Questionnaire - handbook

Questionnaire Design - handbook.

Good questionnaire is a very good mean of obtaining Statistical Data, and on the basis of this data statistical analysis may be conducted.

Questionnaires are an inexpensive way to gather data from a potentially large number of respondents. A well-designed questionnaire that is used effectively can gather information on both the overall performance of the test system as well as information on specific components of the system. If the questionnaire includes demographic questions on the participants, they can be used for example to correlate performance and satisfaction with the test system among different groups of users.

Questionnaire should be viewed as a multi-stage process beginning with definition of the aspects to be examined and ending with interpretation of the results. Every step needs to be designed carefully because the final results are as good as the weakest link in the questionnaire process.

The following steps may be set while designing a good questionnaire:

   1. Defining the objectives of the survey
   2. Determining the Sampling Group
   3. Writing the Questionnaire
   4. Administering the Questionnaire
   5. Data Analyses and interpretation of the Results

The data gathered from the questionnaire can be classified into two main groups:

Defining the objective of a survey is of a great impact on the final results of the survey. The questions must follow the objective. When we establish objectives then we must ask good questions. The questions may be open format and close format. On the basis of our experience we strongly recommend not using open ended questions, because they are very difficult to analyze. In most cases the information obtained by means of open questions are lost. Close format questions usually take the form of a multiple-choice questions, which are usually measured on the Likert's scale.

Below we presents few hints which may help in designing a good questionnaire:

• Ask clear questions. Questions must be clear, intelligible. The respondent must understand the questions clearly.

For example question one is much worse than :
      Question 1. "How often do you play golf?"
      It is strongly recommend not to use such answers:
      1. Very often
      2. Often
      3. Sometimes
      4. Rarely
      5. Never

 

Much better are the answers below:
      1. Every day
      2. Few times a week
      3. Once a week
      4. Few times a month
      5. Once a month
      6. Few times a year
      7. Once a year or rarer

• Avoid open ended questions.

      

• Do not limit the possible answers into Yes/No.

For example, while asking a question:

      "Do you agree with the president's monetary policy?"
      Do not limit the answers into only two possible answer:  "Yes/no"
      Try to diversify the answers into: 1.Strongly agree  2.Partially agree 3.Neither agree nor disagree  4. Partially disagree 5.Strongly disagree