Research Methodology

Questionnaire
Scales

Week9
 Learning Outcomes
Questionnaire development

• Scales of measurement
• Types of questionnaire
• Designing the questionnaire
• Types of questions

Assess validity and reliability of measurement scales/close-ended

questions.

Samples of questionnaires.
Practical session to design a questionnaire.
Milestone 5:
Student should be able to complete the write-up on literature review
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
Scales
 Sample Questionnaire

Scales

Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh

 Scales: The Hierarchy of Levels

Continuum of Values
Ratio Absolute zero

Interval Equal intervals

Distance is meaningful
Preserves order
Ordinal Attributes can be ordered

Uniquely classifies
Nominal Attributes are only named; weakest
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Nominal Scale

• Consists of categorizing items into groups

• It is used to indicate categories
• Numbers are only used as labels
• It has no numerical significance
• It does not represent any order or distance. Example of nominal scale:

Gender Code
Male 1
Female 2

A nominal scale assigns a value to an object for identification or

classification purposes only - Zikmund
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides
 Ordinal Scale
• Ordinal scale: rank-orders categories in some meaningful way.

• What is the highest level of education you have completed?

O Less than High School
Even though differences in the
O High School/GED Equivalent
ranking of objects/persons are clearly
O College Degree known, we do not know their
O Masters Degree magnitude.
O Doctoral Degree

Ordinal scales allow things to be arranged in order based on how much of some concept they
possess.
Zikmund
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Interval Scale
Lets us measure the distance between any two points on
the scale. Numerical distances between intervals
 Has measurements where the difference between values is meaningful
 The differences between points on the scale are measurable and
exactly equal.
EG: The difference between a 110 degrees F and 100 degrees F is the same
difference as between 70 degrees F and 80 degrees F.


Scales that have both nominal and ordinal properties, but that also capture
information about differences in quantities of a concept from one observation to
the next. 8
Zikmund
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Ratio Scale
Represent absolute quantities
Has an absolute (in contrast to an arbitrary) zero point, which is a
meaningful measurement point.
Eg: Sales volume, income in dollars,
length, area or volume, height, weight

Test scores
Income Weight
Height
Ratio scales represent the highest form of measurement in that they have all the properties of
interval scales with the additional attribute of representing absolute quantities.
Zikmund
Dr Jugindar Singh
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides
 Exercise: What are the scales of measurement for
these variables?
Variable Scale

Program of study
Speed (km/hr)
Motivation scores
Income categories
Number of WhatsApp received
Marital status
Quality of work life scores
Gender
Perception scores
Membership status
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Exercise: What are the scales of measurement for
these variables?

Variable Scale

Program of study Nominal

Speed (km/hr) Ratio

Motivation scores Interval

Income categories Ordinal

Number of WhatsApp received Ratio

Marital status Nominal

Quality of work life scores Interval

Gender Nominal

Perception scores Interval

Membership status Nominal

Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Recap: Scales
Scale Description Example

Nominal • The values “name” the attribute Gender

uniquely. 1 = Male
• The value does not imply any ordering 2 = Female
of the cases
Ordinal • When attributes can be rank-ordered… Education Level
1= Diploma
• Arranged from lowest to highest 2= Degree
3=Masters
4=Phd

Interval • An interval scale measures quantitative Temperature (in

differences, not just relative Fahrenheit), the distance
• The distance between attributes does have from 30-40 is same as
distance from 70-80
meaning.
Time
• Arbitrary zero (eg Zero degree F has value)

Ratio • Continuum of values Size, weight, Height,

• Aa non-arbitrary zero point Age
• True zero (eg Zero income) Income

Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh

 Rating and Ranking Scales
Categories of scales: (not
to be confused with the
four different types of
scales)
1. The Rating Scales
2. The Ranking Scales
1. Rating scales
Have several response categories and
are used to elicit responses with regard
to the object, event, or person studied.
2. Ranking scales,
Make comparisons between or among
objects, events, or persons and elicit
the preferred choices and ranking
among them

13
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Rating Scales
• The following rating scales are often used in
organizational research.
1. Dichotomous scale 5. Semantic differential scale
2. Category scale 6. Itemized rating scale
3. Likert scale 7. Fixed or constant sum rating
4. Numerical scale scale
8. Stapel scale
9. Graphic rating scale

14
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Dichotomous Scale
Is used to elicit a Yes or No answer.
(Note that a nominal scale is used to elicit the response)
Example
Do you own a car? Yes No

Category Scales
It uses multiple items to elicit a single response.
Example
How will you rate the quality of service of library in your University
Very poor
Poor
Fair
Good
Very Good 15
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Category scale
A rating scale that consists of several response categories, often
providing respondents with alternatives to indicate positions on a
continuum.

Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh

 How you rate your friend?

Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh

 Likert Scale
• This is an scale and the differences in
responses between any two points on the
scale remain the same.
For example, the researcher might ask the respondent to:
Are you satisfied with your current job?
1. strongly disagree;
2. disagree;
3. neither agree nor disagree;
4. agree;
5. strongly agree with the statement, “

18
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Likert Rating scales
Likert scale – designed to examine how strongly
subjects agree or disagree with statement on a five-
point scale with the following anchors:

Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh

 Likert Rating Scale
Example: Rating of GIANT Supermarket
Neither
Strongly Strongly
Statement Disagree agree Agree
disagree nor disagree agree

GAINT sells high-

1 2 3 4 5
quality goods
GAINT has good in
1 2 3 4 5
store service
I like to shop at GAINT 1 2 3 4 5
GAINT charges fair
1 2 3 4 5
price
I like advertising
1 2 3 4 5
done by GAINT
GAINT is where I want
1 2 3 4 5
to do my shopping

Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides

 Semantic Differential Scale
• We use this scale when several attributes are identified at the
extremes of the scale. For instance, the scale would employ
such terms as:
Good – Bad
Strong – Weak
Hot – Cold

Example:

Going to the library is ……...

Bad for me. 1___2___3___4___5 Good for me.

21
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Semantic differential scale

Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides

 Numerical Scale
Is similar to the semantic differential scale, with the
difference that numbers on a 5- points or 7-points scale
are provided

1. I always pay attention in class

I disagree completely 1 2 3 4 5 I agree completely

2. I always complete my assignments and submit before the deadline

I disagree completely 1 2 3 4 5 I agree completely

3. For the efforts I put into my studies, I expect good grades

I disagree completely 1 2 3 4 5 I agree completely
23
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Itemized Rating Scale
• A 5-point or 7-point scale is provided for each item and the respondent states
the appropriate number on the side of each item. This uses an Interval Scale.

Example 1
Respond to each item using the scale below, and indicate your response
number on the line by each item.
1 2 3 4 5
Very unlikely neither likely very likely
Unlikely unlikely nor
likely
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will be changing my job in the near future. 1 2 3 4

Example 2
Circle the number that is closest to how you feel for the item below:
Not at all Somewhat Moderately Very much
interested interested interested interested
1 2 3 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How would you rate your interest 1 2 3 24 4
Module Code and Module Title In changing current organizational Policies? Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Continuous /Graphic Rating Scale
• A graphical representation helps the respondents to
indicate on this scale their answers to a particular
question by placing a mark at the appropriate point
on the line, as in the following example:

Example
On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your supervisor?

25
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Ranking Scales
• Are used to tap preferences between two or
among more objects or items (ordinal in
nature). However, such ranking may not give
definitive clues to some of the answers sought.
Example
There are 4 product lines, the manager seeks information that would help decide
which product line should get the most attention.
Assume:
35% of respondents choose the 1st product.
25% of respondents choose the 2nd product.
20% of respondents choose the 3rd product.
20% of respondents choose the 4th product.
100% 26
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
 Rank Order
Presented with several objects simultaneously and asked
to order or rank them according to some criterion.

