Creating Questionnaires

• This text details how to create a questionnaire, from planning to final testing
• There are nine steps

Questionnaire Design Steps

• Specify information required
• Determine type and method
• Determine question content
• Determine form of response
• Determine question wording
• Determine question sequence
• Determine the physical characteristics
• Reexamine and revise
• Pretest

Specifying Information

• The questionnaire should only ask questions needed to answer the research problem
• Questionnaires are more useful if they are both relevant and give highly accurate information
• Research goals can often be framed as hypotheses that show a relationship between variables.
• It is important to plan what questions and measurement scales will be used based on the type of statistical analysis performed

Types of Questionnaires and Surveys

• The type of survey depends on the respondents and information needed.
• Personal interviews are used for open-ended and exploratory studies when visuals or product interaction are required.
• Telephone interviews work best for surveys that are short and quick to conduct.
• Online and mail questionnaires work well for acquiring data on sensitive topics.

Question Content

• Is the question necessary?
• Should several questions be used instead of one?
• Does the participant have the information to answer the question?
• Will respondents answer truthfully and freely?

Response Formats

• Open-ended questions allow respondents to answer freely, but are prone to a variety of biases
• Dichotomous questions are fixed-alternative questions that require the respondent to choose one of two options.
• Determinant choice questions are fixed alternative questions that require respondents to choose one response out of multiple options.
• Frequency determination questions entail fixed-alternative questions that ask how often something occurs.
• Checklist questions entail fixed-alternative questions that allow respondents to choose multiple answers to a a single question.

Question Wording

• Use simple language to avoid complexity
• Avoid leading or loaded questions
• Be as specific as possible to escape ambiguity
• Always use one question per item
• Do not assume knowledge or familiarity with the subject
• Avoid overburdening respondent memory

Question Order

• The order of questions impacts willingness to participate
• Questions about demographics may cause embarrassment and reduce participation, so should be placed at the end
• Previous questions may bias later responses
• Funnel technique = General to specific questions
• Filter questions = Screen out unqualified respondents
• Branch questions = Determines which version of a question is answered

Questionnaire Attributes

• The layout and attractiveness of a questionnaire are essential, especially for mail, internet, and self-administered questionnaires.
• Layout problems can affect survey flow, especially in online questionnaires, because of discrepancies in screen configuration or poorly used buttons.

Re-Examine and Revise

• Researchers should review a questionnaire after the first draft
• Pilot testing on a sample from the target demographic should confirm if the responses support the research goal

Pretesting

• Exposes questionnaire flaws
• Tests sampling procedure, interviewer performance, and procedural efficiency
• Gives indication of response/completion rates
• Ensure the questionnaire can be completed by interviewers
• Flow is natural and conversational
• Questions are clear and easy to understand
• Respondents can answer questions with ease
• Determines which question approaches work best

Global Markets

• Account for cultural factors in questionnaire design
• Translation to other languages is a common issue
• “Back translation” is a method of confirming translation fidelity, where the translated document is translated back to the original language by a second translator and compared for accuracy