Paula Harmer, Director of Institutional Research, Office of Academic AffairsNovember, 2012

Survey 101: Survey Questions and

Responses

Outline of Workshop

•Review “Why use surveys”?•Outline of survey preparation steps•Overview of question and response types •Guidelines for writing survey questions

and selecting response sets•Practicum: identify survey issues and

revise questions & responses

Fink, Arlene. How to Ask Survey Questions volume 2, Sage Publications, 2003.

Why use surveys?•Obtain feedback with a fast turnaround•Self-administered ones are resource efficient

compared to phone/in person interviews•Anonymity/confidentiality allows respondents

various levels of protection for candid responses

•Accepted research methodology for applied and academic research

•Can gather holistic feedback of total population versus a select few

Survey – Getting Ready for Launch • Step 1: Develop a purpose and specific objectives for your survey.

Examples: How satisfied are recent alumni with their educational experiences and learning support at Regis University? Does student engagement impact course learning outcomes?

• Step 2: Define the human population(s) being surveyed. Sample/whole population?

• Step 3: Select survey type. Self administered? Paper? Online? Phone? In person interviews or focus group?

• Step 4: Plan number of questions that measure objectives, and how much time respondent will have to complete survey.

• Step 5: Timing of the survey – Once? Twice? At a time point in student’s life cycle? 6 months after graduation? Pre-test/Post-test?

• Step 6: Determine security level: if survey is identifiable, anonymous, confidential

Getting Ready + Administration• Step 7: Permissions – Does the respondent population

require authorization for recruitment? Eg. Regis IRB? What level of risk do respondents have for participation, and how can you minimize that risk?

• Step 8: Survey data collection – online or paper-based surveys? Automated or manual data entry? Paper scanning?

• Step 9: Write your survey questions geared to answer the research question purpose and objectives, following writing guidelines. You MUST formulate questions so respondents may answer easily and accurately.

• Step 10: Review and test survey questions with potential respondents and content experts.

Why Questions are Critical•For self-administered surveys, you must be

sure that the questions can be understood by respondents without assistance from survey team

•Using pretested & proven questions is best•Enhances validity (are you measuring what

you think you are measuring) and reliability (if the respondent took the same survey again, would they respond the same way?)

Guidelines for Writing Survey Questions

One concept per questionIf you include more than one concept, respondents will be torn between responding to differing concepts, giving poor quality data.

Poor: How satisfied were you with the availability of faculty outside of class and opportunities to engage in research?Better: How satisfied were you with availability of faculty outside of class?

Ask Precise Questions• Logically related to survey objectives• Asks precise and unambiguous questions

Eg. Use specific time periods rather than ‘typical’Vague: How would you describe your emotional well being?Better: How would you describe your emotional well being in the past three months?

• More detail will increase reliability of answers• Respondent recall guideline: Major life events (more than

1 year is OK) versus unimportant events (less than 1 month is best)

Use simple & conventional language

• Use complete sentences• Do not confuse respondents by using disciplinary jargon or acronyms/abbreviations.

This measures comprehension, not perceptions or self-reported behavior. This is not a test!

Q: The faculty member utilized a variety of pedagogical approaches in this course.Q: The faculty member utilized a variety of teaching and learning approaches in this course.

Q: Indicate the types of learning approaches utilized in the course:LectureGroup DiscussionGamesLabSeminarCase studiesOther

Use simple & conventional language

•Avoid negative questions if possible•Avoid loaded questions if possible•Avoid biased words or phrases that

trigger emotional response

Select Open or Closed Questions• Closed questions have pre-specified responses,

are more reliable and efficient, good for ranking and rating, allows statistical analysis

• Open questions allow responses in own words, require qualitative analysis. Good for exploration or quotes Note: requires more effort to code and analyze, and fewer respondents will make the effort to respond, so don’t make the questions required to complete the survey

• Good practice to have majority closed Qs with a few open Qs

Closed Question Response Types• Categorical: responses are categories, no

numerical or preferential values, they are true or false.Eg. Male & Female; Alumni/Student/Faculty/Staff;

• Categories should be mutually exclusive; should include all possible answers (inclusive); should exhaust possible categories (exhaustive)

• Ordinal: scale highest to lowest, rate or order items Eg age categories, high-low scales, etc