Example:
Brand Rank

Colgate ___

Close up ___

Pepsodent ___

Plus White ___

Darlie ___

___
Fresh & White
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides
 Recap: Scales
Scale Description Example

Nominal • The values “name” the attribute Gender

uniquely. 1 = Male
• The value does not imply any ordering 2 = Female
of the cases
Ordinal • When attributes can be rank-ordered… Education Level
1= Diploma
• Arranged from lowest to highest 2= Degree
3=Masters
4=Phd

Interval • An interval scale measures quantitative Temperature (in

differences, not just relative Fahrenheit), the distance
• The distance between attributes does have from 30-40 is same as
distance from 70-80
meaning.
Time
• Arbitrary zero (eg Zero degree F has value)

Ratio • Continuum of values Size, weight, Height,

• Aa non-arbitrary zero point Age
• True zero (eg Zero income) Income

Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh

 Data Variables
Variables

Scale Categorical

Continuous Nominal:
Discrete: Ordinal:
Measurements
Counts/ integers obvious order no meaningful
takes any value order

Continuous variables can take any value within a range and are the most common,
e.g. body weight, height, income, etc.
Discrete variables can only take whole numbers, such as number of students in
Module Code and Module Title
class, number of new patients Title of Slides Dr Jugindar Singh
Questionnaire?
Questionnaire
 Questionnaire?
A set of Questions
designed to generate
the statistical
information from a
specific demographic
needed to accomplish
the research objectives

It lists all the questions a researcher wishes to address to each respondent

It provides a space or some mechanism for recording the responses” Dr Jugindar Singh
 Sample Questionnaire

Dr Jugindar Singh
Dr Jugindar Singh
 OBJECTIVE OF
QUESTIONNAIRE

• A questionnaire should meet the

objectives of the study
• Complete and accurate
information
• Easy for the respondents to
respond
• Makes the interview concise
and to the point
 TYPES OF QUESTIONNAIRE

Personally administered questionnaires

When the survey is confined to a local area
Mail questionnaires
A mail questionnaire is a self‐administered. Not very popular now
Electronic and online questionnaires
To email the invitations to complete a survey, post a link on a website or personal blog, or use social networks

Questionnaire format depends on strategy for data collection

No method consistently outperforms others Dr Jugindar Singh
 GUIDELINES FOR QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Sound
questionnaire
design
principles
should focus
on three
areas
 PRINCIPLES OF WORDING

1. The appropriateness of the content of the questions.

Eg: Subjective feelings such as satisfaction or objective facts such as age

2. How questions are worded and the level of sophistication of the language used
The language of the questionnaire should approximate the level of understanding of
the respondents

3. The type and form of questions asked.

Whether the question is open‐ended or closed

4. The sequencing of the questions.

questions of a general nature to those that are more specific, and from questions that
are relatively easy to answer to those that are progressively more difficult

5. The personal data sought from the respondents.

Elicit such information as age, educational level, marital status, and income
Questions must meet 4 requirements

1. Questions relevant - pertain to the

research problem
2. Questions accurate - accurately depict the
attitudes, behaviors, etc. intended to
investigate
3. Respondents can understand and interpret
the question correctly
4. Respondents will give the information
Dr Jugindar Singh
 FOUR “DO’S” OF QUESTIONNAIRE
WORDING

1.The question should be focused on a single issue or topic.

“What type of hotel do you stay in on a trip?” Pleasure or
business trip? En route or final destination?
2.The question should be brief.
3.The question should be grammatically simple, if possible.
4.The question should be crystal clear.

40
 FOUR “DO NOT’S” OF QUESTIONNAIRE WORDING
1. Leading question. The question should not “lead” the respondent to a particular answer.
“Don’t you see any problem with using credit cards for online purchases?”
2. The question should not have “loaded” wording or phrasing. - emotionally charged
Eg: To what extent do you think management is likely to be vindictive if the union
decides to go on strike?”
The words “strike” and “vindictive” are emotionally charged
3. The question should not be “double-barreled.”
Eg: “Do you think there is a good market for the product and that it will sell well?”
4. The question should not use words that overstate the condition…do not use “dramatics.”
“Would you buy sunglasses that protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolent rays that cause
blindness?”
5. Social desirability Questions should not be worded such that they elicit socially desirable
responses.
Eg: “Do you think that older people should be laid off?”
6. Ambiguous questions Respondent may not be sure what exactly they mean.
41
Eg: “To what extent would you say you are happy?”
 Guidelines – What to Avoid
• Avoid Complexity: use simple, conversational language
• Avoid leading and loaded questions

