Questionnaire & Form Design

Questionnaire Definition
• A questionnaire is a formalized set of
questions for obtaining information
from respondents.
 Characteristics of Questionnaire

1. It must be simple. The respondents should

be able to understand the questions

2. It must generate replies that can be easily

be recorded by the interviewer

3. It should be specific, so as to allow the

interviewer to keep the interview to the point

4. It should be well arranged, to facilitate

analysis and interpretation
 Process Of Questionnaire Designing
The following are the 7 steps involved in designing a
questionnaire:
3
1 2 Decide on the type of
Determine what What type of questions
information is needed questionnaire to be used

5 4
6 Decide on the wording of
Deciding on the layout
Pre-test questions

7
Revise and prepare final
questionnaire
 A researcher has to take many decisions before
framing the actual questionnaire.

These decisions relate to the information required, the

target respondents and the choice of interviewing
techniques.
Preliminary Decisions
Required information:
The researcher is expected to know and
understand the survey’s objectives before
he or she can take further steps. In framing
a questionnaire, the researcher must ensure
that the questions are designed to draw
information that will fulfill research
objectives.
 Target Respondents

• Before going to the actual survey, the

researcher must make sure of the target
population for the survey.

• For example, in case of Business research, a

researcher has to decide whether to include
both users and non-users of a product or
service.
 Interviewing Technique
• In developing a questionnaire, a lot depends
on the choice of interviewing technique.

• The format and type of questions will be

different for personal interviews, focus
groups, telephonic interviews and mailed
questionnaires.

•A questionnaire designed for direct

interviewing cannot be used for a survey
through mail.
Reducing Question Complexity by Providing Fewer Responses for
Telephone Interviews
 Question Content

• A clear definition of the problem and the objectives

framed thereafter, play a major role in deciding the
content of the questions.
 Five Major Questions while Deciding the
Question Content

• What is the utility of the data collected?

• How effective is a question in eliciting the required

data?

• Can the respondent answer the question accurately?

• Is the respondent willing to answer the question

accurately?

• What is the chance of the responses being influenced

by external events?
 The Utility of the Data

• A researcher should ensure that each question in the

questionnaire contributes to the survey.

• Every question needs to be screened before it is added

to the questionnaire.
Effectiveness Producing Data:

The question should be effective enough to

extract the required information from the
interviewee.
The Participant’s Ability to Answer Accurately:

It is necessary that respondents understand the

question in a way that the researcher wants. This will
eliminate the probability of potentially incorrect
responses.

A respondent’s inability to answer a question may arise

from three sources.

• Genuine ignorance about the topic.

• Inability to recollect the answer.
• Inability to verbalize the response.
The Respondent’s Willingness to Answer
Accurately:

A respondent’s unwillingness to answer a

specific question can result in item non-
response (where the respondent completes
the rest of the questions other than those
he or she is uncomfortable with), refusal to
complete the rest of the questionnaire or
deliberate falsification.
Example

“would you resort to stealing things in a supermarket if

you knew there were no hidden cameras?”
Effect of external events:

Sometimes the respondent’s answer to a

particular question is exaggerated or
understated due to the interference of
external events.

Example:
A questionnaire designed to find the
potential pitfalls for a big apparel
showroom that is to come up in a business
district investigated the shopping patterns
of women by asking them “how many
times did you go shopping in the past
one week?” the survey was conducted
just after a week of heavy rain in the
Guidelines for Constructing Questions
• Avoid complexity: Simpler language is better.
• Avoid leading and loaded questions.
• Avoid ambiguity: Be as specific as possible.
• Avoid double-barreled items.
• Avoid making assumptions.
• Avoid burdensome questions that may tax the respondent’s memory.
• Make certain questions generate variance.
 Criteria for Questionnaire Selection

• Population characteristics

• Population spread

• Study area
Response Format

Two popular response formats

are:

• Open-ended questions
• Close-ended questions
Open-ended questions
• A type of a question that requires participants to
respond in his/her own words without being
restricted to pre-defined response choices is known as
an open-ended question.
• They are also called infinite response or unsaturated
type questions.
• Open-ended questions are structured in themselves.
• Although they probe for unstructured responses,
there is a definite structure in the arrangement of
questions in the questionnaire.

