Define Questionnaire

Questionnaire is a structured
technique i.e. a set of
questions to collect data or
information
from
the
respondents which may be
written/printed or verbal. It is
a research instrument. It serves
four basic purposes: to (i)
collect the appropriate data,
(ii) make data comparable and
agreeable to analysis, (iii)
minimize bias in formulating
and asking question, and (iv)
to make questions engaging
and varied.
Define Double-barreled
Question with Example
A double-barreled question is
a single question in which asks
about more than one issue, but
only allows for one answer.
Double-barreled
questions
result in confusion and
inaccuracies in the answer
received because there is no
indication of which issue in
the double-barreled question
the respondent is answering.
For Example, Do you think
Coca-cola is a tasty and
refreshing soft drink? In case
of answer No its difficult to
understand that what the
respondents mean; not tasty or
not refreshing or neither tasty
nor refreshing.
Define Funnel Approach
Funnel approach is a way of
ordering questions in a
questionnaire
where
the
specific questions are asked
before the general questions.
The approach can be useful
where respondents do not have
strong feelings or a general
view on a subject. This
ordering avoids the responses
to specific questions biasing
the answers to general
questions.
Define Leading or Biasing
Question
A leading question is one that
clues the respondent to what
answer is desired or leads the
respondent to answer in a
certain way. Some respondents
have a tendency to agree with
whatever way the question is
leading them to answer. This
tendency is known as yea
saying and results in a bias
called acquiescence bias.
Bias may also arise when
respondents are given clues
about the sponsor of the
project as respondents tend to
respond favorably toward the
sponsor.

How to Overcome the

Unwillingness of Respondents
to Answer
There are usually four key
reasons why respondents
sometimes
dont
answer
questions in surveys. The
situations and ways to
overcome are as under:
1. Its too much effort:
Most
respondents
are
unwilling to apply a lot of
effort to provide information,
unless they are provided with
an incentive to do so. Suppose
to know in which galleries the
respondent went to recently.
This information can be
obtained in one of two ways.
The researcher could ask the
respondent to list all of the
things they saw at the gallery,
or the researcher could provide
a list of exhibitions and ask the
respondent
to
tick
the
applicable ones. The second
option is preferable because it
requires less effort from
respondents.
2.The context is not explained:
Some questions may seem
appropriate in certain contexts
but not in others. Respondents
are unwilling to respond to
questions that they consider
inappropriate for the given
context.
Sometimes
the
researcher can manipulate the
context in which the questions
are asked so that the questions
can seem appropriate.
The purpose doesnt
seem legitimate:
Respondents can be reticent to
disclose information they do
not see as serving a legitimate
purpose. Explaining why the
data is needed can make the
request for the information
seem rightful and increase the
respondents willingness to
answer.
3.The information
sensitive:

is

too

There can be unwillingness for

respondents
to
disclose

Guideline to Overcome the

Unwillingness of Respondents
to Answer
The followings guidelines may
be
followed
to
avoid
unwillingness of respondents
to answer questionnaire:
Define the Issue: A question
should clearly define the issue
being addressed to define the
issues in terms of 6 Ws i.e.
Who, What, When, Where,
Why and Way can serve as
guidelines for defining the
issue in a question.
Use ordinary Words: Ordinary
words should be used in a
questionnaire and they should
match the vocabulary level of
the respondents.
Use Unambiguous (definite)
Words: The words used in a
questionnaire should have a
single meaning that is known
to the respondents.
Avoid leading or Biased
Questions: A leading question
is one that leads the
respondent to a certain way
which results a biased
response. This is known as
Yea Saying. At the time of
preparing the questionnaire
such kind of leading question
should be avoided.
Avoid Implicit Alternatives:
An alternative that is explicitly
expressed in the options is an
implicit alternative. Questions
with implicit alternatives
should be avoided unless there
are specific reasons for
including them. In which the
alternative appear, the split
ballot technique should be
used to rotate the order.
Avoid Implicit Assumptions:
Questions should not be
worded so that the answer is
dependent
upon
implicit
assumptions about what will
happen as a consequence.
Avoid Generalizations &
Estimates: Questions should
be specific, not general.
Moreover, questions should be
worded so that the respondent
does not have to make
generalizations or compute
estimates.
Dual Statements- Positive &
Negative: Particularly in case
of measuring attitudes &
lifestyle, its better to use dual
statements, some of which are
positive and the others are
negative.

