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Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day
Chapter Ten
Designing the QuestionnaireDesigning the Questionnaire
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)
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”
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
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.
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.
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
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
Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day
Closed-response Questions
What type of fast-food restaurant do you visit most often?
Burger MexicanChicken PizzaSeafood ChineseDon’t know Other (please specify)
Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day
Closed-response Questions
What is your overall satisfaction with McDonalds Hamburgers?
Very satisfied Quite Satisfied Somewhat satisfied Not at all satisfied
Very satisfied 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Not at all satisfied
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)
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
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
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 5-10 or 10-20 More than 10. More than 20.
Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day
Issues in Questionnaire Design
• Respondent uncertainty
– Should respondents be provided with aDon’t know or No opinion option?
– When it is important to differentiate between ambivalence and ignorance, both options should be provided
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.)
Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day
Question Wording
• AmbiguityHow many times per month do you
visit a fast-food restaurant? Never Occasionally Sometimes Often
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?
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”
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
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 foodsBetter strategy would be to ask a filter
question first.
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.)
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
Organization of a Typical Questionnaire
Location Type Function Example
Starting questions Broad, general questions
To break the ice and establish a report with the respondent
Do you own a personal computer?
Next few questions Simple and direct questions
To reassure the respondent that the survey is simple and easy to answer
What brands of personal computers did you consider when you bought it?
Questions up to a third of the questionnaire
Focused questions Relate more to the research objectives and convey to the respondent the area of research
What attributes did you consider when you purchased you personal computer?
Major portion of the questionnaire
Focused questions; some may be difficult and complicated
To obtain most of the information required for the research
Rank the following attributes of a personal computer based on their importance to you
Last few questions Personal questions that may be perceived by the respondent as sensitive
To get classification and demographic information about the respondent
What is the highest level of education you have attained?
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.
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
Essentials of Marketing Research Kumar, Aaker, Day
Examples – spot the problems in the questions
Don’t you think Budweiser makes the best commercials Yes No
Which of the following restaurants do you visit frequently?
Burger King Pizza Hut Subway KFC McDonalds
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?
YesNo
What is your annual income
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