QUESTIONNAI RE AND INSTRUMENTS

A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis .of the responses

 It is a list of questions designed to collect specific information. It is used for research work by scientists, businesses, and political parties, among others.

 Keep it short and simple Keep it clean and visually appealing Keep questions brief and easy to understand Use open-ended questions appropriately Avoid using leading questions Avoid using compound questions

 Avoid using ambiguous questions Avoid using unanswerable questions Avoid hypothetical or future intention questions (if possible) Be careful with response scales Always pre-test your questionnaire

 Questions should flow logically from one to the next. The researcher must ensure that the answer to a question is not influenced by previous questions. Questions should flow from the more general to the more specific. Questions should flow from the least sensitive to the most sensitive.

 Questions should flow from factual and behavioural questions to attitudinal and opinion questions. Questions should flow from unaided to aided questions. Then in the second stage you ask all the product specific questions. In the last stage you ask demographic questions.

 It is the main means of collecting quantitative primary data It enables quantitative data to be collected in a standardized way so that the data are internally consistent and coherent for analysis It ensures standardization and comparability of the data across interviewers It increases speed and accuracy of recording It facilitates data processing

 A well-designed questionnaire efficiently collects the required data with a minimum number of errors. It facilitates the coding and capture of data and it leads to an overall reduction in the cost and time associated with data collection and processing. The biggest challenge in developing a questionnaire is to translate the objectives of the survey into a wellconceptualized and methodologically sound study.

 The researcher must determine what should be included in each question. This involves a determination of whether a question is necessary and whether more than one question is needed to obtain the information in an unambiguous way.

 1. Decide the information required.

2. Define the target respondents. 3. Choose the method(s) of reaching your target respondents. 4. Decide on question content.

5. Develop the question wording.

6. Put questions into a meaningful order and format. 7. Check the length of the questionnaire.

8. Pre-test the questionnaire.

9. Develop the final survey form.

Open format question Closed format question Leading Questions Importance Questions Likert Questions Dichotomous Questions Bipolar Questions Rating Scale Questions Buying Propensity Questions

 Open questions give respondents an opportunity to answer the question in their own words. there are no predetermined set of responses and the person is free to answer however he/she chooses. By including open format questions in your questionnaire, you can get true, insightful and even unexpected suggestions. Qualitative questions fall under the category of open format questions.

 Closed format questions are questions that include multiple choice answers.These multiple choices could either be in even numbers or in odd numbers. By this you can easily calculate statistical data and percentages. Preliminary analysis can also be performed with ease. Closed format questions can be asked to different groups at different intervals. This can enable you to efficiently track opinion over time.

 Leading questions are questions that force your audience for a particular type of answer. In a leading question, all the answers would be equally likely. An example of a leading question would be a question that would have choices such as, fair, good, great, poor, superb, excellent etc. By asking a question and then giving answers such as these, you will be able to get an opinion from your audience.

 In importance questions, the respondents are usually asked to rate the importance of a particular issue, on a rating scale of 1-5. These questions can help you grasp what are the things that hold importance to your respondents. Importance questions can also help you make business critical decisions.

 Likert questions can help you ascertain how strongly your respondent agrees with a particular statement. Likert questions can also help you assess how your customers feel towards a certain issue, product or service.

 Dichotomous questions are simple questions that ask respondents to just answer yes or no. One major drawback of a dichotomous question is that it cannot analyze any of the answers between yes and no

 Bipolar questions are questions that have two extreme answers. The respondent is asked to mark his/her responses between the two opposite ends of the scale.

 In rating scale questions, the respondent is asked to rate a particular issue on a scale that ranges from poor to good. Rating scale questions usually have an even number of choices, so that respondents are not given the choice of an middle option.

 Buying propensity questions are questions that try to assess the future intentions of customers. These questions ask respondents if they want to buy a particular product, what requirements they want to be addressed and whether they would buy such a product in the future.

 Embarrassing Questions

Positive/ Negative Connotation Questions

Hypothetical Questions

 Embarrassing questions are questions that ask respondents details about personal and private matters. Embarrassing questions are mostly avoided because you would lose the trust of your respondents. Your respondents might also feel uncomfortable to answer such questions and might refuse to answer your questionnaire.

 While defining a question, strong negative or positive overtones must be avoided. Depending on the positive or negative connotation of your question, you will get different data. Ideal questions should have neutral or subtle overtones.

 Hypothetical questions are questions that are based on speculation and fantasy.Questions such as theses, forces the respondent to give his or her ideas on a particular subject. However, these kinds of questions will not give you consistent or clear data.