Contd…….
Contd……….
• Open-ended questions act as memory
prompts, as they at times require the
respondent to recollect past experiences.
• The interviewer should refrain from making
suggestions. He should rather invite the
participant to use his/her own choice of
words to answer.
• The interviewer should get the respondent
to talk as much as possible and record
answers in the same words used by the
interviewee.
• Open ended questions are useful
when the respondent is able to
provide a narrative answer.
• Free Response
• Probing
• Projective
 Free Response:
• Free- response questions typically fluctuate
in the degree of freedom they give to the
interviewee. For example:
• What do you think of the performance of
the Indian Cricket team in the recent
Match?
• How would you evaluate Dhoni’s
performance in the test match?
• The second question seeks a more
directive response about a particular
member of the Indian Cricket rather than
asking about the whole team.
Type of questions
Open ended questions
What is your age?

How would you evaluate the work done by the present government?

How much orange juice does this bottle contain?

What is your reaction to this new custard powder?

Why do you smoke Gold Flake cigarettes?

Which is your favorite TV serial?

What training program have you last attended?

With whom in your work group do you interact with after office hours?
 Probing:
• Probing open-ended questions are those
where the actual open-ended questions are
reached a little later in the process.
Consider the following example.
Which brand of soft drink do you like? Coke
or Pepsi?
Ans. Pepsi
Why do you prefer Pepsi to Coke ?
Ans. I like the taste.
 Projective:

• A vague question or stimulus used by the researcher to

project a person’s attitudes from the responses is
known as a projective open-ended question. Such
questions are preliminary used in projective techniques.
Word Association
EXAMPLE
STIMULUS MRS. M MRS. C
washday everyday ironing
fresh and sweet clean
pure air soiled
scrub don't; husband does clean
filth this neighborhood dirt
bubbles bath soap and water
family squabbles children
towels dirty wash
A Cartoon Test
Sears

Let’s see if we can

pick up some house
wares at Sears
 Close-ended questions
• Questions, which restrict the interviewee’s
answers to pre-defined response options,
are called close-ended questions.
• Close-ended questions give respondents a
finite set of specified responses to choose
from.
• Such questions are deemed appropriate
when the respondent has a specific answer
to give (for example, gender), when the
researcher has a pre-defined set of answers
in mind, when detailed narrative
information is not needed or when there is
a finite number of ways to answer a
question.
Close-ended questions.

• Binary
• Ranking questions
• Multiple choice
• Checklist
Dichotomous or Binary Questions

Do you intend to buy a new car within

the next six months?
_____ Yes
_____ No
 Type of questions

Closed ended questions

Dichotomous questions

Are you diabetic? Yes / No

Have you read the new book by Dan Brown? Yes/no

What kind of petrol do you use in your car? Normal/Premium

What kind of cola do you drink? Normal/diet

Your working hours in the organization are fixed/ flexible

Multiple-Choice Questions

Do you intend to buy a new car within

the next six months?
____ Definitely will not buy
____ Probably will not buy
____ Undecided
____ Probably will buy
____ Definitely will buy
____ Other (please specify)
 Multiple choice questions

You do not currently sell organic food products because

- You do not know about organic food products.

- You are not interested.
- You are interested but you do not know how to procure it.
- It is not profitable.
-The customer demand is too low
- any other--------------------
Ranking Question
• Please rank order the following department stores in order of
your preference to shop at these stores. Begin by picking
out the one store that you like most and assign it a number
1. Then find the second most preferred department store
and assign it a number 2. Continue this procedure until you
have ranked all the stores in order of preference. The least
preferred store should be assigned a rank of 10. No two
stores should receive the same rank number.
Store Rank Order
 
1.Big Bazaar ____________
2.Food World ____________
.
.
10. Reliance Fresh ____________
Checklist Question
please check all the departments from
“which you purchased merchandise on your
most recent shopping trip to a department
store. (Tick as many of the following as apply)

1. Women's dresses ____

2. Men's apparel ____
3. Children's apparel ____
4. Cosmetics ____
5. Jewelry ____
6. Other (please specify) ____
 Question Wording
Designing questionnaires can be an exercise in
effective cross-communication, as it tests the
communication abilities of the person framing them.

The effective translation of the desired question

content into appropriate words does the trick in
gathering responses.

