DESIGNS, TESTS AND

REVISES SURVEY
QUESTIONNAIRES
Objective:

Designs, tests and revises

survey questionnaires.
Vocabulary List:
⮚ Questionnaire – a written document
containing questions and other types of
items designed to solicit information
appropriate to analysis.
⮚ Survey Research - the collection of
information from a sample of
individuals through their responses to
questions or statements
Pre-Test
At this point, you are going to
check how much you know so far
about designing, revising and
testing a questionnaire. Write your
answers on a separate sheet of
paper or in your notebook. Are you
ready
Directions: Write T if the statement is True and
F if it is False
1.A questionnaire is the same as a survey.
2.When a staff handed you a piece of paper
that asks you to choose a smiley to express
how you feel about their service is an
example of a survey question.
3.A questionnaire should be anchored on the
research problem.
4.In designing a questionnaire, a researcher
can always include all the questions that
6. It is always good to appeal to the emotions of the
respondents in creating questions.
7. Arrangement of questions does not matter as long as
it will provide the information needed from the
respondents.
8. Always use multiple choice type of questions or close-
ended questions to be able to gather data easily.
9. A questionnaire can be compared to a newly sewn
dress that needs to be fitted before finally giving to a
customer.
10. Testing and revising a questionnaire can be ignored
as long as the design of the questionnaire hits the
Have you experienced entering a
restaurant or a café and you were asked
to answer a series of questions about your
experience at that place or their service?

There are some places where all you need

is to choose the type of smiley that speaks
of how you feel after your experience at
their place. These are examples of simple
A questionnaire is a structured
series of questions designed to collect
primary data from respondents. A
well-designed questionnaire motivates
respondents to provide accurate and
complete information which is very
helpful in attaining the survey’s
objective. (QuickMBA.com, n.d.)
DESIGNING A
QUESTIONNAIRE
Here are the
suggested steps on
how to develop a
questionnaire:
(Adapted from
QuickMBA.com
QUESTION WORDING
BASIC
1. Write short and simple questions
Respondents are often unwilling to
study an item in order to understand
it. Assume that respondents will
answer the questionnaire quickly.
Therefore, provide clear, short items
that will not be.
Example: Given the current trend of more
hits, more home runs, longer games in
general, and more injuries in baseball today,
do you think that steroid use should continue
to be banned even though it is not enforced?
*Problem: Long questions can be confusing
Better question: Steroid use has both
positive and negative effects on baseball. Do
you think that steroid use should be
banned?"
2. Avoid leading questions,
wording that influences
respondents to consider a subject
in a weighted manner, or injects a
preference or opinion.
Example: Do you hate the
president of the Philippines?”
Why is this leading?
Who do you think of when you hear COVID -19?
a.China
b.Pres. Duterte
c.Chinese
d.Lockdown

Why is this leading? Because it forces the

respondent to answer one of these choices,
even if none of them comes to mind. What
makes our product better than our competitors’
3. Appropriately Open-Ended and
Closed-Ended Questions
Use open-ended questions when
responses need to be elaborated by
the respondents for exhaustive and
comprehensive data gathering.
They’re more suited to exploratory
research that looks to describe a
subject based on
Closed-Ended questions are popular
because they provide greater uniformity or
responses and are easily processed
compared to open-ended questions.
However, closed-ended questions the
response categories should be exhaustive
and mutually exclusive. In other words, all
possible options should be provided.
Example: Why do you play sports?
1. Enjoyment 2. Health
4. Questions must be non-
threatening and attempt to evoke
the truth. Example: Who do you
think consume more cigarettes: you
or your friends?
When a respondent is concerned
about the consequences of
answering a question in a particular
manner, there is a good possibility
5. Question Clarity
Avoid ambiguities and vague words (e.g.
usual, regular, normal)

Example: What is your number of serving of

eggs in a typical day?

Problem: How many eggs constitute a

serving? What does ‘a typical day mean?
Better question: On days you eat eggs, how many
eggs do you usually consume?
Do you watch television regularly?
*Vague questions are difficult to answer (what is the
meaning of "regularly"?)

Better question: How often do you watch Television?"

Note: Questions should mean the same thing to all

respondents. All the terms should be understandable
or defined, time periods specified, complex questions
asked in multiple stage
6. Don’t use double-barrelled questions
Ask one question at a time. Avoid asking 2 questions,
imposing unwarranted assumptions, or hidden
contingencies. Whenever you use ‘and’ on a question
or a statement, check if it is double-barrelled.

Example: Do you find the classes you took during your

first semester in SHS more demanding and interesting
than your JHS classes?