• Avoid ambiguity: be as specific as possible

• Avoid double-barreled items

• Avoid making assumptions

1. Have you charged more on your credit card than you should

Yes No
2. Do you believe that a ban on the private ownership of firearms would be significantly reduce the number
of murders and robberies in your community?
Yes No Undecided

1. Do you think Nike offers better pricing and variety than other brands
Yes No Dr Jugindar Singh
Guidelines – What to Avoid
Leading Do you believe that private citizens have the right to own firearms to defend
Question themselves, their families, and property from violent criminal attack?
Yes No Undecided

Ambiguous What media do you rely on most?

Television
Question
Radio
(rely for what) Internet
Newspapers

Making How many years have you been playing tennis on a regular basis?
assumption Number of years: __________

Double Do you think Nike offers better pricing and variety than other
Barreled brands
Yes No

Dr Jugindar Singh
 Individual Question Wording

• “Do’s” for all questions

– Keep it focused on a single topic
How dorate
Please youeach aspectSears?
feel about of Sears…

– Keep it brief
If you some
When did not
gasoline
use Sears
or electric-powered
repair service, would
product
you
in use
youranother
house
breaks,service?
repair do you call the Sears repair service?
– Keep it grammatically simple
If the Sears
When repair
you need it, service
do youschedule
call Searswas not convenient
repair service? for you,
would you consider of not consider calling a competing repair
organization to fix the problem you have?
– Keep it crystal clear
How much
much do
do you
youthink
thinkyou
Sears
would
charges
havefor
to pay
a repair
to have
service
Sears fix
something that needs to be repaired?
call? 44
 Individual Question Wording
• “Do not’s” for all questions
– Don’t ask leading questions
Shouldn’t
Do you think
concerned
infant parents
car seats
useare
caruseful?
seats?

– Don’t ask loaded questions

Should
Do youcar
think
seats
carbeseats
usedare
for useful
our loved
for ones?
family members?

– Don’t ask double-barreled questions

Do you
goodthink
parents
parents
and responsible
who use car
citizens
seats use
are car
responsible?
seats?

– Don’t use overstated questions

Do you
you believe
think children’s
infant car car
sears
seats
canare
protect
useful?
riders from being maimed?
Ch 11 45
A good introduction

46
 Organizing questions, giving instructions and
guidance, and good alignment
Organizing the questions logically and neatly in appropriate sections and providing
instructions on how to complete the items in each section will help the respondents to
answer them without difficulty

Ch 11 47
Organizing questions, giving instructions and guidance, and good alignment

Ch 11 48
Organizing questions, giving instructions and guidance, and good alignment

Ch 11 49
WHERE THE QUESTIONS COME
FROM

Dr Jugindar Singh
 Designing individual questions
The design of each question should be determined by the data you need to collect
When designing individual questions researchers do one of three things
(Bourque and Clark 1994):
• adopt questions used in other questionnaires;
• adapt questions used in other questionnaires;
• develop their own questions.
Adopting or adapting questions allow reliability to be assessed.

Adopting and Adapting

It is also more efficient than developing your own questions
Beware-There are a vast number of poor questions in circulation
Check whether they are under copyright.You need to obtain the author’s permission
Develop own questions
Check validity – Face validity - Face validity refers to the subjective agreement among
professionals that a scale logically reflects the concept being measured
Do a pilot test
 ADOPT, ADAPT OR DEVELOP QUESTIONS
Adopting:
The instrument is adopted from past research
The reliability and validity have been conducted on that instrument
Adapting
Adapted by rephrasing the questions
Researcher adds items, removes items, and/or changes the content of each item

Adopted: SERQUAL MODEL

Dr Jugindar Singh
FACTORS AFFECTING ONLINE
SHOPPING OF PURCHASING APPARELS
AMONG YOUNG ADULTS IN KL
Adopted
Questionnaire

Dr Jugindar Singh
TYPE OF QUESTIONS

Dr Jugindar Singh
Types of Questions Illustrated
1. Pre-coded, single-choice questions
2. Open-ended questions
3. Presence-absence questions
4. Rank-ordering questions
5. Likert-type questions
6. Index development