Define Population, Census,

Sample, Target Population,
Sampling Unit, Sampling
Frame with Example
Population:
A population is the aggregate
of all the elements that share
some
common
set
of
characteristics
and
that
comprise the universe for the
purpose for the marketing
research
problem.
The
population parameters are
typically numbers such as the
proportion of consumers who
are loyal to a particular brand.
Census:
A census is an official
enumeration of the elements of
a population with details as to
age, sex, occupation, etc.
Sample:
A sample is a subgroup of a
population
selected
for
preparation in a specific study.
Sample characteristics or
statistics are then use to make
inferences
about
the
population parameters.
Target Population:
The target population is the
collection of elements or
objects that possess the
information required by the
researcher and about which
inferences are to be made. The
target population must be
defined preciously.
Sampling Unit:
A sampling unit is an element
or a unit containing the
element that is available for
selection at some stage of the
sampling process.
Sampling Frame:
A sampling frame is a
representation of the elements
of the target population. It
consists of a set of directions
for
identifying
target
population. For example, a
sampling frame includes the
Telephone Book.
Describe the Sampling Design
Process
The following are some of the
important steps that one needs
to keep in mind when
developing a sample design:
The first step in sampling is to
define the target population of
interest. The accuracy of the
results in any study depends
on how clearly the target
population of interest is
defined. It can be finite or
infinite, depending on the
number of items it contains.
Once the sample is correctly
defined, the researcher needs

Deciding
about
the
technique of sampling is
the next step in sample
design. There are many
sampling techniques out
of which the researchers
has to choose the one
which
gives
lowest
sampling error, given
the sample size and
budgetary constraints.
Determination of sample
size is the next step to
follow. This is the most
critical stage of the
sample design process
because the sample size
should
not
be
excessively large nor it
should be too small. It is
desired that the sample
size should be optimum
and
it
should
be
representative of the
population and should
give reliable results.
The final stage is to
execute the sampling
process.
Pretesting refers to the testing
of the questionnaire on a small
sample of respondents to
identify and eliminate potential
problems.
1.A questionnaire should not
be used in the field survey
without adequate pretesting.
2.All aspects of the
questionnaire should be tested,
including question content,
wording, sequence, form and
layout, question difficulty, and
instructions.
3.The respondents for the
pretest and for the actual
survey should be drawn from
the same population.
4.Pretests are best done by
personal interviews, even if
the actual survey is to be
conducted by mail, telephone,
or electronic means, because
interviewers can observe
respondents' reactions and
attitudes.
5.After the necessary changes
have been made, another
pretest could be conducted by
mail, telephone, or electronic
means if those methods are to
be used in the actual survey.
6.A variety of interviewers
should be used for pretests.
7.The pretest sample size
varies from 15 to 30
respondents for each wave.
8.Protocol analysis and
debriefing are two commonly
used procedures in pretesting.

Describe the Classification of

Sampling Techniques
Sampling techniques may be
classified as under:
Non-probability
Sampling:
Sampling Techniques that do
not use chance selecting
procedures rather they rely on
the personal judgement of the
researcher.
Non-probability
Sampling may be classified in
to 4 waysConvenience
Sampling:
Convenience
sampling
attempts to obtain a sample of
convenient elements.
Judgmental
Sampling:
Judgmental sampling is a form
of convenience sampling in
which the population elements
are selected based on the
judgement of the researcher.
Quota
Sampling:
Quota
sampling may be viewed as 2
stage restricted judgmental
sampling. The 1st stage
consists of developing control
categories
of
population
elements. In the 2nd stage,
sample elements are selected
based on convenience or
judgement.
Snowball
Sampling:
In
snowball sampling, an initial
group of respondents selected
randomly.
Subsequent
respondents are selected based
on the referrals or information
provided by the initial
respondents.
Probability
Sampling:
A
sampling procedure in which
each element of the population
has a fixed probabilistic
chance of being selected for
the sample. Non-probability
Sampling may be classified in
to 5 waysSimple Random Sampling: In
this technique, each element in
the population has a known &
equal probability of selection.
Every element is selected
independently of every other
element and the sample is
drawn by a random procedure
from a sampling frame.
Systematic
Sampling:
A
technique in which the sample
is chosen by selecting a
random starting point & then
ith element in succession from

sensitive information, because

this may cause embarrassment
or threaten their self image. If
pressed for the answer,
respondents may give biased
responses, especially during
personal interviews.
A number of techniques may
be adopted to increase the
likelihood
of
obtaining
information that respondents
are unwilling to give.

