Chapter 11

• The questionnaire is the primary tool for building responses to research questions
• Questionnaire design is one of the most critical stages in the survey research process
• Ask a bad question, and you get bad results
• Questionnaire


  A survey instrument used to collect data from respondents
• Questionnaire Design Process


  1. Determine what should be asked

  2. Decide how each question should be phrased

  3. Determine the sequence of questions

  4. Decide on the questionnaire layout

  5. Encourage complete responses

  6. Pretest and revise the questionnaire

  
• Questionnaire Design


  • Questions must meet the basic criteria of relevance and accuracy
  • People don't understand questions just because the wording is grammatically correct
  • People may refuse to answer personally sensitive questions
  • Items can be questions, words, statements, phrases, or images used to evoke a response

  
• Open-ended response questions


  Questions that pose a problem and ask respondents to answer in their own words
• Fixed-alternative questions


  Questions in which respondents are given specific, limited-alternative responses and asked to choose the one closest to their own viewpoint
• Open-ended response questions


  • Most beneficial in exploratory research
  • May reveal unanticipated reactions
  • Good first questions to allow respondents to warm up
  • High cost to administer
  • Possibility of interviewer bias
  • Bias from articulate individuals
• Fixed-alternative questions


  • Require less interviewer skill
  • Take less time
  • Easier for respondents
  • Provide comparability of answers
  • Lack range in response alternatives
  • Tendency for respondents to choose convenient alternative
• Types of fixed-alternative questions


  • Simple-dichotomy (yes/no)
  • Multiple-choice (choose one)
  • Frequency-determination (often, occasionally, never)
• Simple-Dichotomy (Dichotomous-Alternative) Questions


  A fixed-alternative question that requires the respondent to choose one of two alternatives [e.g., yes or no]
• Multiple-choice or Determinant-choice Question


  A fixed-alternative question that requires the respondent to choose one response from among multiple alternatives [e.g., A, B, or C]
• Frequency-Determination Question


  A fixed-alternative question that asks for an answer about general frequency of occurrence [e.g., often, occasionally, or never]
• Checklist


  A fixed-alternative question that allows the respondent to provide multiple answers to a single question by checking off items
• There should be no overlap among categories in the checklist—each alternative should be mutually exclusive
• The researcher should strive to ensure that there are sufficient response choices to include almost all possible answers
• Including a category lower or higher than the answers you expect often helps to negate the potential bias caused by respondents avoiding an extreme category
• Questions for mail, Internet, and telephone surveys must be less complex than those used in personal interviews
• Questionnaires for telephone and personal interviews should be written in a conversational style
• Avoid complexity: Simpler language is better
• Avoid leading and loaded questions
• Avoid ambiguity: Be as specific as possible
• Avoid double-barreled items
• Avoid making assumptions
• Avoid burdensome questions that may tax the respondent's memory
• Double-Barreled Question


  A question that may induce bias because it covers two issues at once
• Avoiding Mistakes


  • Avoid making assumptions
  • Avoid burdensome questions that may tax the respondent's memory
• Unaided Recall


  Asking respondents to remember something without providing any clue
• Aided-Recall


  Asking the respondent to remember something and giving them a clue
• Avoiding Taxing Respondents' Memory


  • Unaided Recall Questions
  • Aided-Recall Questions
  • Telescoping
  • Squishing
• Anchoring Effect


  The first concept measured tends to become a comparison point from which subsequent evaluations are made
• Randomized Response Techniques


  Randomly assigning respondents to answer either the question of interest (embarrassing) or a mundane question free from the possibility of embarrassment
• Survey Flow


  • Ordering of questions
  • Filter Question
  • Breakoff
• Order Bias


  Bias caused by the influence of earlier questions in a questionnaire or by an answer's position in a set of answers
• Funnel Technique


  Asking general questions before specific questions in order to obtain unbiased responses
• Filter Question


  A question that screens out respondents who are not qualified to answer a second question
• Pivot Question


  A filter question used to determine which version of a second question will be asked
• Traditional Questionnaires


  • Multiple-Grid Question
• A good layout is neat and attractive, and the instructions for the interviewer should be easy to follow