1. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Chapter Ten Designing the Questionnaire

2. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Designing the Questionnaire Logical Steps to Develop a Good Questionnaire Plan what to measure Formulate questions Order and wording of questions and the layout of the questionnaire Test for omissions and ambiguity Correct the problems (pretest again, if necessary)

3. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Planning what to measure What was the objective of the research study again? Exploratory research will suggest more variables Pre-testing with a small sample Ask yourself the question: “How will this information be used”

4. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Designing the Questionnaire Formulating the Question Degree of freedom of response to be given to respondents Alternatives –Open ended with no classification E.g. Tell us what you know about mutual funds? –Open ended with pre-coded classifications used to record the response E.g. Do you think mutual funds are a worthwhile investment? –Close ended or structured format with responses to be considered E.g. I think mutual funds are worthwhile investments Strongly Agree…1…2…3…4…5…Strongly Disagree

5. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Questions must meet 4 requirements  You must ask the right questions  Respondents must understand the questions  Respondents must know the answers  Respondents must be willing to tell you those answers.

6. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Types of Questions 1. Open-response question: People look for different things in a job. What would you prefer most in a job? 2. Closed-response question: 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.

7. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Open Ended Questions Advantages –Gain insight into the problem –Too many options to list –When verbatim responses are desired to give the flavor of the problem –When behavior to be measured is sensitive or disapproved –Interviewer / questionnaire structure influence can be minimal Diasdvantages –Inarticulate respondents –Interviewer’s skill in recording quickly and summarizing accurately –Time consuming, subjective judgments while tabulating, adds to cost

8. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Closed-response Questions Two Basic Formats for Closed Ended or Structured Questions Choice from a list of responses Appropriate single-choice rating on a scale

9. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Closed-response Questions What type of fast-food restaurant do you visit most often?  Burger  Mexican  Chicken  Pizza  Seafood  Chinese  Don’t know  Other (please specify)

10. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Closed-response Questions What is your overall satisfaction with McDonalds Hamburgers? Very satisfiedQuite Satisfied Somewhat satisfied Not at all satisfied     Very satisfied 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Not at all satisfied

11. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Closed-response Questions Advantages –Easy to understand, quick responses possible –Micro-differences in responses can be captured –Easier tabulation and analysis –Answers are directly comparable from respondent to respondent Disadvantages –Neutral category may attract more responses than warranted –Information between categories may be lost (extreme case – dichotomous categories)

12. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Issues in Questionnaire Design Mutually exclusive choices How many long-distance calls do you make in a week?  less than 5  5-10  More than 10. Number of response categories – 5 to 7 is ideal

13. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Issues in Questionnaire Design Order of response categories What factor influences your fast-food restaurant choice most ?  Convenient location  Quality of food  Menu selection  Fast service  Reasonable prices  Brand name  Cleanliness

14. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Issues in Questionnaire Design Range of response categories How many long-distance calls do you make in a week?  less than 5  less than 10  5-10or  10-20  More than 10.  More than 20.

15. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Issues in Questionnaire Design Respondent uncertainty –Should respondents be provided with a Don’t know or No opinion option? –When it is important to differentiate between ambivalence and ignorance, both options should be provided

16. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Issues in Questionnaire Design Question Wording - Vocabulary –Simple, easy to understand, commonly used language –Avoid technical words and jargon (unless sample is technically qualified) –Words meaning something else in different languages and cultures (e.g. Nova meaning “no go” in Spanish; “mist stick’ meaning manure in German, etc.)

17. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Question Wording Ambiguity How many times per month do you visit a fast-food restaurant?  Never  Occasionally  Sometimes  Often

18. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Question Wording Are any questions "double-barreled”? Are you satisfied with the price and the service of Taco Bell?

19. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Question Wording Are any questions loaded or leading? 1) Don’t you think, because its so greasy, fast-food is one of the worst types of food? …leading question 2) Do you prefer a hamburger that is grilled on a hot stainless-steel grill or cooked by passing the raw meat through an open gas flame?...loaded question Both skew responses in the desired direction Questions which threaten respondent self- esteem e.g. occupation question produces more “executives”

20. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Issues in Questionnaire Design Question Wording –vocabulary –“double-barreled” questions –leading or loaded questions –Instructions Complicated or lengthy instructions confuse and bias respondents

21. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Question Wording Is the question applicable to all respondents? Why do you like fast-food? Assumes respondents like fast foods Better strategy would be to ask a filter question first.

22. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Question Wording Question length –Should be short –Longer questions confuse and fatigue respondents Sensitive questions –Questions on information perceived to be embarrassing, like personal income, criminal activities, alcoholism, smoking, drugs habits, social desirability issues, etc. –Creativity rules (assurances of confidentiality, anonymity, slipping it in sideways, open-ended questions, asking in third person, etc.)

23. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Sequence And Layout Decisions Opening questions – easy and non-threatening Flow – smooth and logical – avoid jumps Broad to specific Critical questions – placed in the middle Appealing and interesting Order bias – the possibility that subsequent responses are influenced by preceding responses e.g. fewer people will say that their taxes are too high after being asked whether govt. spending should be increased in certain areas. Quality of paper

24. Organization of a Typical Questionnaire

25. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Pretesting and Correcting Problems Pretesting Specific Questions For Meaning Task difficulty Respondent interest and attention Pretesting the overall Questionnaire Flow of the questionnaire Skip patterns Length Put yourself in the respondent’s shoes and answer the questionnaire.

26. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Examples – spot the problems in the questions Why did you purchase a Sony Walkman?  Great self-expressive benefits  High quality  Good service  Great bass to treble ratio  Better warranty  Looks good

27. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Examples – spot the problems in the questions Don’t you think Budweiser makes the best commercialsYesNo Which of the following restaurants do you visit frequently?  Burger King  Pizza Hut  Subway  KFC  McDonalds

28. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Examples Do you agree that, since fast-food restaurants produce a disproportionate amount of waste, they should be subject to an additional environmental tax?  Yes  No What is your annual income

29. Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day Examples How often do you eat fast food?  Daily  Every second day  Once a week  Every two weeks