 The rating scales are used to make very important decisions not only about decisions regarding products, but even critical decisions about public policy. It is hoped that researchers will be especially careful to ensure that their scales are as objective and unbiased as possible

1 .As an overall performance scale ("Overall how would you rate") with choices such as 1. Very good 2.Good 3.Average 4. bad 2. As an expectations scale ("Overall, compared with what you expected, how would you rate") with choices such as 1.much better than expected 2.better than expected 3 .about as expected 3. As an improvement scale ("Indicate the amount of improvement, if any, is needed") 1.none 2.slight 3.some 4.much 5.huge

 Practical Large amounts of information can be collected from a large number of people in a short period of time and in a relatively cost effective way Can be carried out by the researcher or by any number of people with limited affect to its validity and reliability The results of the questionnaires can usually be quickly and easily quantified by either a researcher or through the use of a software package Can be analysed more 'scientifically' and objectively than other forms of research When data has been quantified, it can be used to

 Is argued to be inadequate to understand some forms of information - i.e. changes of emotions, behaviour, feelings etc. Limited information Lacks validity There is no way to tell how truthful a respondent is being There is no way of telling how much thought a respondent has put in The respondent may be forgetful or not thinking within the full context of the situation People may read differently into each question and therefore reply based on their own interpretation of

 Question categories and structure Question content Question wording Response strategy

 Questionnaire and interview scheduldes can range from those that have a great deal of structure to those that are essentially unstructured,the 3 categories are 1. Administrative questions 2. Classification questions 3. Target questions (structured or unstructured)

 Question content is first and foremost dictated by investigative questions guiding the study. for these, Q designers craft or borrow the target and classification questions that will be asked of participants 1. Should this question be asked? 2. Is the question of proper scope and coverage? 3. Can the participant adequately answer this? 4. Will the participant willingly answer this question?

 Lack of shared vocabulary The difficulty of understanding long and complex questions Problem with phrases Unsupported assumption Personalisation Adequate alternatives

 The third major decision area in question design which includes unstructured response and structured response that is open-ended response and closed response

 Free- response strategy Dichotomous response strategy Multiple- choice response strategy Check list response strategy Rating response strategy Ranking response strategy

 The tools of data collection should be adapted for this sources ie ; crafting an instrument to answer specific questions,but inventing, refining and pretesting questions demand time and effort.

1. Develop the participant screening process with personal or phone surveys 2. Arrange the measurement question sequence 3. Prepare and insert instructions 4. Create and insert a conclusion 5. Pretest specific questions and the

1. Awaken interest and motivation The question process must quickly awaken interest and motivate the participant to participate in the interview. 2. Sensitive and ego-involving The participant should not be confronted by early request for personal information or ego- threatening

3.Simple to complex The process should begin with simple items and then move to the more complex as well as move from general to specific 4.Question group and transition change in the frame of reference should small and should be clearly pointed out.use transition statements bw different topics of the target question set

 Build rapport with participant Redesign the questioning process Use methods other than surveying to secure the data Pretest all the survey elements

1. Discovering way to increase participant interest 2. Increasing the likelihood that they will remain engaged to complexion of the survey 3. Discover question content,wording and sequencing problems 4. Discovering target question groups where researcher training is needed 5. Exploring ways to improve the quality of

 Personal interviews Telephone interviews Self-completed Other methods

 Face-to-face: involves trained interviewers visiting people to collect questionnaire data. It is a good approach for ensuring a high response rate to a sample survey or census, and trained interviewers gather better quality data. Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI): is a form of personal interviewing, but instead of completing a questionnaire, the interviewer brings along a laptop or hand-held computer to

 Telephone: involves trained interviewers phoning people to collect questionnaire data. This method is quicker and less expensive than face-to-face interviewing. Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI the interviewer keying respondent answers directly into a computer. This saves time involved in processing data, but can be

 Mail survey It is a relatively inexpensive method of collecting data, and one that can distribute large numbers of questionnaires in a short time. It provides the opportunity to contact hard-toreach people, and respondents are able to complete the questionnaire in their own time. Mail surveys do require an up-to-date list of names and addresses, however. In addition, there is also the need to keep the questionnaire simple and straightforward.

 A major disadvantage of a mail survey is that it usually has lower response rates than other data collection methods. This may lead to problems with data quality. Also, people with a limited ability to read or write English or French may experience problems.

 a self-enumerated survey where questionnaires are hand-delivered to people and mailed back by the respondent after completion. This method usually results in better response rates than a mail survey, and is particularly suitable when information is needed from several household members

 Electronic Data Reporting (EDR) it gives the respondents the option of choosing how they would like to report the data: filling out the usual paper questionnaire or using the electronic version. The Internet: The growing popularity of the Internet brought a major shift in Electronic Data Reporting (EDR). It is hard to find a quick and easy way of reporting answers through