◦Yes
◦No
7. Clearly define the response scale dimension or
continuum.
When using a response scale, clearly define the dimension
or continuum respondents are to use in their rating task

Example: Response categories - Make them logical and

meaningful:

NOT: Many......Some.......A Few......Very Few.....None

DO a Bipolar or Unipolar rating scale: Bipolar measures both

direction and intensity of an attitude: Unipolar scale
measures one concept with varying
8. Minimize presuppositions – an
assumption about the world whose
truth is taken for granted.

Answering a question implies

accepting its presuppositions, a
respondent may be led to provide an
answer even if its presuppositions are
false
Example: Are you a NLV or a Green?
Problem: presupposes that one of the alternatives is
true.

What are your usual hours of work?”

Problem: Does respondent have usual hours of work?

Better Question: What are your usual hours of work,

or do you not have usual hours?
Remember: Each question should have a specific
purpose or should not be included in the
questionnaire.
TYPE OF QUESTIONS AND ITS USAGE
1. Open-Ended Best Used for:
o Breaking the ice in an interview
o When respondent’s own words are important
o When the researcher does not know all the possible
answers Example: What changes do you recommend
for the school to do in order to help students perform
better?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
____________________________________
2. Closed-Ended Best Used for:
● Collecting rank ordered data
● When all response choices are known
● When quantitative statistical tool
results are desired Example: In which of
the following do you live?
o A house
o An apartment
o A condo unit
Other forms closed-ended questions:
a. Likert-Scale
Best Used for: Assessing a person’s opinion and
feelings about something
Example:
Please circle the way you feel about the
following:
1 = Disagree 5 = Agree
b. Multiple Choice Best Used for:
● When there are finite number of options

Which of the following best describes your

current civil status?
Widowed Divorced

Single Married
c. Rating Scales Best Used for:
● Rate things in relation to other things

Example
How likely would you recommend the
current strand you are enrolled in to your
friend?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
d. Ranking Questions
Best Used for:
● Ordering answer choices by way of preference. This
allows you to not only understand how respondents feel
about each answer option, but it also helps you
understand each one’s relative popularity.
Rank the following subjects in order of preference – 1
being your favorite and 5 being your least favorite.
ENGLISH SOCIAL

MATH MUSIC, ARTS, PE AND HEALTH

SCIENCE TLE

FILIPINO EDUKASYON SA PAGPAPAKATA

ORDERING THE QUESTIONS (Adapted from
Contemporary Communication Research by Smith,
M.J., 1988)
1.Adapt a general organizational pattern that
complements a survey’s research objectives. Two
general patterns:
o Funnel pattern – begins with broad questions
followed by progressively narrower or more
specific ones
o Inverted pattern – narrowly focused questions
are followed by more general ones.
2. Topically related questions should be grouped
together. A researcher should group together
questions pertinent to a single topic then move to
another topic. It is easier for the answer questions
this way.
3. Easy-to-answer questions should be placed
first. Easy questions serve as motivation.
4. Questions should be ordered to avoid
establishing a response bias.
*Response Bias – a tendency of a respondent to
answer all closed-questions the same way
Some Practical Tips on Testing a Questionnaire:
(Adapted from tools4dev.org)
1.Find 5 to 10 people from your target group
2.Ask them to complete the survey while thinking out
loud. *take note of their opinions and feedback
3. Observe how they complete the survey. *note their
hesitations or where they made mistakes in
answering. This is an indication that the survey
questions and layout are not clear enough and needs
improvement.
Look at this example:
4. Make improvements based on the results. Quick
tips before you finish the module:
✔ All questionnaires need an introduction. Be sure
to have one.
✔ It is useful to begin every questionnaire with basic
instructions for completing it.
✔ The format of a questionnaire is as important as
the wording and ordering. Be sure that it is spread
out and uncluttered.
✔ Physical aspects such as page layout, font type
and size, questions spacing, and the type of paper
should be considered.
Directions: Here is an example of a Survey Questionnaire. Analyze
the content and answer the questions that follow. (Taken from
Practical Research 2 for Senior High School: Quantitative)
Title: Students Satisfaction on Student Services in a Private
Secondary School
Dear Student, Thank you for being a respondent for this
survey. Please help us improve our services by completing this
survey.

