1. Questionnaire Design

2. Purposes of the Questionnaire
A questionnaire ensures standardization and comparability of the data across interviews, increases speed and accuracy of recording
Facilitates data processing
Also allows the researcher to collect the relevant information necessary to address the management decision problem

3. Designing the Questionnaire
Logical Steps to Develop a Good Questionnaire
Plan what to measure
Formulate questions to obtain the needed information
Decide on the wording of questions
Decide on the order and layout of the questionnaire
Using a sample, test the questionnaire for omissions and ambiguity
Correct the problems (pretest again, if necessary)

4. The Major Decisions in Questionnaire Design
1. Content - What should be asked?
2. Wording - How should each question be phrased?
3. Sequence - In what order should the questions be presented?
4. Layout - What layout will best serve the research objectives?
The most difficult step is specifying exactly what information is to be collected from each respondent

5. Content: Questions must meet 5 requirements
Are the questions relevant. Do they pertain to the research problem
Are the questions accurate. Do they accurately depict the attitudes, behaviors, etc. intended to investigate
Do respondents have the necessary information?
Qualify respondents
Do respondents understand and interpret the question correctly
Will respondents give the information?

6. How should the questions be asked?
Format: How much freedom do we give respondents in answering questions
Open-ended questions
eg. People look for different things in a job. What would you prefer most in a job?
Some key advantages
Wide range of responses can be obtained
Lack of influence. Don't channel respondents thinking
Particularly useful as introduction to survey or topic
When it’s important to measure the salience of an issue
When too many possible responses to be listed or unknown

7. Open-ended questions
Key disadvantages
Ability and/or willingness of respondent to answer
Interviewer’s ability to record answers quickly or summarize accurately & probe effectively
Interviewer’s attitude influences response
Time consuming (interview sessions, tabulation, classification, assignment, validation)
Difficulty in coding
Require respondents to be articulate
Respondents may miss important points
Non-response

8. Closed-ended questions (Fixed-alternative questions)
People look for different things in a job. What would you prefer most in a job?
____ Work that pays well
____ Work that gives a sense of accomplishment
____ Work where you make most decisions by yourself
____ Work that is steady with little chance of being laid off.
Advantages
Ease of understanding
Requires less effort on part of interviewer
Ease of tabulation & analysis
Less error prone
Less time consuming
Answers directly comparable from respondent to respondent

9. Closed-ended questions (Fixed-alternative questions)
Disadvantages
Middle/Neutral categories often selected inappropriately (ignorance, safety)
Less opportunity for self-expression or subtle qualifications
Less involving for respondents

10. Closed-ended questions
Order of response categories
Can have major impact on results
Key tradeoff
Want to get respondent to address issues your research is concerned with (Forced response) and at same time give respondent opportunity to honestly opt out of question (i.e., Don’t Know, No Answer, Neither Agree nor Disagree) so as not to dilute data collected

11. Question Wording
Can have major impact on how respondent interprets question
Things to avoid
Avoid Complexity: use simple, direct, conversational language
Avoid leading questions -- that suggest or imply certain answers
Avoid loaded questions -- that suggest social desirability, or are emotionally charged
Avoid ambiguity and vagueness: be as specific as possible
Avoid long-worded questions

12. More things to avoid
Avoid Ambiguity: Words such as “often”, “occasionally”, “usually”, “regularly”, “frequently”, “many”, should be used with caution. If these words have to be used, their meaning should be explained properly.
Avoid double-barreled items. questions that refer to two or more issues within the same question Where respondent may agree with only 1 part of multipart statement. E.g. do you think Nike offers better pricing and variety than other brands
Avoid making implicit assumptions
Avoid burdensome questions - that may tax the respondent’s memory

13. Sequence & Layout Decisions
Surveys are more than a collection of unambiguous questions
How questions are specified and put together will influence the sample’s willingness to participate & the responses they provide
Sequence & Layout Decisions
Initial stages
Need to gain & maintain respondent’s cooperation
Make questionnaire simple for interviewer to administer
The opening questions should always be interesting, simple, and easy to answer.

14. Beyond initial stages Demographic questions should come at the end.
General questions should be asked before more specific ones
Demographic questions should come at the end.
Use multiple questions instead of one
Similar questions together
consistent mindset for respondents
Develop a logical flow
Use transitions between sections
Distinguish question and responses
CAPS or BOLD or Underline versus lower case or unformatted

15. Distinguishing question and responses:
LAYOUT A:
Do you agree, disagree or have no opinion that this company has:
A good vacation policy - disagree/not sure/agree.
Good management feedback - disagree/not sure/agree.
Good medical insurance - disagree/not sure/agree.
LAYOUT B:
Does this company have:
  Disagree Not Sure Agree    
A good vacation policy   1       2       3   
Good feedback   1       2    3   
Good medical insurance     1      2  3   

16. Filter and pivot questions should be used as necessary.
A FILTER question is one that screens out respondents who are not qualified to answer a second question.
A PIVOT question is a type of filter question that is used to determine what version of a second question to ask.

17. Developing a logical flow
If the questionnaire deals with several topics, complete questions on a single topic before moving on to a new topic
If topics are related, ask questions on related topics before asking questions about unrelated topics
If you ask questions about behaviors over some time period, follow chronological order backward in time
When changing topics, use some transitional phrase

18. QUESTIONNAIRE LAYOUT
The layout and physical attractiveness of a questionnaire are important aspects
Questionnaires should be designed to appear as short as possible
Questionnaires should not appear overcrowded
Questionnaires in booklet form are often recommended

19. Pretesting and Correcting Problems
Purpose of pretest: To ensure that the questionnaire meets the expectations in terms of the information that will be obtained
Missing important variables
Pretesting Specific Questions For
Variation
Meaning
Task difficulty
Respondent interest and attention
Ambiguous, ill-defined, loaded, double-barreled questions
Pretesting the Questionnaire
Flow of the questionnaire
Skip patterns
Length
Respondent Interest and Attention

20. A QUESTIONNAIRE IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE QUESTIONS IT ASKS