A form containing a set of questions asked to respondents, and designed as a way of gathering information for a survey.

It serves four basic purposes :

to collect the appropriate data

to make data comparable and amenable to analysis

to minimize bias in formulating and asking question

to make questions engaging and varied

It can be a modified instrument or, an intact instrument that someone else has already implemented or, an original document

Decide what information you need to collect for your survey

Clarification of purpose and objectives helps to gain a focus on specific information required from the research.

A good questionnaire should meet the research questions and research purpose / objectives.

Each question in the questionnaire should thus be directly linked to the research question(s) and the purpose /objectives.

Define the target population – who do you wish to target?

Provide a clear, concise and unambiguous formulation of who the target population is, i.e. who the intended study is aimed at.

A clear description of the target population allows the researcher to ask relevant background questions and to formulate the questions in such a way that it is understood by the respondents.

Formulate the questions in order to answer the research question(s)

List ALL the information needed to be able to answer all the research question(s)

Scrutinise the existing body of knowledge, e.g. available questionnaires or articles regarding similar studies in order to select questions that are relevant for your purposes

Adapt and refine the available questions

Formulate your own questions where necessary

Decide on the appropriate level of measurement for each question

Determine the appropriate statistical techniques to be used.

Organise the questions

Questions should be organised in logical order e.g. background questions in the same section; opinion-related questions dealing with the same topic in a separate section, etc.

It is often a good idea to start with a question that is non- threatening, yet interesting to the respondent.

Provide Clear and Easy- to – Read Instruction to the questions.

Consult experts

Once you have a first draft of the questionnaire:

Consult experts in the specific field of study to ascertain their opinion whether you have addressed all relevant issues and formulated the questions in an understandable and unambiguous way

Consult an expert in questionnaire design to assist with the formulation of the questions and the response format.

Do a pilot study among a small group of respondents similar to those in the target population

A pilot study is imperative in any study since it

Enables the researcher to identify and rectify problems prior to the survey being conducted.

Provides an indication of the response rate that can be expected.

Adhere to ethical standards

The rights of respondents as human beings should be respected at all times (Cohen, Manion & Morrison 2004). This implies that:

The decision to take part in a survey (by completing the questionnaire) remains the choice of the respondent .

A respondent should be given the option to withdraw from the study at any time

A respondent cannot be coerced into providing information, especially not information that may be perceived as sensitive or incriminating

Respondents should be given the assurance that their responses will remain anonymous and that the information they provide will be treated as confidential at all times

There are two categories of questions that can be included inquestionnaires: open-ended and closed-ended.

OPEN CLOSED

Elicit “rich” qualitative data

Require The respondents to give opinions, ideas , suggestions or comments and allow respondents to provide lengthy responses.

Encourage thought and freedom of expression

May discourage responses from less literate respondents

Take longer to answer and may put some people off

Are more difficult to analyze –responses can be misinterpreted.

Elicit quantitative data

Require the respondents to provide opinion, ideas or comments based on the option given.

Can encourage ‘mindless’ replies

Are easy for all literacy levels to respond to

Are quick to answer and may improve your response rate

Are easy to ‘code’ and analyze

Examples of open-ended questions:

1. Which cellular phone service provider do you use?__________________________________________ __________________________________________

2. Why have you chosen the service provider?___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

Closed-ended Questions

Scale questions

Listing and choice questions

Yes/No questions

Ranking questions

Category questions

Scale QuestionsThe most commonly used scale question is the Likert-scale questions. Likert-scale questions may use quantifiers such as Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.

Examples of Likert-scale questionsPlease indicate the level of agreement with each statement by ticking (✔) the appropriate bracket.

Strongly Agree Disagree StronglyAgree Disagree

1. I use my hand phone everyday. ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

2. I change my hand phone every ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )year.

3. I can not survive without my ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )hand phone.

http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/research/instrument%20reliability%20and%20validity/likert.html

Listing / Choice QuestionsListing or choice questions provide items or choices for the respondents to choose.

Example of Listing /choice question

For the question below, you may tick (✔) as many boxes as you think appropriate.

1. Where do you get information about a new hand phone brand?

Friend ( )TV/Radio ( )Newspaper ( )Magazine ( )The Internet ( )Others, please specify __________________

Yes/ No question

Yes / No questions require the respondents to tick the appropriate box either Yes or No.

Example of yes/no question

Please tick (✔) the appropriate box.

YES NO 1. Do you receive a loan? ☐ ☐

Ranking questions

Ranking questions provide degree of preference or choice.

Example of ranking question

1. Please rank the following criteria you use in buying hand phone.( 1 – most preferred to 5 – least preferred )

__________ Price__________ Coverage__________ Brand Name__________ Size__________ Function

Category questions

Category questions ask respondents to identify the response provided in different categories , for example , age range, monthly income, etc.

Example of a category question

Please tick (✔) in the appropriate space.