Very Satisfied
1. What is your overall satisfaction rating with our school services?
Somewhat Satisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
2. Please explain your answer
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

3. Please rate your level of satisfaction in the quality of student services

provided by your school. 5 – Very satisfied 4 – Somewhat satisfied 3 –
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 2 – Somewhat dissatisfied 1 – Very
dissatisfied 5 4 3 2 1
Registrar’s Offic
Canteen
Student Information System
Comfort Room
Classroom Ventilation
Cashier’s Office
College/Department Staff
4. Please rate the following personal goals of
going to Senior High School (SHS) in order of
importance from 1 to 6 with 1 indicating most
important goal, 2 second most important goal
and so on.
_______________ To pursue college education
_______________ To be employed after graduation
_______________ To enhance my self-esteem
______________ To become a useful citizen
_______________To be socially and intellectually
mature
Questions: (Write your answers in a
separate sheet of paper or in your
notebook.)
1.What is the purpose of the survey
questionnaire above?
2.What type of questions were used in the
questionnaire?
3.In question no 4, is the given options
enough? Why or who
4. If you were to use a questionnaire with
 Practice Task 2
Directions: Here are some survey questions from a
questionnaire. Examine them closely and identify
whether they are acceptable or not. Write A for
acceptable. For any non-acceptable question, revise
the question to make it acceptable. Write your
answers on a separate sheet of paper or in your
notebook.
Example: (for non-acceptable) Question: Was the
school facility not unclean? Revision: How would
you rate the cleanliness of the school facility?
1.How awesome is the service provided?
2. Where do you enjoy drinking milk tea?
3.How would you rate the preparedness and rescue
mission?
4.What device do you usually use to check your
email?
A. Computer | B. Mobile Phone | C. Tablet | D. iPad
5.How was our service today?
Okay | Good | Fantastic | Unforgettable | Mind-
blowing
 A B C D Strongly
6. Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Agree
Agree Agree Disagree
Students treat
one another with
respect.

7. What Senior High School Track are you currently

enrolled in?
a. Academic b. TVL c. Arts and Design d. Sports

8. Which of the following options best describes your

employment status?
o Employed (Full-time) o Employed (Part-time) o
Homemaker o Retired o Not currently employed
9. Who did you purchase the product
for?
1. Self 2. Family member 3. Friend 4.
Colleague 5. Others, please specify
______________________
10. Does Research contribute to your
stress/anxiety level?
1 2 3 4 Not at all Absolutely
Practice Task 3
Directions: Make up several (5 to 10)
questionnaire items that measures the people’s
feelings regarding the action of the
government towards COVID 19 pandemic.
Write your answers on a separate sheet of
paper or in your notebook
Post-Test
Directions: Read each question
carefully and choose the correct
answer. Write your answers in a
separate sheet of paper or in your
notebook.
1. A questionnaire is defined by the following except:
a. to gather data from respondents
b. translates the research problem into questions that
will answered by respondents
c. wording, appearance and flow of questions fosters
cooperation and motivate the respondents to
answer
d. a tool designed to control data for a survey
2. A well-designed
questionnaire needs to be as
short as possible.
a. True
b. b. False
3. What is the first step in designing a
survey questionnaire?
a. Pre-testing
b. Identifying the respondents
c. Identifying the research problem
d. Identifying the type of questions to
be us
4. Which of the following is considered a good
questionnaire item?
a. How long does it take you to walk and run
around the court?
b. If you were the President, what will you do
to combat the COVID Pandemic?
c. How much did you enjoy the reading the
new novel?
d. Rate your experience in the service provide
5. Study the questionnaire item below and
choose the correct statement that describes
the question.
a. The question assumes that the respondent
gets stressed at work.
b. It is a double-barreled question since work
and the park are two separate places.
c. It is an open-ended question and will be hard
to quantify.
d. There is nothing wrong with the question.
6. If you want to know how the students
feel about the new rules and regulations
set by your organization, what type of
questions will you most likely use?
a. Likert-Scale
b. Multiple Choice
c. Ranking
d. Open-ended
7. “How much is your ‘baon’ every day?” If you were
to revise this question, how should it be?
a. Do your parents give you ‘baon’? Yes No
b. I will provide options so that the respondent will
not feel embarrassed Example: Our parents does not
give us money as ‘baon’. Php 1.00 – 49.99 Php 50.00 –
99.99 Php 100.00 - above
c. I will not include this question in my questionnaire
because it is not necessary.
d. There is no need to revise this question because it
will give the information I need.
8. Participants in a pre-test should be:
a.Representative of the target
population under study
b.Friends and relatives
c. Other survey researchers
d.Individuals from outside the
population under
9. In testing your questionnaire, why is it
necessary to observe where the respondents
changed their mind in answering?
a. It will show what items needs revision.
b. It will reveal some items that might be
confusing so they hesitated or change
their minds.
c. It will help the researcher understand why
the items might be confusing.
d. All of the above
10. Now that you have all the questions
ready, reviewed, and sequenced, which of the
following do you still need to consider?
a. the type of paper where it will be printed
b. writing an introduction and instructions
c. the format of the question items
d. all of the above
Assignment/Additional Activities

Find a questionnaire in a magazine or

newspaper or from the internet. Critique
at least five of the questions for their
strengths and weakness