Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
OBJECTIVES OF A QUESTIONNAIRE
Translate the information needed into a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer To uplift, motivate, and encourage the respondent to become involved in the interview, to cooperate, and to complete the interview Questionnaires should minimize response error
Design the questions to overcome the respondents inability and unwillingness to answer
Consider the constructs [theory, hypotheses/research question developed earlier] Keep in mind the target population and ask questions appropriately (eg. Children, rural polpulation)
INDIVIDUAL QUESTION CONTENT CONT. Are several questions needed instead of one? Avoid ambiguity and double barrel questions. Are you fit and healthy? Do you prefer to patronise a department store close to your home or work?
OVERCOMING INABILITY TO ANSWER CONT. Can the respondent remember? Recency effect The ability to remember events are influenced by
the event itself time elapsed since the event presence/absence of other events that would help memory
OVERCOMING INABILITY TO ANSWER CONT. Can the respondent articulate? Respondents may be unable to describe the situation accurately Inability to articulate may lead to
OVERCOMING UNWILLINGNESS TO ANSWER CONT. Legitimate Purpose Unwilling to divulge information which they do not see as serving a legitimate purpose Sensitive information Unwilling to disclose sensitive information because this may cause embarrassment or threaten the respondents prestige/ self-image
INCREASING THE WILLINGNESS OF RESPONDENTS Place sensitive topics at the end of the questionnaire Preface the question with a statement that the behaviour of interest is common Ask the question using the 3rd person technique Provide response categories rather than asking for specific figures
CHOOSING QUESTION STRUCTURE CONT. Structured questions Specify the set of response alternatives and the response format Types: multiple-choice, dichotomous, or a scale
CHOOSING QUESTION STRUCTURE CONT. Multiple-choice questions Respondents are asked to select one or more alternative
Which of the following people had an influence on your choice of university? None Parents Friends Ex-Uni student Teachers at secondary school Careers teachers at secondary school Colleagues Other please specify.
CHOOSING QUESTION STRUCTURE CONT. Dichotomous questions Only two response alternatives
Have you stayed in Bombay? Yes No
Probably
will not buy 2
Undecided
3
Probably
will buy 4
Definitely
will buy 5
CHOOSING QUESTION STRUCTURE CONT. About structured question Can be administered quickly Coding and processing is less costly and less time consuming Effort required in designing alternatives May require exploratory research for determining choices Bias response because people pick alternatives offered
Use ordinary words Match the vocabulary level of the respondents Avoid jargon and technical marketing words
Avoid ambiguous words The word should have a single meaning which is known to the respondents
CHOOSING QUESTION WORDING CONT. Avoid leading or biasing questions Avoid clues which will lead the respondent to answer in a particular way Avoid implicit alternatives Alternatives should be explicitly stated
CHOOSING QUESTION WORDING CONT. Use dual statements positive and negative Avoid bias by altering statements
Classification
Identification
DETERMINING THE ORDER OF QUESTIONS CONT. Difficult questions Sensitive, embarrassing, complex or dull questions should be placed late in the sequence Effect on subsequent question Questions asked early in a sequence can influence the responses to subsequent questions
DETERMINING THE ORDER OF QUESTIONS CONT. Logical order All questions that deal with a particular issue/topic should be asked before proceeding to a new topic Use branching questions to direct respondents to other questions
PRE-TESTING
Testing the questionnaire on a small sample of respondents to identify and eliminate potential problems with [Question content, wording, sequence, form and layout, question difficulty, instruction] After each significant revision of the questionnaire, another pre-test should be performed with a different sample Responses obtained should be coded and analyses
OBSERVATIONAL FORMS
Specify the who, what when, where, why and way of behaviour to be observed Offers consistency, structure, completeness