Designing a Questionnaire

• Major Function of a Questionnaire– Translating the research objectives into specific

questions

• Iterative Process– A good questionnaire is not written, it is rewritten.

Sections in a Questionnaire

1. Introduction or Cover Letter

2. Opening Questions (warm up or screening, or both)

3. Core Questions (always correspond to objectives)

4. Classification data

1. Introduction or a Cover Letter

1. Identification of surveyor or sponsor2. Purpose of the survey3. Explanation of respondent selection4. Request for participation and specifying

incentive, if any5. Screening respondents (not always necessary)

6. Identify the specific response context (not always necessary)

7. Assure either anonymity or confidentiality (even if in-built, may not always be obvious)

8. Specify what to do after the survey is filled

Example of Introduction: The American Airline Survey

Dear Customer:

Welcome aboard American Airline. We appreciate your business and value your opinions. You have been randomly selected to receive this survey. This survey pertains to the flight you boarded today. Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions, then return the completed survey to the flight attendant.

Example: Credit Card Use Survey

1. To find the key factors upon which UNO students base the choice of their credit cards

2. To determine the categories of goods and services bought by credit cards

3. To determine average credit card balance of UNO students

4. To determine the general attitude towards using credit cards

5. To gauge the level of satisfaction with the most used credit card

6. To gauge the loyalty students have for a particular credit card

7. To determine the most effective incentives offered by companies for using credit cards

8. To find out if the respondent ever filed for a bankruptcy

Example of Translating Objectives to Questions

Beer Survey for the current patrons, who drink at least 3 times a week

1. To ascertain the favorite retail place of buying beer

2. To find out the frequency of beer drinking

3. To find out the place/time of beer drinking

4. To find out the preferred brand of beer

5. To find out the satisfaction level with the favorite brand of beer

6. To uncover the most important attributes in beer

7. To estimate the average purchase price of beer

Requirements for Getting Good Results from Questions

• Are you asking the right questions?

• Do respondents understand the question?

• Do they know the answer?

• Are they willing and able to respond accurately?

• Other concerns

1. Are you asking the right questions?

• Does it fit the objective? If it does, then you are asking the right questions.

2. Do respondents understand the question?

• Do they understand the words in the question? – Does your home have power conditioning

equipment to protect your critical appliances against power fluctuations?

• This is jargon, use simple English

– Do you have anything in your home to protect electronic equipments against power surges?

2. Do respondents understand the question?

• Do all respondents understand the same way?– What is your income?– In year ****, about what was your household

income before taxes?

2. Do respondents understand the question?

• Some confusing words– saw, seen, see: “observe” or “visit”? (did you see

your aunt yesterday?)

3. Do they know the answer?

– Asking “Toyota-related questions” to someone who never drove it

– Can they remember? (as in “how much you paid for the shampoo the last time you bought it?”)

– Are intentions meaningful? (“how many AA batteries will you be buying in next 6 months?)

Are they willing and able to respond?

• Willingness: social desirability bias (if the respondents feel there are social norms about which answers are “right”, you may not get accurate responses). – Alcohol consumption (underreported)– Reading (overreported)

Minimizing social desirability bias

• Casual approach– do you happen to have murdered your wife?

• The numbered card– “Would you please read off the card what became

to your wife?” (hand off the card)• Natural death

• A car ran over her

• She jumped off the roof

• I killed her

Minimizing social desirability bias

• The everybody approach– “As you know, many people have been killing their

wives these days. Do you happen to have killed yours?”

• The other people approach– Do you know any people who murdered their

wives?– How about yourself?

Minimizing social desirability bias

• Sealed ballot question

• Put the question at the end of the interview

Minimizing other biases

• Asking loaded questions

• Double barrelled questions

5. Other concerns

• Categories must be exhaustive

• Categories must be mutually exclusive

• Insert instructions whenever necessary. Make sure the instructions are clear, comprehensive, and as short as possible

• Make sure you use 12-font size new roman

• check for spelling, grammar, alignment etc.

• Let the layout clarify what the respondents are supposed to do