CONSTRUCTION OF QUESTIONNAIRE

INTRODUCTION

We are constantly asking questions to gain a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us. This is human ability to wonder and
ask creative questions, and it is the first step in research process. By asking questions, clinical nurses and nurse researchers are able to
identify significant research topics and problems that will generate research findings which can be ultimately used to make evidence based
changes in nursing practice.

DEFINITION

“Questionnaire is a method of gathering self-report information from respondents through self-administered questions in a paper and pencil
format.” (Polit F.D., 2004)

PURPOSE

When our objective is to find out what people believe or think, the easiest and most effective method is to ask questions directly to the
concerned person. The purpose of asking questions is to find out what is going on in the minds of the subjects, their perceptions, attitudes,
beliefs, feelings, motives, past events and future plans.

ADVANTAGES OF QUESTIONNAIRE

 This approach is less expensive in terms of time and money.

 Subject feels a greater sense of anonymity.
 The format is standard for all subjects and is not dependant on the mood of the interview.
 Large samples covering large geographical area.
 A greater amount of data over a broad range of topics may be collected.

DISADVANTAGES OF QUESTIONNAIRE

 Cannot be used for illiterate groups or people who are seriously ill, very old or very young.
 Lower response rate.
 Less detailed information
 The control over questionnaire may be lost once it is sent.

TYPES OF QUESTONS

 Factual Questions
- Asks subjects for information about themselves or about events or people about which they know something. (eg. name,
age, marital status, occupation, income, etc.)
 Non-Factual Questions
It deals about subject’s perception on what happened or their feelings about people, events or things.

QUESTION FORM

Structured Questions (Closed ended questions)

In this the questions are presented exactly in the same way, with the same wordings, and in the same order to all the subjects.
Questions are standardized to ensure that the subject’s answers can be compared. These types of questions have fixed alternatives from
which the subject is expected to choose the best response according to him.

Unstructured Questions (Open ended questions)

These questions do not have fixed alternatives; these require subjects to respond in their own words. The extent of response
may vary from a word to a sentence, a paragraph or even an essay. For example, “What was the biggest problem you faced after your open
heart surgery?” The adequate space is provided in the questionnaire to answer.

ADVANTAGES OF OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS

 They are easy to construct.

 Allows a richer and fuller perspective on the topic of interest

DISADVANTAGES OF OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS

 Analysis is difficult and time consuming

 Subjects may be less willing to compose a written response than to check off the appropriate alternative.

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ADVANTAGES OF CLOSED ENDED QUESTIONS
 Easy to administer and analyze.
 More effective, as subjects can answer more questions in less time.
DISADVANTAGES OF CLOSED ENDED QUESTIONS
 Difficult to construct.
 The researcher may neglect or overlook some potentially important responses.
SPECIFIC TYPES OF CLOSED ENDED QUESTIONS
1. Dichotomous questions
2. Multiple choice questions
3. Cafeteria questions
4. Rank order questions
5. Forced choice questions
6. Rating questions
7. Check lists
8. Scales : A composite measure of an attribute consisting of several items that have a logical or empirical relationship to each
other, involves the assignment of a score to place subject on a continuum with respect to the attribute.
a. Rating scale:
b. Likert scale
c. Visual analog scale
d. Semantic differential scale
QUESTION TYPE
1. Dichotomous question
2. Multiple choice question
3. Cafeteria question
4. Rank order question
5. Forced-choice question
6. Rating question
7. Check List
EXAMPLE
Have you ever been hospitalized? 1. Yes 2. No
How important is it to you to avoid a pregnancy at this time?
1. Extremely important 2. Very important
3. Somewhat important 4. Not important
People have different opinions about the use of estrogen replacement therapy for women at
menopause. Which of the following statements best represents your point of view?
1. Estrogen replacement is dangerous and should be banned.
2. Estrogen replacement has undesirable side effects that suggest the need for caution in its
use.
3. I am undecided about my views on estrogen replacement.
4. Estrogen replacement has many beneficial effects that merits its use.
5. Estrogen replacement is a wonder treatment that should be administered routinely to most
menopausal woman.
People value different things in life. Below is a list of things that many people value. Please
indicate their order to importance to you by placing a “1” beside the most important, “2” beside
the second-most important, and so on.
- Career achievement / work
- Family relationships
- Friendships, social interactions.
- Health
- Money
- Religion
Which statement most closely represents your point of view?
1. What happens to me is my own doing.
2. Sometimes I feel I don’t have enough control over my life.
On a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means “extremely dissatisfied” and 10 means “extremely
satisfied”, how satisfied were you with the nursing care you received during your
hospitalization?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Extremely Dissatisfied Extremely satisfied
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 It is an observational tool where the observer records the absence or presence (or frequency of occurrence) of specified and behaviors.

This question is about things that may have happened to you personally. Please indicate how recently, if ever,
these things happened to you.

Yes, within past Yes, 2-3 Yes, more than

No, never
12 months years age 3 years ago
a. Has someone every yelled at you all the time or put
you down on purpose? 1 2 3 4

b. Has someone ever tried to control your every move?

1 2 3 4

8. Rating Scale

It is a tool that requires observes to rate some phenomenon in terms of points along a descriptive continuum. Example:

Rate how tense or relaxed the nurses in this unit were:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Extremely Relaxed Neither relaxed nor tense Extremely tense

9. Likert Scale

A type of composite measure of attitudes that involves summation of scores on a set of items to which respondents are asked to
indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement.