© 2007 Pearson Education Canada 14-55

Types: Pre-Coded, Single-Choice
 Pre-coded, single-choice questions ask respondents to indicate which
one category applies
 Answers are pre-coded for easy data entry

 If not all options can be listed, include a category entitled “Other” with a
space to indicate what the “Other” category implies
 “Please specify” ______________

 Categories should be mutually-exclusive

 i.e., no categories overlap with one another

© 2007 Pearson Education Canada 14-56

Types: Open-Ended Questions
 Open-ended questions do not have pre-set answers.
Excellent way to explore new areas
 Use open-ended questions when:
 Too many response categories (year of birth)
 You don’t wish to impose categories on respondents
 “Really” consulting respondents
 Qualitative – source of quotations
 Determining appropriate categorization
 You want a change in pace for respondents

© 2007 Pearson Education Canada 14-57

 Open-Ended: Example
21. What is (or was) your father’s occupation (e.g., supervisor, railway machine shop
… supervises work of about 25 people)?
Job ________________________________________
Brief Job Description __________________________
___________________________________________

23. What is the one thing you would like to see changed at the university?
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

© 2007 Pearson Education Canada 14-58

Types: Presence-Absence Questions
 Presence-absence questions ask respondents to check off
which items in a list do or do not apply to them
 Less commonly used than other types of questions

Have you ever had contact with a physically handicapped person in any
of these groups? (Circle to indicate “yes” or “no” for each group)
Yes No
Community ----------- 1 0
Family ----------------- 1 0
Relatives -------------- 1 0
Elementary school -- 1 0
High school ----------- 1 0
University class ------ 1 0
As a co-worker ------- 1 0
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada 14-59
Types: Rank-Ordering Questions
 Rank-order questions ask respondents to indicate an ordering
of response items, usually from most preferred to least
preferred
 Must be done with great care
 Ask for only three most important items
 Must make instructions explicit
 These types of questions should be avoided or minimized
because they take time
High salary.…………. ____
Rank-order the three most important characteristics Security.…………….. ____
you want in the job you make your life’s work. (Place Continued interest….. ____
a 1 beside the most important one; a 2 beside the Power……………….. ____
second most important one; and a 3 beside the next Prestige……………… ____
most important one.) © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Excitement………….. ____
14-60
Types: Likert-Type Questions “ A technique for the
measurement of Attitudes”
 Likert-type questions ask respondents to
indicate how much they agree or disagree
with a statement 1. Strongly disagree
 Response options originally included: 2. Disagree
strongly disagree, disagree, are undecided 3. Neither agree nor disagree
or neutral, agree, strongly agree 4. Agree
 Today often used with numbered response 5. Strongly agree
options (see example, next slide)

• When responding to a Likert questionnaire item

respondents specify their level of agreement or
disagreement on a symmetric agree-disagree scale for a
series of statements. © 2007 Pearson Education Canada 14-61
Likert-Type Questions: Example
In the following, circle a number to indicate the extent to
which you agree or disagree with each statement:
52. I believe capital punishment represents the most effective
deterrent to murder.
Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly agree

53. I believe a murderer can be rehabilitated to become a

responsible, functioning member of society.
Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly agree

54. I believe a life sentence is a satisfactory penalty for

murder.
Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly agree
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada 14-62
Tips for Likert-Style Questions
1. Avoid the word “and”
 Makes the questions multidimensional

2. Always place “strongly agree” on right side, with 5 indicating strong agreement
 Response set, a situation in which the respondent answers similarly to all answers, is best
avoided by wording some statements positively, others negatively

3. Avoid negatives that can confuse respondents

 Use direct negative statements

4. Vary “strength of wording” to produce variation in response

1. The nursing care I received was good.
2. The nursing care I received was perfect in every instance

5. Before the first Likert-type item, provide a brief

© 2007 Pearson Educationexplanation
Canada of how respondents14-63are
to to indicate their answers
Questionnaire Development

© 2007 Pearson Education Canada 14-64

Steps in Questionnaire Development

1. Make a list of variables. Usually includes:

1. Background variables
2. Dependent variable(s)
3. Independent variables
4. Others: intervening, antecedent, spurious

2. Anticipate how data will be analyzed

 Procedures depend on level of measurement

3. Write the proposed questions on index cards

 Facilitates editing and re-arranging order
4. Double check: do you have all the variables?

