Elizabeth School of London

LO1: Proposal of individual project

Module Name – Individual Project in Business

Module Code – U10477
Week 9
Individual Project
in Business
WEEK 9: DEVELOPING A
QUESTIONNAIRE
Three very useful books:
1. Pears & Shield, Cite Them
Right
2. Cottrell, Study Skills
Handbook
3. Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill,
Research Methods for
Business Students

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Learning outcome

We will be discussing:

• How to develop a questionnaire

• The different types of questionnaire

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What is a Questionnaire?
• A tool for collecting information to
describe, compare, or explain an
event or situation, as well as
knowledge, attitudes, behaviors,
and/or socio-demographic
characteristics on a particular
target group.

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Before the Design of
Questionnaire
Your approach should take consideration of:
• Your topic
• Who you want survey
• The type of information you want
• Your budget
• How quickly you need the information

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Questionnaire Design
• Questionnaire design is a systematic process in which
the researcher contemplates various question formats,
considers several factors characterising the survey at
hand, ultimately words the various questions very
carefully, and organises the questionnaire’s layout.

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Procedure for Development
• Specify what information will be sought
• Determine the type of questionnaire and method of
administration
• Determine the content of individual questions
• Determine the form of response to each question
• Determine the wording of each question

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Types of Questions in a
Questionnaire
• Open questions
 more information but difficult to
codify, enter, and analyse

• Closed questions
 less information but easy to codify,
enter, and analyse

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Open-ended questions
• Click the above link to find out more
• Help collect qualitative data in a questionnaire where the
respondent can answer in a free form with little to no
restrictions.
 What are your expectations/requirements for this product
(information gathering)
 What do you see as the next action steps? (qualifying)
 What’s the most important priority to you with this? Why?
(establishing report)
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Close-ended questions
They are a multiple-choice questions type in which a
respondent must select one (single select multiple choice
question) or many (multiselect multiple choice question)
responses from a given list of options.
Have you been stressed lately?
 Yes
 No

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Types of Multiple Choice
Questions
Likert Scale

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Types of Multiple Choice
Questions
Checklist type

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Types of Multiple Choice
Questions
Rank Order

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Types of Multiple Choice
Questions
Rating Scale

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 u ha d
rink yo
first d
at w a s the
Common Wh
today
?
mistakes  Tea
o ffe e
 C
What might be wrong W a ter

with this question? c e t oday
 Jui h a d a d rin k
av e n ’t )
 H e st ate
(ple a s
th e r
Need to cover  O
all options

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Common mistakes
What might be What is your age group?
wrong with this
0-18 18-30 30-45 45+
question? 

Options should 0-18 19-30 31-45 46+

be mutually 
exclusive.

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Common mistakes
What might be What did you think about the
wrong with this waiting time?
question? Excellent Very Good Average Poor
good

Options
should be ‘Good’ responses ‘Bad’
balanced response

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Common mistakes
What might be How would you rate the
wrong with this appointment booking service
question? using the:
Good Average Poor N/A
Website
Use opt-out Phone
responses Reception
appropriately

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Demographics
• Need to know how opinions and behaviors vary across
different categories of people: such things as
 Gender, age
 Income, education levels
 Political beliefs
• Put at end of instrument
 Easy to answer

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Types of questionnaire

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Self-Completed
• Respondents complete on their own
• Best designed for
 Measuring variables with numerous values or response
categories
 Investigating attitudes and opinions not usually observable
 Describing characteristics of a large population
 Studying ‘private’ or ‘difficult’ behaviors

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Self-Completed
• Closed-ended items limit the researcher
 Adjust for differences in respondents
 Clarify misunderstood items
 Explain ambiguity

• Not suitable for all audiences

 Young children
 Visually impaired
 Learning/reading disabilities

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How To Obtain Valid Information
 Ask purposeful questions
 Ask concrete questions
 Use time periods based on importance of the questions
 Use conventional language
 Use complete sentences
 Use shorter questions

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How To Obtain Valid Information
 Avoid abbreviations
 Avoid two-edged questions
 Avoid negative questions
 Adopt/adapt questions used successfully in other
questionnaires

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Words to Avoid in Questionnaire
Development
• These words: all, any, anybody, best, ever, every, never,
etc. are all EXTREME ABSOLUTES…
• They place respondents in a situation where they must
either fully agree or they must completely disagree with
the extreme position in the question.
 Do you always observe traffic signs?
 Would you say all cats have four legs?

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Computer Assisted and Web-
Based • Way to create and administer self-
administered questionnaires
• Marketing researchers find response rates
increase
 This is not across the board
• Questionnaires (especially short ones) can be
sent via email
 Or provide internet link to site which hosts survey
• Maybe less time and costs
• Access is a huge issue

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Interviews
• Reading questionnaire items in a face-to-face or telephone
situation
• Unstructured or in-depth
 Suited for exploratory research
 Either with one person or in focus groups
 Open-ended items
 Cannot standardise
 Good for complex situations

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Interviews
• Response rates tend to be highest with face-to-face
interviews
• Issues
 More time
 Smaller samples
 Higher cost

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Telephone
• Most popular
 Less costly
 Less time
 Less subjective to interviewer
 As compared to face-to-face
• Often conducted with computers
• Can probe for information/clarification
• Threshold about 20 minutes

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Constructions
• Regardless of survey type, construct in a way
 Allows for candid answers
 Accurately
 Consistently
 Addresses goals, hypotheses, research questions

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Instructions
• Beginning of each section, should include clear
instructions
• Disclose needed information for respondents to decide
whether to complete the survey
• Tell whether
 Anonymous: no names or IDs
 Confidential: names or IDs, not attached responses

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Instructions
• Give an information about questionnaire time
• Be consistent with instructions and format
 A little variation might break up ‘routine’
• Avoid ambiguity, confusion, and vagueness
 Make sure it is clear what you are asking and how you want it
answered.
 Avoid indefinite words or response categories.

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Instructions
• Avoid asking questions beyond a respondent's capabilities
 People have cognitive limitations, especially when it comes to
memory of past events.
 It is pointless to ask people about things that are not natural
ways for them to think.

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Online Surveying Platforms
• docs.google.com/forms
• freeonlinesurveys.com
• tr.surveymonkey.com

Copy and paste in your browser!

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 Any Questions?

THANK YOU