Direction of Responses
Item
Scoring SA A ? D SD
+ 1. People who have had a mental illness can become
normal, productive citizens after treatment.
- 2. People who have been patients in mental hospitals
should not be allowed to have children.

10. Semantic Differential Scale

A technique used to measure attitudes that ask respondents to rate a concept of interest on a series of seven point bipolar rating scale.
Respondents are asked to place a check at the appropriate point on 7- point rating scales that extends from one extreme of the dimension to
the other.

Nurse Practitioners
Competent 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Incompetent
Worthless 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Valuable
Important Unimportant
Pleasant Unpleasant

11. Visual Analog Scale

Another type of psychological measuring attitudes is the visual analog scale (VAS). This has come into increased use in clinical setting to
measure subjective experiences such as pain, fatigue, nausea, and dyspnea.

Line should measure 100 mm in length

No pain at all Pain as bad as it could be

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CONSTRUCTION OF QUESTIONNAIRE

Constructing a good questionnaire requires both ability and perseverance on the part of the researcher.

 A good questionnaire should serve two major purposes: First, it must translate the objectives of an investigation into specific questions,
the answers to which will provide the data necessary to test the hypothesis and explore the area defined by the objectives.

Secondly, the questionnaire must motivate the respondents to communicate the required information. It is essential to include a courteous
and carefully constructed covering letter to explain the purpose of the study.

 Define or qualify terms that could easily be misinterpreted.

 Be careful in using descriptive adjectives and adverbs that have no agreed upon meaning. Eg. “Frequently”, “Occasionally” and “Rarely”,
do not have the same meanings to different persons.
 Beware of double negatives, it may mislead. eg. “The government should not provide aid to institution in which education is not equal
regardless of race, caste, and creed.”
 Be careful of inadequate alternatives, eg. “Are you married?” Yes / No
 There should be always provision for indications of uncertainty. Eg. “Do not know.”
 Avoid double barreled questions; divide them into two questions, eg. Do u believe that gifted children should be placed in separate
groups for instructional purposes and assigned to special schools?
 Underline a word if you wish to indicate special emphasis, eg. What are the areas you don’t want to discuss about?
 When asking for rating or comparisons a point of reference is necessary, eg. How would you rate this student teacher? Superior /
Average / Below Average
Respondent should be told with whom the student teacher to be compared, an experienced teacher, other student teachers or former
student teachers.
 Phrase questions so that they are appropriate for all respondents.
 Design questions that will give a complete response.
 Provide for the systematic quantification of responses, eg, in ranking questions the response should be inversely weighted for
convenient tabulation.
a) ---------(4 points) b)-------- (3 points) c)--------- (2 points) d)---------- (1 point)
 Questions should be set according to the information level of the respondents. Technical terms and vague expressions capable of
misinterpretations should be avoided
 Social acceptance of responses – Annoying or embarrassing questions must be avoided, it is essential that respondent should be assured
that his responses will be kept strictly confidential.
 Sequence of questions – Questions should be arranged in a logically sequential manner, in a good psychological order by adopting
“funnel” approach. Most general and most unrestricted questions first followed by more specific and restricted questions.
 Form or type of Questionnaire - It is useful to include both open and closed ended type of questions in combination.
 Length of the Questionnaire - A questionnaire should not be too long. It should not tire or bore the respondents. It should be short and
simple.
 Expert Opinion: Get all the help from experts for planning and constructing a questionnaire. Accept the criticism and modify
accordingly.
 Pretest: Try the questionnaire with a few representative samples of the respondents before launching into the actual investigation.
 Validation of a Questionnaire: Each question of the questionnaire must be related to the topic under investigation. Follow-up
observation of respondent behavior is also used to estimate the predictive validity of questionnaire.
 Reliability of Questionnaire: The test and pretest method is the feasible approach to the working out of the reliability of questionnaires.
 Administration of the Questionnaire: It is advisable to send a self addressed stamped envelope along with the questionnaire to exert a
moral pressure for return of duly filled questionnaire administrated by post. In case of delay, one or two reminders may be helpful. The
percentage return of questionnaire affects the degree of confidence of a researcher may place in the data collected.
 Analyzing and Interpreting Questionnaire Responses: Quantification of data obtained be the questionnaire is generally achieved
through tabulation and counting. The details are converted into proportions or percentages. Calculation of contingency coefficients of
correlation is often made in order to suggest probability of relationship among data. Computation of Chi-Square statistics is also available.

STEPS TO DEVELOP STRUCTURED INTRUMENTS

i. Identify the data needs

ii. Cluster related constructs together as a basis for separate modules or areas of questioning
iii. Decide the method of collecting data
iv. Sequencing the modules in a psychologically meaningful order
v. Preface the introductory comments about the nature and purpose of study, incorporated into an informed consent form
vi. Draft the first copy and discuss it critically with individuals who are knowledgeable about the construction of questionnaires
and familiar with the substantive content of your schedule.
vii. Pretest the revised version of the instrument on five to ten individuals who are similar to those who will ultimately
participate in the study.

CONCLUSION

Data collection is an important aspect of any type of research study. The result of the study depends upon the accurate selection of data
collection method and the data collection tool. Most self-report data in nursing studies are collected through questionnaires. The quality of
data collected depends heavily on the interpersonal skills of the interviewer.