QUESTIONNAIRE

DESIGN

1
DEFINITION OF QUESTIONNAIRE

A QUESTIONNAIRE whether it is called a schedule,

interview form , or measuring instrument is a formalized
set of questions for obtaining information from
respondents .

2
Objective of Questionnaire

1. It must translate the information needed in to a set of specific

questions that the respondents can and will answer
2. It must uplift , motivate, and encourage the respondent to become
involved in the interview, to cooperate and to complete the interview :
researcher will have to strive to minimize respondent fatigue,
boredom, incompleteness and nonresponse
3. A questionnaire should minimize response error . Response error is
defined as the error that arises when the respondent give inaccurate
answers and their answers are misrecorded and misanalysed.

3
QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN PROCESS
There are no scientific principles that guarantee an optimal or ideal questionnaire .
Questionnaire design is about asking the right questions and that is a skill. However,
there can be some guidelines to help researchers in designing a questionnaire.

Questionnaire design involves a series of steps

1. Specify the information needed

2. Specify the type of interviewing method
3. Determine the content of individual questions
4. Design the questions to overcome the respondent’s inability or unwillingness to
answer
5. Decide the question structure
6. Determine the question wording
7. Arrange the questions in proper order
8. Identify the form and layout
9. Reproduce the questionnaire
10. Pretest the questionnaire
4
5
I. Specify the information needed
Review the research problem, research questions and hypothesis to determine
the information required.

To further ensure that the information obtained fully addresses all components
of the problem , the researcher should prepare a set of dummy tables . A
dummy table is a blank table used to catalog data . It describes how the
analysis of data is to be done

It is also important to have clear idea of the target population , the

characteristics of the respondent , socio economic characteristics of the
respondents . The more diversified the respondent group the more difficult it is
to design a single questionnaire
6
II. TYPES OF INTERVIEWING METHOD

How he questionnaire is administered i.e how the interviews

are done also determines the questionnaire design
There are different methods of interview
1. Personal Interview
2. Telephone Interview
3. Mail Interview
4. Email Interview

7
PERSONAL INTERVIEW

Respondents see the questionnaire and interact face to face with

the interviewer
Lengthy, complex and varied questions can be asked.
For example in comparing stores, respondents can be asked to
do paired comparisons
More detailed instructions can be given in personal interview

8
Telephone Interview

The respondents interact with the interviewer but does not

see the questionnaire
This limits the type of questions researcher can ask
For example instead of asking to rank or do paired
comparisons, it is easier for the respondents to rate

9
MAIL/EMAIL/COMPUTER ASSISTED
INTERVIEWING
The respondent will read the questions , the questionnaire will be self
administered.

Therefore the questions should be simple and not complex, detailed

instructions , which are quick to understand should be provided

In computer assisted questionnaires there is possibility of

randomization and incorporating different scales and types of
questions easily.

10
III DETERMINE CONTENT OF INDIVIDUAL
QUESTIONS

DETERMINE THE CONTENT OF EACH QUESTION

For each question devised ask yourself ‘

1. Whether the question is necessary

2. Are several questions needed instead of of one?

11
Is the question necessary?
Every question should contribute to information needed or serve some
specific purpose
If there is no satisfactory use for data resulting from a question , the
question should be eliminated
However, certain questions can be asked that are not directly related to the
information that is needed .
1. Filler Questions : helps to establish rapport with the respondent and
sometimes helps to disguise sponsor of the questionnaire
For example in a feedback survey on your restaurant you include
questions about what do you enjoy eating , what food are you
passionate about
2. Duplicate questions to check reliability and validity
12
Are Several Questions Needed instead on One ?
Sometimes a single question does not capture the information required clearly and should be
split into different questions

Do you think McDonalds is a better fast food joint than KFC?

Consumer says YES : WHAT DOES IT mean? Does it have better menu, speed or prices .

● Does McDonalds provide Faster Service as Compared to KFC

● Do you think that McDonalds has more items on its menu than KFC.

Questions of WHY often need to be broken down

For example Why do you shop at Big Bazaar ? (not correct) instead use these three

What kind of products you buy at Big Bazaar ? (why people go to BB)/

Are Big Bazaar Stores conveniently located?

Is there more product variety in Big Bazaar as compared to other stores

13
IV OVERCOMING INABILITY OF
RESPONDENT TO ANSWER

Certain factors limit the respondents

1.Respondent may not be informed
2.Respondent may not be able to articulate the response

3. Respondent may not remember

14
Is the respondent Informed
Is the topic something that the respondent may not be informed enough.

For example brand preferences or expenditure on grocery products may not be known
to the respondent if these decisions are made by the spouse

Similarly family income may not be known to teenage children

FILTER QUESTION maybe added to measure familiarity with the topic . These are
initial questions in a questionnaire that screens potential respondents to ensure they
meet the requirements of the sample for example age, gender

DON’T KNOW OPTION : this is added to ensure that uninformed respondents do not
mark the wrong option and make the data misleading

15
Can the Respondent Remember?
can we answer these questions ?
Which all stores did you visit in the last 3 months ?

How many times did you hire a cab for going to work?