Questions tend to get longer to be explicit, present

alternatives and explain meanings. Lack of
appropriate words can result in inappropriate
answers or a slight mistake can be annoying and
cause potential problems in data analysis, resulting
in incorrect results.
Guidelines for Developing the Questionnaire:

• Shared vocabulary
• Unsupported assumptions
• Frame of reference
• Biased wording
• Adequate alternatives
• Double barreled questions
• Generalizations and Estimates
Shared Vocabulary:

• An interview of any kind is mostly an

exchange of ideas between the interviewer
and the interviewee.
• This exchange takes place mostly through
words. This makes it imperative for the
interactive language to be kept simple and
easily understood by both parties. A couple
of things are worth ensuring in this respect.
• First, the involvement usage of technical
language has to be dealt with carefully.
• This is necessary as using highly technical
language in the questions may create
understanding problems for both the
interviewer and the interviewee.
• The second issue is the appropriate choice
of words.
• It is not enough to ensure that the words
are simple. It also has to be seen that the
words are not ambiguous or vague.
Unsupported Assumptions:
• Questionnaires should avoid the use of
implicit assumptions for better response
rates.
• A questionnaire should not contain
questions framed on assumptions that are
not explained in the questions.
• A question should not leave anything for
the respondents and the audience to
interpret.
• The question should be supported with
valid assumptions that would make it
clearer to the audience.
 “Would you favor a ban on
overcrowding of buses?”

This is sure to provide an inflated estimate

of the public’s demand, unless the
assumption “even if it means an
increase in bus fares?” is added.

When the assumption is explicit in the

question itself, it tends to produce the right
estimates of the demand for products.
Frame of Reference:

•A single word can have several

connotations under different situations.

• Words such as ‘often’ and ‘regularly’ can

mean different time frames for different
individuals. The word ‘capacity’, for
example can mean very different things to
an industrialist and an educator.

• But, the framework of social desirability

makes the interviewer extend a common
frame of reference to the participants.
• The interviewer assumes that the interviewee has
understood the question in its denotative terms and
qualifies the answer as valid.

• This is a mistake as the respondent might have

answered the question using an individual frame rather
than from the interviewer’s point of view.
Biased Wording:
Questionnaires should avoid the use of biased
wording.

This tends to influence the responses of the

participants in predetermined ways. Biased
and loaded words tend to be to emotionally
colored, eliciting automatic feelings of
approval; or disapproval.

They make participants aware of the desired

response, thereby taking the focus away from
the actual response.
For example :

A question to a factory employee, “would

you favor the replacement of manual
labor by machinery?” is sure to receive a
negative response.
A way of asking the question to read the
sub-conscious mind of the employee would
be, “How do you think the introduction
of machines would affect laborers in a
factory?”
• Similarly, a question in a customer feedback form” How
satisfied are you with the service provided at our
restaurant?” is biased as the question implies that the
customer is already satisfied and asks them to grade
the service.
• The question should rather be phrased, “How satisfied
or dissatisfied are you with the service provided
at our restaurant?” thereby avoiding bias.
Adequate Alternatives:

• Questionnaire should give a sufficient

number of alternative answers to each
question.

• This too helps in avoiding bias in

responses. Alternatives should be explicit
rather than implicit.

• This gives respondents the freedom to

choose among alternatives rather than
delve into their own mind to recollect
responses.
• For example, consider the following question:
“How often do you purchase stock?”
a. seldom
b. occasionally
c. frequently
Double-barreled Questions:

• Questionnaires should avoid asking double-barreled

questions like;

“Do you like fuel-efficient cars with comfortable seats?”

This is actually a combination of two questions.

• It does not distinguish between people who prefer cars

due to their fuel-efficiency and people who prefer a car
for its comfortable seats or other competing reasons.

• Such questions can be easily dividend into two different

questions. Answers to double-barreled questions will be
ambiguous because two or more ideas are included.
Generalizations and Estimates:

• Questionnaire should be structured to

avoid generalizations and estimates.

• It is seen that when respondents are asked

for the frequency of a particular activity
over a longer period, they tend to provide
generalizations and estimates rather than
the actual figures.

• This trend can be reduced by changing the

time reference point to a more specific
base.
• Answers that require calculations by the respondent
should also be avoided.

