Quantitative Studies -Questionnaire Surveys

1. Quantitative Studies -Questionnaire Surveys

2. Introduction • The role of questionnaires. • Questionnaire planning. • Questionnaire wording. • Measurement.

3. The role of questionnaires • To draw accurate information from respondents. • To provide a standard format on which facts, comments and attitudes can be recorded. • To provide a vehicle for analysis.

4. The role of questionnaires • Oppenhiem(1) wrote ‘the world is full of well meaning people who believe that anyone who can write plain English and has a modicum of common sense can produce a good questionnaire’ • He then spends 299 pages disproving this statement.

5. The role of questionnaires • Designing a good questionnaire takes a great deal of thought and care.

6. What is a questionnaire • A questionnaire is not a list of questions jotted down at random on a piece of paper. • A questionnaire is an instrument of research and its function is measurement. • What to measure?

7. What to measure? • The answers to this question come directly from your research outline: • Objectives; • Hypotheses. • From these you should be able to list EVERY variable to be measured and how the measurements may be accomplished. Once these are known questionnaire planning can take place.

8. Questionnaire planning • In essence you need to address five issues. • Method of data collection; • Approaching respondents; • Question sequencing (sections); • Question ordering (for each variable); • Question type.

9. Postal Questionnaires & Interviews Advantages • Low cost. • data collection; • data analysis. • No interviewer bias. • Ability to reach widely dispersed sample.

10. Postal Questionnaires & Interviews Disadvantages • Low response rates: • bias/self-selecting. • Requires literacy. • Misunderstanding: • explanations. • No control over respondent. • Non-observational.

11. Self/Group - administered questionnaires Advantages • High response rate. • Accurate sampling. • Minimum interviewer bias whilst permitting interviewer assessments or providing necessary explanations.

12. Self/Group - administered questionnaires Disadvantages • Increased cost of data collection. • More localised study. • More opportunity for interviewer bias.

13. Approaching respondents • The aim of this section of the planning process is to maximise the response rate: • The following have been found to increase response rates: • Advance warning inviting participation; • Explanation (why the questions are being asked);

14. Increasing response rates • Sponsorship; • Professional layout; • Publicity (tie into a national campaign); • Confidentiality; • Incentives - promise of feedback; • Reminders (polite);

15. Increasing response rates • Anonymity; • Appropriate length (not too long or too small); • Relevance of the topic to respondent; • Return envelopes.

16. Question sequencing • Each variable being investigated within the questionnaire will be addressed by a series of questions. • Sequencing is concerned with presenting the variables to the respondent in a logical, interesting and non-threatening manner, thus encouraging a response.

17. Question ordering • Question ordering is important when trying to focus responses from the broad to narrow (specific). • Funneling techniques are often used to achieve this. • Funnels are normally precede by ‘filter’ questions which exclude some respondents.

18. Question types • Questions can be either open or closed. • Open questions allow free expression. • Closed questions limit responses: • lists; • categories; • rankings; • scales; • quantities; • grids.

19. Open questions Advantages • Spontaneity of answers; • Freedom of expression; • Can test hypotheses concerning awareness.

20. Open questions Disadvantages • Time consuming; • Difficult to analyse; • Require more effort from respondents.

21. Closed questions Advantages • Quick; • Easy to complete; • Easy to analyse; • Easy to make group comparisons; • Useful for testing specific hypotheses.

22. Closed questions Disadvantages • Loss of spontaneity; • Bias in answer categories; • Can be too crude; • May irritate respondents.

23. Question wording • Oppenhiem(1) lays down a series of rules for question wording. • Length: • questions should not be to long. • Avoid double-barreled questions: • Avoid popular sayings they tend to provoke emotion.

24. Oppenhiem • Include a ‘Don’t Know’ or ‘Not Applicable‘category where appropriate. • Use simple words, avoid acronyms, abbreviations jargon etc. • Ask what you want to know. • Avoid leading questions: • when did you last... • assumes that they did!

25. Forms of measurement • There are a number of forms of measurement used in questionnaire surveys.

26. Forms of measurement • There are a number of forms of measurement used in questionnaire surveys. • Nominal scales are used to catagorise responses into groups: • Do you use computers to help manage your maintenance work? • Yes No

27. Forms of measurement • Ordinal scales are used to rank responses:

28. Forms of measurement • Ordinal scales are used to rank responses: • How important is ....... • Essential • Desirable • Optional • Irrelevant

29. Forms of measurement • Please indicate your level of agreement with...... Strongly agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly disagree

30. Forms of measurement • Interval scales are used when the distances between intervals are known (or assumed). • Temperature measurement in either Centigrade or Fahrenheit is an example of an interval scale. • One can talk of a 10oC rise in temperature but not that 10oC is 10 times hotter than 1oC.

31. Forms of measurement • Ratio scales are used when an absolute zero is known. • What percentage of .......

32. Forms of measurement • The most important things to remember when selecting a scale of measurement are its appropriateness to the variable being tested and the range of statistical techniques which you wish to use in your analysis.

33. Summary • The role of questionnaires. • Questionnaire planning. • Questionnaire wording. • Measurement. • Next week..... Case Studies.