1. Designing the Questionnaire
Chapter 8
Designing the Questionnaire
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Learning Objectives Describe the steps in questionnaire design
Discuss the questionnaire development process
Summarize the characteristics of good questionnaires
Understand the role of cover letters
Explain the importance of other documents used with questionnaires

3. Value of Questionnaires in Marketing Research
Descriptive research designs use questionnaires to collect data that can be turned into knowledge about a person, object, or issue
Predictive survey questionnaires require the researcher to collect a wider range of data that can be used in:
Predicting changes in attitudes and behaviors as well as in testing hypotheses

4. Value of Questionnaires in Marketing Research
Questionnaire: A formal framework consisting of a set of questions and scales designed to generate primary raw data

5. Exhibit 8.1 - Steps in Questionnaire Design

6. Step 1: Confirm Research Objectives
To collect data on selected demographic characteristics
To collect data on selected lifestyle dimensions
To identify preferred banking services, as well as attitudes and feelings toward those services
To identify demographic and lifestyle characteristics of market segments

7. Step 2: Select Appropriate Data Collection Method
The data requirements and flow for a bank study are described below:
Section I: Banking services
Section II: Lifestyle dimensions
Section III: Banking relationships
Section IV: Demographic characteristics

8. Step 3: Develop Questions and Scaling
Question format
Unstructured questions: Open-ended questions formatted to allow respondents to reply in their own words
Structured questions: Closed-ended questions that require the respondent to choose from a predetermined set of responses or scale points

9. Step 3: Develop Questions and Scaling
Wording
Sensitive questions: Include income, sexual beliefs or behaviors, medical conditions, financial difficulties, alcohol consumption, and so forth that respondents are likely to respond to incorrectly

10. Step 3: Develop Questions and Scaling
Bad questions: Any questions that prevent or distort the fundamental communication between the researcher and the respondents
A question is bad when it is:
Unanswerable
Leading (loaded)
Double-barreled

11. Step 3: Develop Questions and Scaling
Skip questions: Used if the next question (or set of questions) should be responded to only by respondents who meet a previous condition

12. Step 4: Determine Layout and Evaluate Questionnaire
Introductory section: Gives the respondent an overview of the research
Screening questions: Identify qualified prospective respondents
Prevent unqualified respondents from being included in the study
Research questions section: Second section of the questionnaire that focuses on the research questions

13. Step 4: Determine Layout and Evaluate Questionnaire
Response order bias: Occurs when the order of the questions, or of the closed-end responses to a particular question, influences the answer given
Common methods variance (CMV): A biased variance that results from the measurement method used in a questionnaire

14. Step 5: Obtain Initial Client Approval
Copies of the questionnaire should be given to all parties involved in the project
Client’s opportunity to provide suggestions of topics overlooked or to ask any questions

15. Step 6: Pretest, Revise, and Finalize the Questionnaire
Final evaluation of the questionnaire is obtained from a pretest
Helps the researcher determine:
How much time respondents will need to complete the survey
Whether to add or revise instructions
What to say in the cover letter

16. Step 7: Implement the Survey
Focus is on the process followed to collect the data using the agreed-upon questionnaire
Process varies depending on whether the survey is self-administered or interviewer-completed

17. The Role of a Cover Letter
Cover letter: Separate written communication to a prospective respondent
Designed to enhance respondent willingness to complete and return the survey in a timely manner
Primary role - Obtain the respondent’s cooperation and willingness to participate in the research project

18. Exhibit 8.5 - Guidelines for Developing Cover Letters

19. Other Considerations in Collecting Data
Supervisor instructions
Supervisor instruction form: Serves as a blueprint for training people on how to execute the interviewing process in a standardized fashion
Outlines the process by which to conduct a study that uses personal and telephone interviewers

20. Other Considerations in Collecting Data
Interviewer instructions: Used to train interviewers how to:
Select prospective respondents
Screen them for eligibility
Conduct the actual interview
Screening questions
Quotas: A tracking system that collects data from respondents and helps ensure that subgroups are represented in the sample as specified

21. Other Considerations in Collecting Data
Call or contact records: A recording document that gathers basic summary information about an interviewer’s performance efficiency

22. Marketing Research in Action: Designing a Questionnaire to Survey Santa Fe Grill Customers
Based on the research objectives, does the self-administered questionnaire, in its current form, correctly illustrate sound questionnaire design principles?
Please explain why or why not.
Overall, is the current survey design able to capture the required data needed to address all the stated research objectives?
Why or why not?
If changes are needed, how would you change the survey’s design?

23. Evaluate the “screener” used to qualify the respondents.
Marketing Research in Action: Designing a Questionnaire to Survey Santa Fe Grill Customers
Evaluate the “screener” used to qualify the respondents.
Are there any changes needed?
Why or why not?
Redesign questions #26–29 on the survey using a rating scale that will enable you to obtain the “degree of importance” a customer might attach to each of the four listed attributes in selecting a restaurant to dine at.