ASSIGNMENT

OF
RESEARCH

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A questionnaire is a series of questions asked to individuals to obtain statistically useful

information about a given topic[1]. When properly constructed and responsibly administered,
questionnaires become a vital instrument by which statements can be made about specific groups
or people or entire populations.

Questionnaires are frequently used in quantitative marketing research and social research. They
are a valuable method of collecting a wide range of information from a large number of individuals,
often referred to as respondents. Adequate questionnaire construction is critical to the success
of a survey. Inappropriate questions, incorrect ordering of questions, incorrect scaling, or bad
questionnaire format can make the survey valueless, as it may not accurately reflect the views
and opinions of the participants. A useful method for checking a questionnaire and making sure it
is accurately capturing the intended information is to pretest among a smaller subset of target
respondents.

Questionnaire construction issues

• Know how (and whether) you will use the results of your research before you start. If, for
example, the results won't influence your decision or you can't afford to implement the
findings or the cost of the research outweighs its usefulness, then save your time and
money; don't bother doing the research.
• The research objectives and frame of reference should be defined beforehand, including the
questionnaire's context of time, budget, manpower, intrusion and privacy.
• How (randomly or not) and from where (your sampling frame) you select the respondents
will determine whether you will be able to generalize your findings to the larger population.
• The nature of the expected responses should be defined and retained for interpretation of
the responses, be it preferences (of products or services), facts, beliefs, feelings,
descriptions of past behavior, or standards of action.
• Unneeded questions are an expense to the researcher and an unwelcome imposition on the
respondents. All questions should contribute to the objective(s) of the research.
• If you "research backwards" and determine what you want to say in the report (i.e.,
Package A is more/less preferred by X% of the sample vs. Package B, and y% compared to
Package C) then even though you don't know the exact answers yet, you will be certain to
ask all the questions you need - and only the ones you need - in such a way (metrics) to
write your report.
• The topics should fit the respondents’ frame of reference. Their background may affect
their interpretation of the questions. Respondents should have enough information or
expertise to answer the questions truthfully.
• The type of scale, index, or typology to be used shall be determined.
• The level of measurement you use will determine what you can do with and conclude from
the data. If the response option is yes/no then you will only know how many or what
percent of your sample answered yes/no. You cannot, however, conclude what the average
respondent answered.
• The types of questions (closed, multiple-choice, open) should fit the statistical data analysis
techniques available and your goals.

• Questions and prepared responses to choose from should be neutral as to intended

outcome. A biased question or questionnaire encourages respondents to answer one way
rather than another. Even questions without bias may leave respondents with expectations.
• The order or “natural” grouping of questions is often relevant. Prior previous questions may
bias later questions.
• The wording should be kept simple: no technical or specialized words.
• The meaning should be clear. Ambiguous words, equivocal sentence structures and
negatives may cause misunderstanding, possibly invalidating questionnaire results. Double
negatives should be reworded as positives.

• If a survey question actually contains more than one issue, the researcher will not know
which one the respondent is answering. Care should be taken to ask one question at a time.
• The list of possible responses should be collectively exhaustive. Respondents should not
find themselves with no category that fits their situation. One solution is to use a final
category for “other ________”.
• The possible responses should also be mutually exclusive. Categories should not overlap.
Respondents should not find themselves in more than one category, for example in both
the “married” category and the “single” category - there may be need for separate
questions on marital status and living situation.

• Writing style should be conversational, yet concise and accurate and appropriate to the
target audience.
• Many people will not answer personal or intimate questions. For this reason, questions
about age, income, marital status, etc. are generally placed at the end of the survey. This
way, even if the respondent refuses to answer these "personal" questions, he/she will have
already answered the research questions.
• “Loaded” questions evoke emotional responses and may skew results.

• Presentation of the questions on the page (or computer screen) and use of white space,
colors, pictures, charts, or other graphics may affect respondent's interest or distract from
the questions.
 • Numbering of questions may be helpful.
• Questionnaires can be administered by research staff, by volunteers or self-administered by
the respondents. Clear, detailed instructions are needed in either case, matching the needs
of each audience.

Methods of collection

Method Benefits/Cautions
• This method has a low cost.
• Survey participants can choose to remain anonymous.
Postal
• It is not labour intensive.

• Questionnaires can be conducted swiftly.

• Rapport with respondents
• High response rate
• Be careful that your sampling frame (i.e., where you get the phone numbers
Telephone from) doesn't skew your sample, For example, if you select the phone
numbers from a phone book, you are necessarily excluding people who only
have a mobile phone, those who requested an unpublished phone number, and
individuals who have recently moved to the area because none of these
people will be in the book.

• This method has a low cost, and on most surveys costs nothing for the
participants and little for the surveyors.
• Questionnaires can be conducted swiftly.
• Survey participants can choose to remain anonymous.
• It is not labour intensive.
Electronic
• Questions can be more detailed, as opposed to the limits of paper or
telephones.
• This method works well if your survey contains several branching questions.
• Sample may "self select" and thus not be representative of the population.

• Questions can be more detailed, as opposed to the limits of paper or

telephones.
• Rapport with respondents
Personally
Administered • High response rate
• Usually a convenience (vs. a statistical) sample so you cannot generalize your
results.
Types of questions
1. Contingency questions - A question that is answered only if the respondent gives a
particular response to a previous question. This avoids asking questions of people that do
not apply to them (for example, asking men if they have ever been pregnant).
2. Matrix questions - Identical response categories are assigned to multiple questions. The
questions are placed one under the other, forming a matrix with response categories along
the top and a list of questions down the side. This is an efficient use of page space and
respondents’ time.
3. Closed ended questions - Respondents’ answers are limited to a fixed set of responses.
Most scales are closed ended. Other types of closed ended questions include:
• Yes/no questions - The respondent answers with a “yes” or a “no”.
• Multiple choice - The respondent has several option from which to choose.
• Scaled questions - Responses are graded on a continuum (example : rate the
appearance of the product on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most preferred
appearance). Examples of types of scales include the Likert scale, semantic
differential scale, and rank-order scale (See scale for a complete list of scaling
techniques.).
4. Open ended questions - No options or predefined categories are suggested. The
respondent supplies their own answer without being constrained by a fixed set of possible
responses. Examples of types of open ended questions include:
• Completely unstructured - For example, “What is your opinion of questionnaires?”
• Word association - Words are presented and the respondent mentions the first
word that comes to mind.
• Sentence completion - Respondents complete an incomplete sentence. For
example, “The most important consideration in my decision to buy a new house is . .
.”
• Story completion - Respondents complete an incomplete story.
• Picture completion - Respondents fill in an empty conversation balloon.
• Thematic apperception test - Respondents explain a picture or make up a story
about what they think is happening in the picture.

Question sequence

• 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.
• According to the three stage theory (also called the sandwich theory), initial questions
should be screening and rapport questions. Then in the second stage you ask all the
product specific questions. In the last stage you ask demographic questions.