Questionnaire Design

1. Questionnaire Design Dr. Rajesh Timane PhD, India

2. Part-I

3. Questionnaire Decisions • What should be asked? • How should each question be phrased? • What should be the sequence of question? • Is there a possibility of further improving the questionnaire? http://www.rajeshtimane.com

4. Definition • Questionnaire is a set of questions asked to the target respondents. Both open and close-ended questions can be used in the design of the questionnaire to collect data. In questionnaire design the different types of data which can be used are; nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

5. What is a good questionnaire? • A questionnaire should be such that it can be analysed. • The questionnaires should begin with an effort to awaken the respondents’ interest. Important target questions should be asked in the middle of the opinion survey. • Early questions should be simple in design, friendly and easy to respond; on the other hand; they should convey the theme of the study to the respondent. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

6. What is a good questionnaire? • All the questions related to personal information (name, income, phone, address etc) of the respondents should be either optional or asked in the last section of the questionnaires. • Open ended questions should be placed in the later part of the questionnaire and deliberately kept to the minimum. • A pilot testshould be conducted to detect the weakness in the questionnaires designed. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

7. Concept Check Let us try and understand all the terms used in earlier slides ! http://www.rajeshtimane.com

8. What is a survey? • It is the most common method of collecting primary data. • A survey is the technique through which information is gathered from a sample using a questionnaire. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

9. What are open and close-ended questions? • For open ended questions the researcher does not provide any options to answer. Questions are open to any descriptive response. Example: Q. How can we stop corruption in India? _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ • Close ended questions have definite options and they are easy to respond Example: (Tick the appropriate options below) Q. How can we stop corruption in India? a) Stringent Law b) Empower Lokpal, CBI & Vigilance c) By not giving bribes http://www.rajeshtimane.com

10. What is a target question? • It is the relevant question asked to the chosen sample. • The target questions should be based on the problem defined, the chosen hypothesis and the objectives of the research. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

11. Who is the target respondent? • If the respondent of a questionnaire is knowledgeable about the respective idea behind the question or an authority over the subject matter or simply put a part of the relevant sample chosen, the person is our target respondent. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

12. What are the different scales? • NOMINAL: Label objects (e.g. yes/no, gender) • ORDINAL: Indicate only relative size differences between objects (e.g. purchase frequency) • INTERVAL: Use descriptors that are equal distances apart (e.g. measuring temperature) • RATIO: Have a true zero point (e.g. rupees spent) http://www.rajeshtimane.com

13. What is a pilot test? • The pilot test collect concise data about the research to serve as a guide to larger study. • Example: Focus Groups • The pilot test thus helps to identify the problem, if any, in the questionnaire. Once, corrective measures are taken, the researcher can go ahead with final version of questionnaire. This questionnaire is now ready to be administered to the full sample chosen. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

14. The structure of the questionnaire? http://www.rajeshtimane.com

15. How do we analyse questions? • Analysis is the application of reasoning to understand and interpret the data collected. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

16. Checking Our Understanding Now, Let us again go through the first few slides and see if we can understand them better ! http://www.rajeshtimane.com

17. Definition • Questionnaire is a set of questions asked to the target respondents. Both open and close-ended questions can be used in the design of the questionnaire to collect data. In questionnaire design the different types of data which can be used are; nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

18. What is a good questionnaire? • A questionnaire should be such that it can be analysed. • The questionnaires should begin with an effort to awaken the respondents’ interest. Important target questions should be asked in the middle of the opinion survey. • Early questions should be simple in design, friendly and easy to respond; on the other hand; they should convey the theme of the study to the respondent. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

19. What is a good questionnaire? • All the questions related to personal information (name, income, phone, address etc) of the respondents should be either optional or asked in the last section of the questionnaires. • Open ended questions should be placed in the later part of the questionnaire and deliberately kept to the minimum. • A pilot testshould be conducted to detect the weakness in the questionnaires designed. http://www.rajeshtimane.com

20. Quick Revision • What should be asked? Target questions to target audience • How should each question be phrased? Simple in design and easy to respond • What should be the sequence of question? Simple questions to generate interest in the beginning; followed by target questions; open-ended and optional questions at the end • Is there a possibility of further improving the questionnaire? Take a pilot test (like test marketing); try analysing the data; improve until the pilot-analysis solves the problem-defined http://www.rajeshtimane.com

21. Reference: Business Research Methods by William Zikmund (2003), Cengage Learning, New Delhi • For the detailed article on questionnaire design, please visit – http://www.rajeshtimane.com/383/research/questionnaire-design-case-study.html

22. @ 2014: ‘Research Publishing Tools’ by Dr. Rajesh Timane, PhD