and negative statements as much as possible.

14. Questionnaire Design Check List
Step 7: Question Order
Qualifying questions first.
General questions before specific questions.
Use logical order.
Demographics?
Beginning of questionnaire
End of questionnaire

15. Questionnaire Design Check List
Step 8: Form & Layout
Divide questionnaire into multiple parts
Number each question?
Precode the questions
Keep scale questions in same general vicinity
Avoid temptation to “fill the blank spaces”

16. Questionnaire Design Check List
Step 9: Questionnaire Reproduction
Professional appearance
Booklet format for long questionnaires
Place directions as close to the questions as possible
Expect reproduction errors

17. Questionnaire Design Check List
Step 10: Pretesting
Always try to pretest first
Test everything
Pretest sample should be extremely similar to test sample
Pretest using same methodology as the main test
If make changes to questionnaire, or methodology, pretest again before main test.