• Numeric: asks for number Eg age in years

Select Best Response Sets

• Categorical response sets should be inclusive of all possible answersEg. Select the reasons you chose to enroll in your program:academic reputation/geographical location/faculty/ tuition / scholarship opportunities / other

• Categorical: It is good practice to use a ‘I don’t know/not applicable’ or ‘other’ when it makes sense to, in case a question has little or no relevance to a respondent – helps prevent survey abandonment by respondents

• On the other hand, it can encourage ‘lazy’ responses• Ordinal: Good for analysis, balances between negative and

positive responses

Ordinal Response Scales5-point scales

URL (as of Nov 28, 2012): http://www.utexas.edu/academic/ctl/assessment/iar/teaching/plan/method/survey/writing.php

Ordinal Response Scales• Use a meaningful scale• Use a balanced scale – 4 or 5 point is the ‘norm’• Provide a neutral category such a ‘Don’t Know’ only if it

makes sense

1 2 3 4 5Endorsement

Definitely true

True Don’t Know

False Definitely False

Frequency Always Very Often Sometimes Almost Never

Never

Intensity None Very Mild Mild Moderate Severe

Influence Big problem

Moderate problem

Small problem

Very small problem

No problem

Comparison Much more than others

Somewhat more than others

About the same as others

Somewhat less than others

Much less than others

Ordinal Response Scales

•Put the socially undesirable/negative response first

•Tell respondent how and where to mark the responses

•When possible, group similar questions & response scales together

•Rank order scales – best not to exceed three choices in surveys

Numeric Responses

• Responses are a number Eg. height, weight, age in years, number of books, etc.

• Numeric scales/measures are when respondents select a number along a scale, such as a pain scale from 0 (No Pain) to 10 (Worst Possible Pain).

Questions Measuring Knowledge, Behaviors and Attitudes•Attitudes are complex and challenging to

define and measure•Psychometricians use methods to examine

statistical properties of attitudes•Knowledge and behavior is differentEg What a person feels about gun control,

knows about gun control, and does about can be very different

•Finding and developing attitudinal questions and scales is hard work!

Behavioral Questions

•Measures what respondents actually do•Involve time, duration and frequency•Guideline: Major life events can be

recalled longer than one yearPoor: In the past year, which of the following items did you purchase?Better: In the past 3 months, which of the

following items did you purchase?

Knowledge Question

•A correct answer is available•Used to assess respondents’ knowledge of

a topic•For example, if knowledge of a group is

slim, an educational campaign may be warranted

Demographic information•Asking a respondent facts about age, income,

race/ethnicity, education, gender, etc.•If known, compare respondent sample with

total population to gauge ‘representativeness’•Allows comparisons Eg adult versus

traditionally-aged students•Sensitive information (Eg income) should be

asked at end of survey and should be optional

Identify Issues and Fix! ExerciseEach of the following survey questions & responses have a problem(s). Identify the problem and fix!Q1. In the past year, how many times did you buy groceries?0-1011-2021-3031-4041 or moreQ2. How frequently do you attend church services and meet with your pastor?NeverAlmost NeverSometimesVery OftenAlways

More exercisesQ3. What are the reasons you selected Regis University?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Q4. Please select the top 5 reasons why you withdrew from Regis?-Cost of tuition-Location of main campus-Better offer at another institution-Personal reasons-Financial constraints-Availability of online courses or programs-Academic challenge-Curriculum-Etc

ExercisesQ5. Rate your agreement with the following statement(s).The professor was readily available outside of class.Strongly AgreePartly AgreeAgreeDisagreeQ6. Based upon your positive experiences at Regis, how likely are you to recommend Regis to other prospective students?Very likelySomewhat likelySomewhat unlikelyVery unlikely

ExercisesQ7. Do you think the program should enhance faculty qualifications and revise the curriculum?YesNoMaybeI don’t knowQ8. What is your current annual household income?0-25,00025,000-50,00050,000-75,00075,000-100,000100,000 or over

ExercisesQ9: As a recent alumni, do you think the university should seek NCATE accreditation?•Yes•NoQ10. Select the factors you used when choosing your insurance plan.•Cost•Deductibles•Insurers’ reputation•Availability of providers in my area•Coverage•Others: _____________________

Review Offer

To assist your survey development, I will offer to review your survey questions and responses.

Paula Harmerpharmer@regis.edu303-964-5199

Exercise #2

•Develop a survey research question•Develop 4 research objectives for your

survey•Review the 10 steps and write your steps