Chapter 10 Summary

Submitted by group 2

Sarbani Sahu

Sushant Kumar Jena

Sibasish Patanaik

Pinninti Nikhila

Somya Samaiya

In Chapter 10, Questionnaire and form design, we learn about what is questionnaire that is a
structured technique what is used for data collection that consists of a series of questions,
written or verbal. The objective of a questionnaire is to translate the information into certain
question that the respondents can answer, to motivate the respondents to cooperate and
complete the interview, and to minimize response error.

The steps for questionnaire designs:

1. Specify the information needed: It is used to review the components of the problem,
prepare the dummy table so that we can understand the socioeconomic characteristics
of the respondents.
2. Type of Interviewing Method: Different types of interviews like personal interviews,
telephonic interviews, mail questionnaires, computer-assisted interview, internet
questionnaire.
3. Individual Question Content: Individual questions like is the question necessary, are
several questions needed, such double-barreled question
4. Overcome the respondent’s inability and unwillingness to answer: Questions are
asked by not informing the respondents, filter questions that measure familiarity, past
expert or product use to ensure they meet the requirements of the researcher.
Omission is the inability for an event that actually took place. Telescoping takes place
when an event as occurring more recently than it actually occurred.
To overcome the unwillingness to answer, effort required of the respondents to get
information, context, purpose, sensitive information and increasing the willingness of
respondent should be taken into consideration.
5. Choosing Question Structure: Open-ended question unstructured questions which give
us free response with some disadvantage of biasness, time-consuming and precoding
can be used. Structured questions, on the other hand are the set of respondents in the
form of multiple choice, order or position bias, dichotomous question and scales. To
illustrate the difference between scales and other kinds of structured questions,
different ratings are given for different responses.
6. Choosing Question Wording: The translation of desired question content and structure
into word may lead to item responses making data analysis complex. In order to avoid
these problems we found that define the issue being addressed, use ordinary words in
the questionnaire and that should match the vocabulary, use of unambiguous words
like never, occasionally; avoid leading or biasing questions leading to tendencies like
yea-saying and acquiescence bias, avoid implicit alternatives that are not explicitly
expressed, avoid implicit assumptions, avoid generalizations and estimates to be
specific and not general and dual statements which are positive and negative.
7. Determining the order of questions: Opening with simple and interesting questions
that can be crucial in gaining the confidence of the respondents, the type of
information which may be classified as basic information, classification information
and identification information to get an information of socioeconomic and
demographic characteristics and difficult questions. Effect of subsequent questions
from general to specific questions using funnel approach is one strategy. A logical
order of questions in the form of branching questions can be followed by keeping the
questions as close as possible and it should be in orderly fashion.
8. Identify form and layout: Positioning the question preferably in the form of precoding
that giving a code to the conceivable responses before data collection facilitates the
control of questionnaire in the field as well as the coding and analysis.
9. Reproduction of questionnaire: Printing the questionnaire in the form of vertical
columns for individual question. Pretesting refers to the testing of questionnaire by
identifying and eliminating the problems.
10. Eliminating bugs with pretesting: Pretesting refers to the testing of questionnaire by
identifying and eliminating the problems. Using Computer and Internet Questionnaire
software, Various tasks like personalization, complex skip patterns, randomized
respond choices, consistent checks and addition of new response categories with the
help of question list, libraries, questionnaire appearance preview publishing and
notification can be done.