© 2007 Pearson Education Canada 14-65

 The Major Decisions in questionnaire Design

1. Content - What should be asked? (Accurate/relevant)

2. Wording - How should each question be

phrased? (Open/Closed question)

3. Sequence - In what order should the questions
be presented?
4. Layout - What layout will best serve the
research objectives?

The most difficult step is specifying exactly what information is to be collected

from each respondent Dr Jugindar Singh
 THE MAJOR DECISIONS IN
QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN
1. What should be asked?
2. How should each question be phrased?
3. In what sequence should the questions be
arranged?
4. What questionnaire layout will best serve the research objectives?
5. How should the questionnaire be pretested? Does the
questionnaire need to be revised?

Zikmund Dr Jugindar Singh

 1. WHAT SHOULD BE ASKED?
1. Questionnaire relevance
all information collected addresses a research question
2. Questionnaire accuracy
• Accuracy means that the information is reliable & valid
• Questionnaires should use simple, understandable, unbiased, unambiguous words.
• Design a questionnaire that will facilitate recall and motivate respondents to
cooperate.
• Questions are not lengthy, difficult to answer, or ego threatening,
Question wording and sequence also substantially influence accuracy

Dr Jugindar Singh
 2. HOW SHOULD EACH QUESTION BE PHRASED ?
1. Open-ended questions
Questions that pose some problem and ask respondents to
answer in their own words.
Eg:What things do you like most about working for this Company
2. Fixed-alternative questions (Close ended)
Questions in which respondents are given specific, limited alternative responses and asked to
choose the one closest to their
own viewpoint.
Eg: How do you rate library

I am satisfied with the Bus service provided by APU:

Strongly Neither Agree Strongly
Disagree Disagree Nor Disagree Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5
______________________________________________________ Dr Jugindar Singh
 HOW TO OBTAIN VALID INFORMATION
• Ask purposeful questions
• Use simple and short questions
• Avoid abbreviations
• Review questions with experts/respondents
• Be specific
• Avoid two-edged questions
• Avoid negative questions
• Adopt/adapt questions used successfully in other
questionnaires
Dr Jugindar Singh
 3. IN WHAT SEQUENCE SHOULD THE
QUESTIONS BE ARRANGED?
Question sequence
Order bias
Bias caused by the influence of earlier questions in a questionnaire or by an answer’s
position in a set of answers.
Funnel technique
Asking general questions before specific questions in order to obtain unbiased responses.
Filter question
A question that screens out respondents who are not qualified to answer a second
question.
Pivot question
A filter question used to determine which version of a second question will be
If the opening questions are interesting, simple to comprehend and easy to answer, respondents’ cooperation
and involvement can be maintained throughout the questionnaire Dr Jugindar Singh
 3. IN WHAT SEQUENCE SHOULD THE
QUESTIONS BE ARRANGED?

Question Layout
Good layout and physical attractiveness are crucial in mail, Internet, and other self-
administered questionnaires

• Should never be overcrowded. NEAT and ATTRACTIVE

• Questionnaires designed to appear as short as possible
• The title of a questionnaire should be phrased carefully
• To capture interest, underline the importance of the research
• Emphasize the interesting nature of the study
• Appeal to the respondent’s ego
• Emphasize the confidential nature of the study
Dr Jugindar Singh

• To facilitate coding, question responses should be precode

 4. QUESTIONNAIRE LAYOUT
The layout and physical attractiveness of a questionnaire are important aspects
 Questionnaires should be designed to appear as short as possible
 Questionnaires should not appear overcrowded
 Leave lots of space for open ended questions

Opening
Provide name of company or university doing Closing
research  Thank for time
Provide reason for survey and topic  Remind them
State confidentiality and privacy that their
Reinforce that respondent’s time is appreciated opinions count
Invite to participate
Dr Jugindar Singh
 LAYOUT FOR INTERNET QUESTIONNAIRES