Which all soft drinks did you have at parties you visited?

All the above questions exceed the memory of the respondent

However,

Did you visit store X in last one month ?/

How many times did you hire a cab to go to work last week?

Do you drink coke at parties?

16
Can the Respondent Remember?
1. Evidence indicates that consumers are particularly poor at remembering quantities so
questions should focus on enquiring frequency than capturing exact quantities like how
often than how many times
2. Errors
a. Omission: inability to remember
b. Telescoping: considering things closer in the past rather than actual post
c. Creation : respondent remembers an event that did not actually occur

3. Ability to Recall depends on

a. The event itself

b. The time elapsed since the event
c. Presence or absence of events that would aid the memory

4. Responses may even depend on whether researcher is using aided or unaided recall. Aided
recall will provide cues , however should not bias the researcher

17
Can the respondent articulate ?

If the respondent is asked to articulate a construct like

atmosphere of a shopping store…….Respondent may decide
not to respond to respond to this as it involves mental
exercise

Whereas if alternatives are offered to the respondent , the

aid would help to improve response rate and expression

18
IV. OVERCOMING UNWILLINGNESS TO
ANSWER

In questionnaire studies one of the biggest problems is unwillingness to

answer , it arises on account of following reasons
1. Effort required (like paired comparisons)
2. Context (like medical history will not be shared with fast foods)
3. Legitimate Purpose (why should I divulge)
4. Sensitive Information (family income)

19
How to Increase Willingness
1. Place Sensitive Topics at the End or after few questions when the
respondent is immersed in the questionnaire
2. Preface sensitive personal questions with logical statements for example
To ask about personal hygiene , First state studies have shown that current
pandemic has increased handwashing , how many times do you wash your
hands in a day
3. Ask questions using third person technique : Do you think people wash their
hands more often after the pandemic
4. In a group of several questions, let sensitive questions appear somewhere in
the middle and respondent continues to answer
5. Provide alternatives and categories instead of blanks
6. Use randomization to ensure that neutral and sensitive questions are in such
an order that they are not clustered and are spread out.

20
V. CHOOSING QUESTION STRUCTURE
Choosing between Structured and Unstructured Questions

What is your Occupation?

……………………………..

What is your Occupation

Salaried

Self Employed

Business

Unemployed

21
 UNSTRUCTURED QUESTIONS
These are open ended question that respondents answer in their own words
They are also called as free response or free answer questions
Advantages
1. Expression of general interest and opinion 2. Less biasing by the researcher 3. Rich
insights 4. Useful in exploratory research
DISADVANTAGES
1. Effort on the part of respondent
2. Biased responses by respondents
3. Very difficult to analyze the resultant data, coding may not be possible or can become
very tedious
Is Precoding Possible?

22
 STRUCTURED QUESTIONS

Structured questions specify the set of response alternatives

and response format .
It may MULTIPLE CHOICE, DICHOTOMOUS OR SCALE
(Remember scaling !!!) : Determine the number of options and
order and position and coding

23
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
A format in which multiple options are provided to choose from
Number of options to be decided
Scale and coding to be decided
All possible responses should be covered
Decision of neutral option should be made
Decision on how many responses can the respondent choose ,
however, responses should be mutually exclusive
Keep it as simple as possible for the respondent
Design should be as per the target analysis
24
MCQ
ADVANTAGES: INTERVIEWER BIASES ARE MINIMISED
, ADMINISTERED QUICKLY, CODING AND PROCESSING
OF DATA IS MUCH LESS COSTLY AND TIME
CONSUMING . The respondent cooperation is improved
with structured questions
DISADVANTAGES: DESIGNING IS COMPLEX,
exploratory analysis may be required to arrive at the
options to be included, List of possible answers
produces biased responses

25
DICHOTOMOUS QUESTIONS

This has only two responses available : yes or no , agree or

disagree, like or dislike , buy or not buy
Advantages : very easy to answer and extremely simple to
code and analyse
Disadvantages: acute problems, most of the human
behaviour cannot be captured through dichotomous choices

26
VI.CHOOSING QUESTION WORDING

Question wording is the translation of the desired question

content and structure into words that respondents can
clearly and easily understand

If the question is worded poorly or if difficult words that

may not be understood by the target respondents are
entered, then respondent may not respond or may give an
incorrect response

27
VI CHOOSING QUESTION WORDING
Guidelines
1. Define the issue : who, what, when , where
2. Use Ordinary Words:
3. Use unambiguous words
4. Avoid Leading or Biasing Questions
5. Avoid Implicit Alternatives
6. Avoid Implicit Assumptions
7. Avoid Generalizations and Estimates

28
Examples from Naresh Malhotra : Marketing
Research Methods

Which Brand of shampoo do you use ?

Vs
Which brand of shampoo have you personally used at
home during the last one month? In case of more than
one brand , please list all the brands that apply (what ,
when, where how)

29
Use of Ordinary Words

Do you think the distribution of soft drinks is adequate ?

Or
Do you think soft drinks are readily available when you
want to buy them

30
 Use unambiguous words
Words used should have a single meaning that is known to respondents.

A number of words that appear to be unambiguous have different meanings to different people
like usually.