1. How much do you spend to pay the phone bill each month?

_________ below RM 50_________ RM 51 – RM 100_________ RM 101 – RM 200_________ more than RM 201

Question Wording

The wording of every question is of the utmost importance. A ‘good’ question should satisfy EACH of the following criteria:Avoid ComplexityAvoid leading questionsAvoid loaded questions that contain words which may bias

the responsesAvoid AmbiguityAvoid jargon and colloquialisms Avoid double-barrelled questionsAvoid “ combination” questions Avoid double negatives Minimise bias

Avoid Complexity- The way people are asked to show their responses should be

simple

Poor item : Are you aged between 20 and 30? Delete which everdoes not apply.

Yes No

Better item : Are you aged between 20 and 30 inclusive? Tickappropriate answer.

Yes No

- Ask them to tick what does apply, rather than delete what does not. Ticking or circling is more definite than underlining. You can ask people to put a (x) against the alternative which applies, but this may cause problems if people think of X as indication “wrong”. A tick is less confusing.

Avoid leading questions

- A leading question is a question that suggests or impliescertain answers.

e.g. “Wouldn’t you say that...”, “Isn’t it fair to say...”

Poor item: Do you agree with most people that capitalpunishment should be restored?

Yes No

Better item: Do you believe that for some crimes capitalpunishment should be restored, should notbe restored or do you have no opinion ?

Should be restored ; Should not be restored ; No opinion

Avoid loaded questions that contain words

which may bias the responses- A loaded question is a question that suggests social-

desirability answers or is emotionally charged.

Poor item : Do you agree that racist organizations such as the

ABC should be banned ?

This is a poor item because it labels the target organization as

racist ; the respondent might not have considered it as racist

without this suggestion.

Avoid Ambiguity: Be as Specific as Possible

- Avoid words like “regularly”, “often”, “locally” , “occasionally” , “usually”, “many”, “good”, “ frequently”, “fair” , and “poor”.

– Each of these words has many meanings. For one person , frequently reading a magazine may be six or seven issues; for another it could be twice a year.

- Some adjectives have high variability and others have low variability.

High variable : e.g. a clear mandate, most, numerous,

(should be avoided) a substantial majority, a minority of, a large proportion of,

a significant number of, many, a considerable number of,

and several.

- Other adjectives produce less variability and generally have more shared

meaning.

e.g. lots, almost all, virtually all, nearly all, a majority of, a consensus of, a small

number of,

not very many of, almost none, hardly any, a couple, and a few.

Poor Item: Do you frequently consult your doctor?

Better item: How many times have you consulted your doctor in the last six months?

None, 1 or 2 times ; 3-5 times ; more than 5 times

Avoid jargon and colloquialisms

- ensure your language caters for all levels of literacy.

Remember for some respondents English may be their second language.

Poor item : Do you worry that you may havehalitosis?

Better item: Do you worry that you may havebad breath?

Avoid double-barrelled questions

- A question may induce bias because it covers two issues at once.

Poor item : “Do you enjoy playing badminton and tennis?” or “Do you agree with the recommendations of the Stern Review on

the economics of climate change?”

Better item: - Do you enjoy playing badminton ?- Do you enjoy playing tennis ?- Do you agree with the

recommendations of the Stern Reviewon the economics of climate change?

Avoid “ combination” questions

- Do not include the word “and” in case a respondent wants to respond “yes” to one and “no” to the other part of the question.

Poor item : Do you use hand phone and lap top in

class ?

Better item : Do you use hand phone in class ?

Do you use lap top in class?

Avoid double negatives

- Double negatives in the question is likely to confuse your respondents.

– e.g. instead of asking respondents whether they agree with the negative statement;

“Smoking in public places should not be abolished”

use the positive

“Smoking in public places should be abolished”.

-

Minimise bias

- People sometimes answer questions in a way they perceive to be socially acceptable. Make it easy for respondents to admit social lapses by wording questions carefully.

For example, “How many times have you broken the speed limit

because you were late?”

…could be rephrased,…

“Have you ever felt under pressure to drive over the speed limit in

order to keep an appointment?”.

… Then you could ask, …

“How many times have you prioritised the appointment ?”.

Sources:

• Crawford, I. M. (1990) Marketing Research Centre for

Agricultural Marketing Training in Eastern and Southern

Africa. Harare Zimbabwe.

• Sudman, S. and Bradburn, N. M. (1973), Asking Questions, pp.

208 - 28.

• http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/versions/Creating%20effective%20questionnaires%20and%20surveys.pdf

• http://www.uj.ac.za/EN/Research/Statkon/Documents/Statkon%20Questionaire%20Design.pdf

• Rosen, L.J. (2010). The Academic Writer’s Handbook. Longman

http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/43589_8.pdf

You can also ADAPT an existing questionnaire (usually attached to appendices of theses or dissertations). Please make sure that the questionnaire you choose is QUANTITATIVE in nature.

Adaption or adaptation simply means to reword or write using your own words, all the questions in the questionnaire you choose, to avoid plagiarism.

go to

http://ccsg.isr.umich.edu/pdf/07AdaptationNov2010.pdf

for further information on Adaptation by Harkness (2010)