Survey Questionnaire Design

Designing Effective Survey Questionnaires

• The wording of survey questions and response categories significantly impacts the quality of the information collected.
• Fixed-alternative questions, such as providing options for gender, generally yield more accurate responses compared to open-ended questions.
• Skilled researchers tailor questions and response options based on both the research topic and respondent characteristics.
• Clear instructions for completing the questionnaire are crucial, including guidance on filling in blanks, circling responses, or using codes to indicate answers.
• The length of the questionnaire is an important consideration, as it must capture all necessary information while respecting respondents' time.
• The appearance of the questionnaire is essential; a professional and easy-to-read format encourages completion.
• A cover letter or introductory statement emphasizing the survey's importance and ensuring confidentiality can encourage honest and complete responses.
• Ethical considerations dictate that researchers must abide by statements regarding anonymity and the use of survey results.
• Instructions for returning mailed questionnaires, including time frames and self-addressed envelopes, should be included in the cover letter.
• Online questionnaires also require clear instructions for submission, typically provided after the respondent clicks "submit."
• Researchers should clearly identify themselves and their institutional affiliation in the survey materials, including a complete signature block.
• Expressing gratitude for respondents' time and cooperation is an important final step in survey design.

Critiques of Online Surveys

• Online surveys allow researchers to target specific demographics
• Some criticism of online surveys is based on representativeness
• Certain groups like the poor, homeless, and elderly may not have internet access
• Sampling for online surveys can be challenging
• Identifying potential respondents in online communities may be difficult
• Regular contributors, sporadic participants, and lurkers can all participate in online surveys
• Information on online community members may be questionable if registration is not required
• Establishing a population for the sampling frame is difficult for many online communities
• Obtaining a membership email list from online community managers may have its own issues
• Self-selection bias can lead to systematic bias in online surveys
• Motivated individuals on platforms such as MTurk may limit the generalizability of study findings
• Researchers can attempt to overcome issues by developing rapport with online community members

Informal Interviews in Exploratory Studies

• Informal interviews are used in exploratory studies to gather more detailed or extensive information than structured interviews.
• These interviews use open-ended questions and the order of questions may not be completely predetermined.
• They provide insightful, extensive information about research topics, emotions, and attitudes of the respondent.
• Informal interviews are commonly used in qualitative research strategies, especially in criminal justice research.
• Interviews may include both highly structured questions and open-ended ones.
• The researcher must focus on establishing rapport with respondents, determining the truthfulness of responses, and using the right questioning techniques.
• Steps to establish rapport include producing credentials, answering questions about the research project, and assuring confidentiality.
• The interviewer's personal appearance and presentation significantly impact the rapport with the respondents.
• Maintaining a neutral attitude towards the issues is crucial for the interviewer, to avoid influencing the respondent's answers.
• The interviewer needs to probe to learn the basis for, and truthfulness of, responses without suggesting any particular response to the interviewee.
• An example of conducting interviews involved in-depth interviews with 86 active armed robbers recruited from the streets of St. Louis, Missouri.
• The semi-structured informal interviews focused on the offenders’ thoughts prior to, during, and after robberies and were left open-ended, taped, and transcribed for analysis.