Creating A Good Questionnaire

IB Geography Internal Assessment

Requirements for the IA

• 50 Completed Questionnaires (English/Spanish) – No limit on how many questions, though it must

not take up more than the front and back of 1 sheet of paper.

– Include demographic questions first– 6 Completed Interviews – Typed Transcripts must be submitted

Advantages and Disadvantages of Questionnaires

• Advantages– Can assess a large group quickly– Easy to analyze if constructed correctly

• Disadvantages– Requires “good” language skills– Some people give answers they think you want– Not very good for getting in-depth information

The Basics

• The purpose of a questionnaire in this case is to yield quantifiable data based on participant responses.

• There are 2 main types of questions asked in questionnaires: open and closed.

Open Questions

• Used to explore topics in-depth• Advantage: Gives people a chance to

respond in detail and explain their opinion

• Disadvantage: They are time-consuming for you to summarize and analyze

Examples of Open Questions

• What do you think of ….?• What do you like about….?

Open Questions • Open-ended Questions

– Example:– What changes would you like to see in our science class?

• Stem Plus Questions

Example:• Some things I would like to see change in our science class are

_________________

Closed Questions

• A closed question is one where the respondent is limited to one or more of a limited range of options.

• Advantages: – Questionnaires based on closed questions are

much easier and quicker to analyze. – A large amount of information can be processed

in a short period of time.

Closed Questions • Disadvantages:

– Respondents tend to presume the answer in advance– Respondents may put what they think you want to see – Data may not be entirely accurate because they may be

rounding to fit your answer choices– More inclined to lie when they see possible answers – it is sometimes necessary to add a catch-all category of

“Other”. – Questionnaires that have numerous Yes/No questions are

unlikely to yield much useful data, or allow for interesting methods of presentation

Examples of Closed Questions

• Here are 2 examples of closed questions: – Do you agree that the new school is good for the

community? Yes/No– How many times do you visit the grocery store

each month? 1, 1-2, 3-5, >5

Closed Questions

• Dichotomous Questions (2 choices)– Yes/No– Agree/Disagree

Do you think a paper recycling program should be started in your school?

Yes No

Closed Questions

• Multiple-choice Questions– Give respondents options– May ask for single or multiple answers

Example:How did you hear about our Website?

___ Newspaper___ Magazine___ Radio___ Internet___ Other: Please specify __________

Closed Questions• Rank Order Questions

– Respondents place things in order

– Example:– Which activities do you like to do in your spare

time? Place a “1” next to the activity that you like to do most, a “2” by the next favorite, and so on to the least favorite.

• ___ Watch TV• ___ Read• ___ Visit friends• ___ Surf the Internet• ___ Shop

Closed Questions

• Rating Scale (Semantic Differential)– Also called a “Likert Scale”– Give a statement; choose your response along a scale

– Example:My students are motivated to learn.

Strongly

Agree

Agree Not Sure Disagree Strongly Disagree

Effects of Scales

• The police need to do a better job of enforcing traffic laws.

– 2 Level

- 3 level

Agree Disagree

90% 10%

Agree Neither Agree or Disagree

Disagree

70% 28% 2%

Effects of ScalesStrongly Agree

Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree

7% 63% 28% 1% 1%

5 Level

Demographics Questions• Demographic questions may ask about

personal characteristics such as --– age– ethnicity– gender– home characteristics

Things to Avoid

Unclear or ambiguous questionsExamples:What do you think about school?

What role should the principal play in educating students?

Things to Avoid

• Know your audience

• Make sure that the length, content, and wording matches the intended audience

• Keep questions clear and concise• Avoid technical wording

Things to Avoid

• Will the question help you to answer the fieldwork question? Will it help you formulate a good argument?

• A question may be well-written, but possibly won’t yield you good enough data to answer the fieldwork question.

• This is why it is so important to sit down with your group and really think about what data you need to answer your fieldwork question.

Some Guidelines for Interviewees • Choose who you interview very intentionally. • Divide your interviewees into 2 groups:

– Experts: doctors, alderman, police, park district workers, priests, grocery store managers, etc.

– Sample of the varying population groups: sample of men/women, black/white/hispanic, high education/low education, many children/no children, good health/poor health, someone who lives in food desert/someone who doesn’t, someone from high crime neighborhood/someone from low crime, etc.

The Questions

• Your questions will change depending on who you’re interviewing.

• Aim to have enough questions to get an in-depth response in between 15-20 minutes.

• Questions should all be open ended, providing plenty of opportunity for interviewee to respond with explanations, details, and examples.

• Avoid bias at all costs!

Timeline of due dates• Thursday (9/11) and Friday (9/12) (after map quiz):

Time in class to work with group on creation of questionnaires

• 10 blank questionnaires due Monday (9/15)• Questionnaire first draft (paper copy, 1 per group) due

Wednesday (9/17)• Return of graded first drafts/feedback provided Friday

(9/19)• Final Draft of Questionnaire due, 1 English, 1 Spanish

Copy, Thursday (9/25)

Making Meaning Protocol• Facilitator (1 per group) gives time for students

to read the text silently. Facilitator will ask questions and take notes of groups answers.

• Discussion Questions: – What do you see? (2 minutes) – What questions does this text raise for you? (2 min) – What is significant about this text? (2 min) – What are the implications for our own

questionnaires? (2 min)