• Minimal necessary information can be gathered and

then the calculations should be made by the interviewer
Questionnaire Sequence

• The structure of a questionnaire is an

important aspect in questionnaire design.
• The questionnaire structure is framed
depending upon whether it is self-
administered or the administration is
facilitated by an interviewer.
• Questionnaire structure pertains to proper
sequencing for better and effective
responses.
• The sequencing tends to drive the interview through a
‘funnel-shaped’ process, starting with general questions
and progressing to more specific ones.
• The interviewer, before moving to sequential steps,
gives a brief introduction about the survey’s basic
purpose and maintain client confidentiality.
The sequencing is explained through the following
steps:
• Lead-in questions
• Qualifying questions
• Warm-up questions
• Specific questions
• Demographic questions
 Lead-in Questions:
• This is the introductory phase of the interview and consists
of tactfully designed ice-breakers.

• These can prove crucial in gaining the participation’s

confidence and co-operation.

• The questions should be simple, non-threatening and not

too personal at question or a dichotomous question with
two responses. These questions measure the respondent’s
interest and willingness to respond.

• The questions can be about hot topics of the day, where

responses are of little importance to the survey. A typical
lead-in question is given below.
• Q: It is often said that the economic
condition in India is a by-product of the
political situation. Do you agree with this?
Ans. YES/NO
Qualifying Questions:

• These are questions that slowly lead to the

survey’s objective.
• This stage is characterized by questions
that evaluate the respondent and qualify
him/her for further questioning.
• Depending on the responses, the interviewer
directs the interview towards a relevant set
of questions.
• Prior to this, it should be ensured that the
interviewees are related to the survey in
some meaningful terms.
• A survey for estimating market potential for a new
fluoride-based toothpaste brand should ask qualifying
questions like the following.

Q. Which type of toothpaste do you like?

Ans. Fluoride Herbal Calcium

Depending upon the interviewee’s response, the

interviewer can further give directions to the next
questions.
Warm-up Questions:
• This stage plays on the respondent’s mind by
making him/her think of certain facts related to
the survey questions.
• Questions like,
“When was the last time you bought
toothpaste?”;
“Was it fluoride content or herbal?”;
“Looking back, can you recollect how many
times you might have used fluoride
toothpastes over the last one year?”
tend to make the respondent think and
recollect past experiences.

• A person who is straightway asked such

questions may not be interested in
answering or providing details, but after a
series of lead-in and qualifying questions,
the resistance slowly decreases and gives
way to co-operation.
Specific Questions:

• This stage consists of questions that are

specific to the research objectives.
• As such, they are asked of participants who
show a favorable response or are end users of
the product, in this case, fluoride toothpastes.
• These questions tend to estimate the usage
pattern and influential factors in using fluoride
content toothpaste.
• These specific questions play a major role in
data collection and analysis.
• After ensuring that enough rapport has been
established, this section can probe to gain
further insight into sensitive issues.
 Demographic Questions:
• These are a necessary part of every survey.
• Responses to survey questions cannot be
analyzed until they are sorted out according to the
different characteristics pertaining to the study.
• This is especially true for surveys that analyze
responses based on the demographic
characteristics of respondents.
• These usually consist of a set of questions related
to age, sex, location, occupation, etc.
• These questions are kept to the end to avoid
interviewee resistance and to prevent the
interviewee’s attention from being diverted.
 Questionnaire Pre-Testing,
Revision and Final Draft
• Pre-testing refers to testing the questionnaire on a
small sample of respondents selected on a convenient
basis that is not too divergent from the actual
respondents.
• The aim is to identify and eliminate flaws and
problems.
• Pre-testing includes testing all aspects of the
questionnaire starting from the question content to
question sequence.
• This helps reveal incomprehensible meanings, wrong
order of questions, leading questions and awkward
responses.
• No matter what the final mode of administration is,
pre-testing should be done by personal interviews.
 Contd….
• This will facilitate interviewers to observe
respondents’ reactions and attitudes, giving them a
first hand experience of the potential problems and
the data that can be expected from a questionnaire.

• The responses gathered from pre-testing are coded to

facilitate analysis. Pre-testing enables the researcher
to revise the questionnaire by identifying flaws and
eliminating any ambiguous questions.

• It also helps researchers to verify if interviewers use

proper sample selection procedures.