Response bias needs to be avoided by ensuring each word has a different meaning that can be
clearly understood

Check the following (use a dictionary)

-Does it mean what we intended?

- Does it have any other meaning?

- If so, does the context make the intended meaning clear

- Does the word have more than one pronunciation

- Is there any word of similar pronunciations that might be confused with this word

- Is a similar word of phrase suggested?

31
Use unambiguous words

In a typical months How often do you

how often do you shop in department
shop in department stores
store
1. Never
Less than once 2. Occasionally
1 or 2 times 3. Sometimes
4. Often
3 or 4 times 5. Regularly
More than 4 times

32
Avoid leading or Biasing Questions
A leading question is one that clues the respondent to what
answer is desired or leads the respondent to answer in
certain way
Bias may arise when sponsors name ( company /brand) or a
prestigious name is mentioned

33
 Avoid Leading or Biasing Questions

Do you think Do you think global Do you think global

patriotic Indians brands should be brands like google
should prefer welcomed in a and facebook should
Indian Brands country be allowed in a
Yes country
Yes
Yes
No No
No

34
Avoid Implicit Alternatives

Make as many alternatives explicit as possible

Implicit options may not come to the respondents mind

Do you like running Do you like running shoes,

shoes for exercise?
There is an implicit
choice here
or would you rather buy
walking shoes
atleast an explicit
alternative has been given

35
Avoid Implicit Assumptions

Implicit assumptions are ones that are not stated , however

these are the known consequence of the answer
1. Are you in favour of colleges opening : if you saY yes ,
the exams would not be OBE
2. Do you think teaching is effective in the online mode

36
 Avoid Generalizations and Estimates
Questions should be specific not general
Respondents should not be making generalizations and estimations

What is the monthly

What is the annual
expenditure on groceries
per capita
in your household
expenditure on
groceries in your
household How many members are
there in your family
37
VII DETERMINING ORDER OF THE
QUESTIONS
1. OPENING QUESTIONS: these questions can be crucial in gaining
confidence and cooperation of respondents
2. These should be interesting, simple and non threatening
3. These should focus on asking the respondents about their opinions
as most respondents enjoy expressing their beliefs and opinions
4. These questions may be asked even when they are unrelated to the
research problem and their responses are not analysed
For example in food survey - what foods are you passionate about
In a consumer store survey: who in your family makes the purchase
decisions

38
VII DETERMINING THE ORDER OF THE
QUESTIONS
1. TYPE OF INFORMATION
2. DIFFICULT QUESTIONS
3. EFFECT ON SUBSEQUENT QUESTIONS
4. LOGICAL ORDER

39
TYPE OF INFORMATION

Three types of information is obtained from a questionnaire

1. Identification information : name. Email, mobile no
2. Classification information : gender, age, income,
profession
3. Basic Information: that relates to the research
Although most questionnaires follow the above order,
authors suggest

40
DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

Difficult questions are sensitive , embarrassing, complex or dull

These should be placed late in the sequence .
Once the respondent has become engrossed in the questionaire ,
they will be willing to answer these questions.
So in identification question telephone numbershould be last
In classification questions : income should be last
In basic information: questions like for example about credit card
should come last

41
EFFECT ON SUBSEQUENT QUESTIONS
Questions asked earlier in the sequence have an effect on subsequent
responses

Order should be from GENERAL TO SPECIFIC

FUNNEL APPROACH : an approach in which specific questions follow the

general questions so that specific answers do not bias general choice
behaviour

What considerations are important to you in selecting a department store?

In selecting a department store, how important is convenience of location?

If we reverse the order , then location will determine the answer to the
general question of considerations

42
LOGICAL ORDER

All questions relating to a particular topic should be asked

before moving to a new topic
Branching questions should be clearly identified . A flow
chart should be developed by the researcher for such
questions and ensure that they appear clearly on the
questionnaire

43
VIII FORM AND LAYOUT

- This is about format, spacing, positioning

- Particularly important for self administered questionnaires
- How the scale will be presented and described
- How instructions will be printed and where
2 good practices
1. Divide questionnaire into parts
2. Precoding : assigning codes to every possible response before data
collection, this will help create dummy tables and later on analyse the
datacollected

44
IX. REPRODUCTION OF QUESTIONNAIRE
Reproduction means how questionnaire is reproduced for
administration
1. Number of Pages
2. Quality of Print
3. Booklet or stapled pages
4. Each question should appear on one page only , there
should be no splitting across pages
5. Do not crowd the page with questions
6. Directions for individual questions should be placed
as close to the questions as possible
7. Font should be clear and good size
45
X PRETESTING
Itis testing of questionnaire on representative small sample to identify
errors and correct them before launching the survey
Atleast one pre test should be done . Important elements of pretest
include
1. Representative small sample
2. Evaluate questionnaire content, format, instructions, printing,
length , sequence etc.
3. Use PROTOCOL METHOD (THINK ALOUD) or DEBRIEFING
METHOD (EXPLAIN DIFFICULTIES IN ANSWERING)
4. Carry out Editing
5. Create Dummy Tables for Analysis , this will also help identify
whether the questionnaire generates required data

46