collectively exhaustive subpopulations or cluster. Then a

random sample of cluster is
selected based on a probability
sampling technique like SRS.
For each selected cluster,
either all the elements are
included in the sample or a
sample of elements is drawn
probabilistically.
Other Sampling Techniques:
There are some other sampling
techniques like Sequential
sampling in which the
population
elements
are
sampled sequentially, data
collection and analysis done at
each stage and a decision is
made as to whether additional
population elements should be
sampled; Double sampling in
which
certain
population
elements are sampled twice.
Guide Lining for Report
Writing
The guide line for report
writing:
Readers:
A report should be written for
a specific reader(s). The report
should take into account the
readers
technical
sophistication and interest in
the project, as well as the
circumstances under which
they will read the report and
how they will use it.
Easy to Follow:
The report should be easy to
follow. It should be structured
logically and written clearly.
The material, particularly the
body of the report, should be
structured in a logical manner
so that the reader can easily
see the inherent connections
and linkages.

to obtain a sample frame. A

sample frame is a complete list
of the population from which
the sample is selected.

Limitations & Caveats

All
marketing
research
projects
have
limitations
caused by time, budget, and
other
organizational
constrains. Furthermore, the
research design adopted may
be limited in terms of the
various types of errors like
sampling error, non-sampling
error etc. and some of these
may be serious enough to
warrant discussion. So, this
section of a report should be
written with great care and a
balanced perspective. On one
hand, the researcher must
make sure that management
does not excessively rely on
the results or use them for
unplanned purpose, such as
projecting them to unplanned
populations. On the other
hand, this section should not
erode their confidence in the
research or unduly minimize
its importance.
Format of a Report
Most formal research reports
include most of the following
elements:
Prefatory Part
a. Title page
b. Letter of transmittal
c. Letter of authorization
d. Table of contents
e. List of tables
f. List of graphs
g. List of appendices
h .List of exhibits
i. Executive summary
1. Major findings,
2.Conclusion
3.Recommendation.
Main Body

1.Problem definition
a.Background to the
problem
b.Statement
of
the
problem
Approach
to
the
problem
Research design
a. Type of research
design
b. Information needs
c. Data collection from
secondary sources
d. Data collection from
primary sources
e. Scaling techniques
f.
Questionnaire

Principles of Tell Em
The Tell Em principle is an
effective
guideline
for
structuring a presentation. This
principle states:
Tell em what you are going
to tell em.
Tell em
Tell em what you have told
em
Principles of Kiss Em
The Kiss Em principle is an
effective
guideline
for
structuring a presentation. This
principle states: Keep It
Simple & Straightforward
(KISS).

9.Finally, the responses

obtained from the pretest
should be coded and analyzed.

the sampling frame.

Stratified
Sampling:
A
technique that uses a 2 step
process to partition the
population
in
to
subpopulations
or
section.
Elements are selected from
each level by a random
procedure. Stratified sampling
may be Proportionate or
Disproportionate.
Cluster Sampling: In this
technique, first the target
population is divided in to
mutually exclusive and
.

Presentable & Professional

Appearance:
The
report
should
be
professionally reproduced with
quality paper, typing, and
binding.
The
typography
should be varied.
Objective:
Report writing should be
guided by its objective. The
report
should
accurately
present methodology, results,
and conclusion of the project.
The researcher must have the
courage to present and defend
the result objectively. The rule
is tell it like it is.
Reinforce Text with Tables &
Graphs:
It is important to reinforce key
information in the text with
tables, graphs, pictures, maps,
and other visual devices.
Terse:
A report should be terse &
concise. Anything unnecessary
should be omitted. If too much
information
is
included,
important points may be lost.

development
&
pretesting
g. Sampling techniques
h. Fieldwork
Data analysis
a. Methodology
b. Plan of data analysis
Results or findings
Limitations & cautions
Conclusions
&
recommendations
Appended Part
Exhibits
Questionnaire & forms
Statistical output
Lists