• Graphical User Interface (GUI)

• Paging layout going from screen to screen
• Scrolling layout gives the respondent the ability to scroll down
• Push buttons
• Status bar

Common Displays
• Radio button
• Drop-down box
• Check box
• Open-ended boxes Dr Jugindar Singh
 5. HOW SHOULD THE QUESTIONNAIRE BE
PRETESTED? PRETESTING IS IMPORTANT

The pretesting process allows the researcher to determine whether respondents

have any difficulty understanding the questionnaire and whether there are any
ambiguous or biased questions
Pretests typically are conducted to answer questions about
the questionnaire
• Can the questionnaire format be followed by the
interviewer?
• Does the questionnaire flow naturally and
conversationally?
• Are the questions clear and easy to understand?
• Can respondents answer the questions easily?
• Which alternative forms of questions work best? Dr Jugindar Singh
PRESENTATION OF QUESTIONNAIRE

• Have a distinctive look

• E.g., coloured paper, graphics for questions is appealing
• Can increase the appeal of doing the questionnaire
• Don’t squeeze too much onto one page
• Crowding questions on a page can make the
questionnaire appear too long ©
200
7
Pea
rso
n
Edu
cati
 TUTORIAL

Based on your research Title and Conceptual model,

design the Questionnaire
 SAMPLE
QUESTIONNAIRES

Dr Jugindar Singh
 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN SAMPLE
Section A is aimed to obtain the general
information and demographic data of the
respective respondents, nominal scale is
used to measure the most appropriate
answers for the respective respondents.

In Section B, the interval scale was used

as the main scale of measurement. The 5-
points of Likert scale were used for the
questions in Section B which allow the
respondents to identify whether they are
(1) Strongly Agree, (2) Agree, (3) Neutral,
(4) Disagree and (5) Strongly Disagree with
the statements.

The questions were adapted……..

Dr Jugindar Singh
Dr Jugindar Singh
Dr Jugindar Singh
Dr Jugindar Singh
 Sample Questionnaire
Dear Passenger:

To help us provide the best service possible, we need to know more about you and your
opinions of our service. Your flight attendant will pick up your questionnaire shortly.
Thank you.

Please indicate: Gender ___________ Age_____________

1. At the city where you boarded this particular plane, did you make a connection from
another flight?
Yes, from Malaysia . . . . 1
Yes, from Other Airline . . 2
No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Did you board this plane at the airport from which it just took off, or were you a
through passenger for which that was an intermediate stop?
Boarded here . . . . . . . . . . 1
Through passenger. . . . . . 2
3. How would you rate the overall service from American for this flight, all things
considered, from your arrival at the airport terminal until now?

Poor Fair Good Excellent

Overall Service . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 4

Dr Jugindar Singh
Dr Jugindar Singh
Dr Jugindar Singh
Dr Jugindar Singh
Dr Jugindar Singh
Dr Jugindar Singh
EXAMPLES OF
QUESTIONS

Dr Jugindar Singh
1. Open-ended questions − allow respondents to express their own ideas and
opinions
Eg: What are the factors that can increase your job satisfaction? ---------------------
----

2. Closed-ended questions − list answers and respondents select either one or

multiple responses
Eg: Do you intent to quit your job within the next 1 year? Yes/No

Avoid jargon and technical language

Avoid vague or ambiguous words and concepts

Dr Jugindar Singh
 EXAMPLES OF QUESTION TYPES ( 1)

Open questions

Please list up to three things you like about your job

1…………………………………………

2…………………………………………

3…………………………………………

Saunders et al. (2009)

Dr Jugindar Singh
 EXAMPLES OF QUESTION TYPES
CLOSED questions

What is your religion?

