Questionnaire Design Process
Commonly there are 7 steps in questionnaire design process which are:
1. Specify the information needed.
In this step we need to ensure that the information obtained fully address all the components of the problem. List all problems and all possible questions. In this step you also must already have a clear idea of the target population.
2. Specify the type of questionnaire administering method.
We have discussed about survey methods before. You can choose one or two of them.
3. Determine the content of individual questions.
From the list of questions before, you should choose some that are really necessary for you research. Do not use double-barreled questions.
4. Design the questions to overcome the respondent’s inability and unwillingness to answer
Before you start questioning them,you should first give them information about your research i.e. your general identity, the goals that you are trying to achieve from this questionnaire, how to answer the questions, etc. You also need to make an agreement with your respondents. Second, avoid errors of omission, telescoping, and creation. Third, put more attention to the efford required by your respondents to answer, and do not deny any sensitive questions. For sensitive questions you may need special treatment as shown bellow:
- Place sensitive topics at the end of the questionnaire.
- Preface the question with a statement that the behavior of interest is common.
- Ask the question using the third-person technique.
- Hide the question in a group of other questions that respondents are willing to answer.
- Provide response categories rather than asking for specific figures.
- Use randomized techniques, if appropriate.
5. Decide on the question structure.
When we talk about question structure, we will talk about whether we use open-ended question or close-ended question. If we intend to explore all information from our respondents, we can use open-ended question structure i.e. a type of questions that let respondents give answer without limitation. Here are some examples of open-ended questions:
What is your opinion about brand X?
What do you know about Collaborating Forest Management Program?
What is your expectation from this CSR program?
Close-ended question is a type question structure that ask respondents to choose one or some answer choices given. This type of question structure is apropriate for quantitative research. There are four types of close-ended question as stated below:
1. Simple-dichotomy question. It is a question that only provide two answer options, such as “yes” or “no” answer, but sometimes there is option “do not know”.
Example : Have you ever heard about brand X?
a. Yes
b. No
2. Determinant-choice question. It is type of question that requires respondents to choose only one from multiple choices given.
Example :
What’s become your main consideration in buying a notebook?
a. Functional specification
b. Appearance
c. Price
d. After purchase services
e. Other :........
Both simple dichotomy and determinant choices have same weakness that is it may let you miss any important answer which is not covered in choices we give. To overcome that problem, we can put an option “other: .......” as shown above. Respondents are asked to fill the blanks by their own words.
3. Frequency-determination question. This is a type of question that questioning about frequency of doing something.
Example :
How often do you update your Twitter?
a. Once a day
b. 2 – 3 times a day
c. 4 – 5 times a day
d. More than five times a day
4. Scale. We can also adopt questions from research scaling, such as: Likert scale, semantic differential, staple scale, etc. You could learn them again at measurement and scaling: part 2.
Example :
Do you intend to buy a new notebook with brand X within the next six months?
Definitely will Probably will Undecided Probably Definitely will buy not buy not but will buy
1 2 3 4 5
5. Checklist question. This type of questions that let respondents to choose more that one choices that describe them the most.
Example :
Which product categories of XYZ cosmetic that you use in this last three months? You could choose more than one answer.
o Compact powder
o Moisturizer
o Face cleanser
o Lipstick
o Mascara
o Eyeliner
6. Determine the question wording
As I said before, question wording is very crucial in designing questionnaire because it will determine whether our questionnaires are valid or not. You can see read tips for wording questions.
7. Arrange questions in proper order
Here are some common rules in questions order:
- The opening questions should be interesting, simple, and nonthreatening.
- Qualifying questions should serve as the opening questions.
- Basic information should be obtained first, followed by classification, and, finally, identification information.
- Difficult, sensitive, or complex questions should be placed late in the sequence.
No comments:
Post a Comment