Do’s and Don’ts in Designing Questionnaires

1. Be sure all answer choices are mutually exclusive.

2. Check for ambiguity in wording the question – can respondents interpret
the meaning of words differently?
3. Don’t write your questions so that you "lead" the respondent to an obvious
response.

Example 1 (Leads the Respondent): Are you in favor of forcing state, county, and
municipal employees to pay union dues to hold their government jobs?

Example 2 (Leads the Respondent): Do you feel that eliminating taxes by law is an
effective way to stop the government from picking your pocket every day?

4. Watch the use of pronouns and articles – know when to use specific vs.
nonspecific forms (e.g., "the" vs. "a").
5. Watch personal pronouns (gender references) – never use only he (his) or
she (her) unless you are referring to a specific gender.
6. Don’t shorten questions that refer to previous questions; repeat the
reference.
7. Don’t let questions about knowledge provide the answer you are seeking
(e.g., Are you aware that xyz program exists?). Obviously, the question indicates that
it does exist.
8. Don’t ask respondents to perform arithmetic computations; instead ask for
factual information and make the calculations during the analysis.
9. Write specific rather than general questions and word them so that they
communicate uniform meaning.

Example 1 (Too General): Did you vote in the primary election?

Example 2 (More Specific): Did you vote in the 1988 Presidential election, the one
that took place in the Spring of 1988?

10. Avoid using double negatives – these are especially possible when using
Agree/Disagree.

Example 1 (Double Negative): Indicate if you agree or disagree. A chemical used in

food production that has a negligible cancer risk should be prohibited even though it
delays spoilage, prevents rancidity, or prolongs storage time.

11. "Don’t know" is generally not offered as an answer choice; however, there
may be times when "no opinion" should be offered.
12. Offering a middle choice makes less difference to those who feel strongly
about an issue, but if you offer a middle choice, more people will select it. One
solution to the middle choice is to ask two questions – the first to identify the
respondent’s position on an issue and the second to measure intensity.

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Example 1 (Identify Respondent’s Position): Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the
prices of meals in your student union?

a. Satisfied (Skip to 2)
b. Dissatisfied (Skip to 3)
c. Makes no difference

Example 2 (Additional Question to Measure Intensity): Are you ______

a. Very satisfied
b. Somewhat satisfied
c. Slightly satisfied

Example 3 (Additional Question to Measure Intensity): Are you _______

a. Very dissatisfied
b. Somewhat dissatisfied
c. Slightly dissatisfied

1. Before the "official" pretest, try out your questionnaire on a few members of the
target population.
2. If there are many changes as a result of the "official" pretest, be sure to conduct a
second pretest before beginning main study data collection.

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