Please tick  the appropriate box

Buddhist  None 
Christian  Other 
Hindu 
Jewish 
Muslim 
Sikh 

Saunders et al. (2009)

Dr Jugindar Singh
 EXAMPLES OF QUESTION TYPES (1)
Open questions
1. Please list up to three things you like about
your our service
1…………………………………………
2…………………………………………
3…………………………………………

2. Do you have any suggestions about how we could improve

our customer service?
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------

Saunders et al. (2009)

Dr Jugindar Singh
 EXAMPLES OF QUESTION TYPES ( 2)
List questions
How would you describe yourself? Please tick  the
appropriate box
Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander
Black/African American (Non-Hispanic)
Hispanic
Native American
White (Non-Hispanic)
Other
What is your religion? Please tick  the appropriate box
Buddhist  None 
Christian  Hindu 
Muslim  Other 
Saunders et al. (2009)
Dr Jugindar Singh
 EXAMPLES OF QUESTION TYPES (3)
Category questions
Which category includes your age?
25-34 
35-44 
45-54 
55-64 
How often do you visit the shopping centre?
Please tick  as appropriate
 First visit
 Once a week
 Less than fortnightly to once a month
 2 or more times a week
 Less than once a week to fortnightly
 Less often
Dr Jugindar Singh
Saunders et al. (2009)
 EXAMPLES OF QUESTION TYPES (4)
Ranking questions

Please number each of the factors listed below in

order of importance to you in choosing a new car.
Number the most important 1, the next 2 and so on. If
a factor has no importance at all, please leave blank.

Factor Importance
Carbon dioxide emissions [ ]
Boot size [ ]
Depreciation [ ]
Price [ ]

Adapted from Saunders et al. (2009)

Dr Jugindar Singh
 EXAMPLES OF QUESTION TYPES ( 5)

Rating questions

For the following statement please tick the box that

matches your view most closely

Agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Disagree

I feel employees’    
views have
influenced the
decisions taken
by management
Saunders et al. (2009)
Dr Jugindar Singh
 EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONS
LIKERT SCALE

I am satisfied with the working conditions:

_________________________________
Strongly Neither Agree Strongly
Disagree Disagree Nor Disagree Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5
______________________________________________________

Dr Jugindar Singh
98
 Recap: The main types of questions are:
Open ended
eg: Do you have any suggestions about how we could improve our customer service?
………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………
Closed
eg: Do you own a car? (select one response)
1= YES 2= NO

Multiple choice
eg: Which of these media do you get your news from?
(select more than one response)
1. Newspaper 2. Radio 3. TV 4. Internet

Scaled
eg: Using the scale below, how would you rank the following?
1 = excellent 2 = good 3 = satisfactory 4 = fair 5 = poor

Dichotomous Questions
Eg: Should the University give students tips on examination questions? Dr Jugindar Singh
1= Agree 2= Disagree
CHAPTER 3

Dr Jugindar Singh
 EXAMPLE

RELATIONSHIP AMONG
Knowledge Management,
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
AND FIRM PERFORMANCE

Dr Jugindar Singh
3.7 Instrumentation/ Questionnaire
Questionnaires are a popular means of collecting data, but are difficult to
design and often require many rewrites before an acceptable questionnaire is
produced.
•The scales used
•The source of questions (adopted or adapted)
•The structure/design of questionnaire (demographic and other data)
•The type of questions (Open ended or closed)
•How the questionnaire will be distributed (Attach a sample of the questionnaire)
Example:
For current study, self-administered questionnaire is chosen due to its convenience,
inexpensive, reduction of biases and greater anonymity (Saunders et al., 2012). The
purpose of the questionnaire is to generalize from a sample to a population to make
inferences about the characteristics of the population (Saunders et al., 2012). There are
two parts in the design of the questionnaire. The first part asked the respondents about
their demographic characteristics. The second part detailed the independent and
dependent variables that would be tested in the survey. The questions adoption was
from different sources (state the sources). The questionnaire contained structured
questions with Likert-type scales. Researchers have applied Likert scale format in this
research because the scale was suitable for self-administered survey method (Hair,
Bush and Ortinau, 2004). All the items measured in the questionnaire were using a 5-
point Likert scale. The self-administered questionnaires will be administered
electronically using the Internet (Internet-mediated questionnaires) or delivered by hand
to each respondent and collected later (delivery and collection questionnaires).DrAJugindar
total Singh
of
200 questionnaires were distributed to the respondents to collect quantitative data.