Chapter 10Questionnaire Design

Chapter Objectives

• explain why it is important for managers or business researchers to know how to design good questionnaires

• identify the types of information included in a questionnaire • design questionnaires to tap different variables• evaluate questionnaires, distinguishing the ‘good’ and

‘bad’ questions therein • identify and minimise the biases in collecting data with

questionnaires • discuss how a pilot study can be used to prove the

structure of a questionnaire• discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different

ways of administering questionnaires

Why are questionnaires important?

Managers and business practitioners must:• have a working knowledge of the common

business research processes • with limited knowledge they could run a high

risk of potential litigation • be aware of the weaknesses of the resultant

data from that limited questionnaire • be able to understand & intepret the analysis• need to know when to call in experts to provide

assistance

Definition of a Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a pre-formulated written set of questions to which respondents record their answers, usually within closely defined alternatives

Example of a Questionnaire

When to Use a Questionnaire

• When the researcher knows precisely what information is needed

• When large numbers of people are to be reached in different geographical regions

• When groups of people can be assembled in a convenient location (eg conference rooms) to whom questionnaires can be administered, and collected immediately

Advantages of Questionnaires

• Helps a researcher or manager obtain data fairly easily

• Information from questionnaires is easily coded

• Benefits the scientific community if the measures are well validated and reliable

• Often is a catharsis for respondents

Impact of Other Aspects of a Survey on Questionnaire Design

Principles of Questionnaire Design

• Principles of wording

• Principles of measurement

• General appearance

• Questionnaire administration & testing

Principles of Wording

To minimise bias:• Content and purpose of questions• Language and wording of the questionnaire• Type and form of questions• Biases in questions• Sequencing of questions• Classification data or personal information

Content and Purpose of Questions

To get at objective facts or subjective feelings and perceptions?

Language and Wording of the Questionnaire

• Would the respondent understand the words in the questionnaire?

• Are the questions ambiguous?• Are there double-barrelled questions?• Are the questions leading?• Are there recall-dependent questions?• Any social desirability?• Does the length of the question exceed 20

words or one line of print?

Type of Questions

• Open-ended questions• Freedom to answer the question any way one wants• Could pose problems for researcher in coding the

response

• Closed questions– Alternatives that are mutually exclusive and

collectively exhaustive, given• Respondent can make a quick decision• Easy to intepret and code

Form of Questions

Should be positively and negatively worded to reduce response bias or halo effects

Sequencing of Questions

The Funnel Approach

• From general to specific questions

• From easy to difficult questions

The Funnel Approach

Classification Data – Personal Information or Demographic Data

Decisions on:• Name, number required? (anonymity)• What info required? (income, marital status,

etc needed?)• Age, income, etc, should a range be given? If

so, what are the appropriate ranges?– Eg, <20, 20 – 40, >40

• Should personal info be at beginning or end of questionnaire?

General Appearance of the Questionnaire

• Introduction to respondents

• Instructions and organising questions

• Demographic data

• Sensitive personal data

• Open-ended question at end

• Concluding the questionnaire

Introduction to respondents

• identity of researcher• purpose of survey• establish rapport• motivate repsondents• confidentiality & anonymity• summarised results• distribution and/or publication of results• courteous note, thanks

Pre-testing Questionnaires

• Face validity• Content validity• Pilot study

– With sample of respondents from target population– Ideal research design

• Factor analysis

– Reality – less than ideal– Collecting and analysing data

• Eg, SPSS or Excel

Gathering the Data

• Personally administered questionnaires

• Mail questionnaires

• Electronic questionnaires

Multimethods of Data Collection

Data from different sources and through different methods could improve the “goodness” of the data

• Interview• Observation• Questionnaire• Same source and other source data• Objective measures (physical measurement,

counting, etc)– Eg, performance data – get from all the above

sources. See how they correlate.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Personal or Face-to-face Inteviews