Chapter

Designing Your Questionnaire

What is a Questionnaire?

A questionnaire: is the vehicle used to pose the questions that the researcher wants respondents to answer.

What is a Questionnaire? cont.

Important functions: It translates research objectives into specific questions. It standardizes those questions and response categories. It fosters cooperation and keeps respondents motivated. They serve as permanent records of the research. A questionnaire may speed up the process of data analysis.

Questionnaire Design

Questionnaire design: is a systematic process in which the researcher contemplates various question formats, considers a number of factors characterizing the survey at hand, ultimately words the various questions very carefully, and organizes the questionnaires layout.

Steps in the Questionnaire Development Process (Figure 9.1)

Developing Questions

Question development: is the practice of selecting appropriate response formats and wording questions so that they are understandable, unambiguous, and unbiased.

Developing Questions cont.

Marketing research questions measure: 1. Attitudes 2. Beliefs 3. Behaviors 4. Demographics

Words to Avoid in Question Development

Four Dos of Question Wording

Question evaluation: refers to scrutinizing the wording of a question to ensure the question is not biased and is worded such that respondents understand it and can respond to it with relative ease.

Focus on a Single Issue or Topic

The researcher must stay focused on the specific issue of topic Is this good Question?

What type of hotel do you usually stay in when on a trip? When you are on a family vacation and stay in a hotel at your destination, what type of hotel do you typically use?
When do you typically go to work? At what time do you ordinarily leave home for work? 10

The Question should be brief

Unnecessary and redundant words should always be eliminated. (Especially for telephone verbal surveys) Is this good Question?
What are the considerations what would come to your mind while you are confronted with the decision to lave some type of repair done on the automatic icemaker in your refrigerator assuming that you noticed it was not making ice cubes as well as it did when you first bought it? If your icemaker was not working right, how would you correct the problem?
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The Question should be Grammatically Simple Sentence if possible Simple sentence is preferred because it has only a single subject and predicate
Would you and your spouse discuss the safety features of a new family car?

followed by
Would you discuss safety very little, some, a good deal or to a great extent?

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The Question should be Crystal Clear

All respondents should see the questions identically Is this good Question? How many children do you have? How many children under the age of 18 live with you in you home? Avoid Strange marketing words. keep simple: Price point Brand equity
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Should not Lead the Respondent to a particular answer

A leading question is worded or structured in such a way as to give to respondent a strong cue or expectation as to how to answer Is this good Question? Dont you see any problems with using your credit cart for an online purchase?

Do you see any problems with using your credit card for an online purchase?
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Should Not have Loaded wording or phrasing

????? Is this good Question? Should people be allowed to protect themselves from harm by using mace as self-defense? Do you think carrying a mace product is acceptable for people who are worried about being attached?

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Should not be Double-Barreled

A double-barreled question is really two different questions posed in one question. Is this good Question? Where you satisfied with the food and service? Which term best describes you?
Employed full-time Full-time student Part-time student Unemployed Retired

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Should not use words that overstate the condition

An overstated question is one that places undue emphases on some aspect of the topic. It uses what might be considered dramatics to describe the topic. Is this good Question? How much do you think you would pay for a pair of sunglasses that will protect your eyes from the suns harmful ultraviolet rays, which are known to cause blindness? How much would you pay for sunglasses that will protect your eyes from the suns rays?
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It is nonsensical to ask respondents questions - about details they dont recall - How many and what brands of aspirin did you see last time
you bought some? - that invite guesses - What is price per gallon on premium gasoline at the Exxon station on the corner? - that

ask them to predict their actions in circumstance they cannot think about
- How often would you go out to eat at this new, upscale restaurant that will be build 10 miles from you home?

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Questionnaire Organization

Questionnaire organization: is the sequence of statements and questions that make up the questionnaire. It is important because the questionnaire appearance and ease of flow affect the quality of the information gathered.

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Questionnaire Organization cont.

The introduction is called a cover letter if the introduction is written to accompany a mail survey or online survey. Five functions: Identifies the surveyor/sponsor Indicates the purpose of the survey Explains how the respondent was selected Requests for/provides incentive for participation Determines if respondent is suitable

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Questionnaire Organization cont.

1. It is common to introduce yourself at the beginning of a survey

Sponsors name can be presented or not;

2. The General purpose of the survey should be described clearly and simply
If actual purpose of the survey is to determine the banks image relative to that of its competitors you can just say: We are conducting a survey on customers; perceptions of financial institutions in this are

3. Prospective respondents must be made aware of how and why they were selected; (Why me)
Telling respondents that they were selected at random usually is sufficient; If not random you should inform them as to which method was used;

4. You must ask prospective respondents for their participation in the survey
Will you please take five minutes to complete the attached questionnaire etc
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Incentives

Incentives: are offers to do something for the respondent to increase the probability that the respondent will participate in the survey. Incentives may be monetary or non-monetary. Anonymity: respondent assured name not identified Confidentiality: respondents name is known by the researcher but not divulged to a third party Both are used as non-monetary incentives to increase participation
Do we need contact information of respondent? why?
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Screening Questions

5. Screening questions: are used to ferret out respondents who do not meet research study qualifications. Research objectives should specify who should and should not be included in the research study.
During introduction, when screening question should be asked?

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Question Flow

Question flow: pertains to the sequencing of questions or blocks of questions. Warm-up questions Transitions Skip questions Classification and demographic questions

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Question Flow cont.

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MRA 9.1

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MRA 9.1 cont.

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MRA 9.1 cont.

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MRA 9.1 cont.

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MRA 9.1 cont.

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MRA 9.1 cont.

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Precoding the Questionnaire

Precoding: questions refers to the placement of numbers on the question responses to facilitate data entry after the survey.
All that apply questions are slightly complicated they are normally coded as 0 or 1 and every response category is coded.

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Computer-Assisted Questionnaire Design

Computer-assisted questionnaire design: refers to software programs that allow researchers to use computer technology to develop and disseminate questionnaires and, in some cases, to retrieve and analyze data gathered by the questionnaire. Functions include: Questionnaire creation Data collection and creation of data files Data analysis and graphs

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Performing the Pretest of the Questionnaire

A pretest: involves conducting a dry run of the survey on a small, representative set of respondents in order to reveal questionnaire errors before the survey is launched. It is important to pretest on respondents that are representative of the target population to be studied.

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