What principles should be followed for designing an ideal questionnaire ?

Because questionnaire design is an art it is useless to follow a rigid set of guidelines. Rather the process should be left entirely to the creativity and ingenuity of the researcher”. Examine the relevance of this statement and give some guidelines on how a good questionnaire is constructed ?

Explain the nature and purpose of a ‘questionnaire’ used for research studies. How will you design a questionnaire for conducting a market survey ?

What are the typical advantages of using a questionnaire? What general guidelines should one follow in designing a questionnaire ?

Ans.

Collection of Data Through Questionnaires

This method of data collection is quite popular, particularly in case of big enquiries. It is being adopted by private individuals, research workers, private and public organisations and even by governments. In this method a questionnaire is sent (usually by post) to the persons concerned with a request to answer the questions and return the questionnaire. A questionnaire consists of a number of questions printed or typed in a definite order on a form or set of forms. The questionnaire is mailed to respondents who are expected to read and understand the questions and write down the reply in the space meant for the purpose in the questionnaire itself. The respondents have to answer the questions on their own.

The method of collecting data by mailing the questionnaires to respondents is most extensively employed in various economic and business surveys. The merits claimed on behalf of this method are as follows:

1. There is low cost even when the universe is large and is widely spread geographically.

2. It is free from the bias of the interviewer; answers are in respondents’ own words.

3. Respondents have adequate time to give well thought out answers.

4. Respondents, who are not easily approachable, can also be reached conveniently.

5. Large samples can be made use of and thus the results can be made more dependable and reliable.

The main demerits of this system can also be listed here:

1. Low rate of return of the duly filled in questionnaires; bias due to no-response is often indeterminate.

2. It can be used only when respondents are educated and cooperating.

3. The control over questionnaire may be lost once it is sent.

4. There is inbuilt inflexibility because of the difficulty of amending the approach once questionnaires have been dispatched.

5. There is also the possibility of ambiguous replies or omission of replies altogether to certain questions; interpretation of omissions is difficult.

6. It is difficult to know whether willing respondents are truly representative.

7. This method is likely to be the slowest of all.

Main aspects of a questionnaire

Quite often questionnaire is considered as the heart of a survey operation. Hence it should be very carefully constructed. If it is not properly set up, then the survey is bound to fail. This fact requires us to study the main aspects of a questionnaire viz., the general form, question sequence and question formulation and wording. Researcher should note the following with regard to these three main aspects of a questionnaire :

1. General form: So far as the general form of a questionnaire is concerned, it can either be structured or unstructured questionnaire. Structured questionnaires are those questionnaires in which there are definite, concrete and pre-determined questions. The questions are presented with exactly the same wording and in the same order to all respondents. Resort is taken to this sort of standardization to ensure that all respondents reply to the same set of questions. The form of the question may be either closed (i.e., of the type ‘yes’ or ‘no’) or open (i.e., inviting free response) but should be stated in advance and not constructed during questioning. Structured questionnaires may also have fixed alternative questions in which responses of the informants are limited to the stated alternatives. Thus a highly structured questionnaire is one in which all questions and answers are specified and comments in the respondent’s own words are held to the minimum. When these characteristics are not present in a questionnaire, it can be termed as unstructured or non-structured questionnaire. More specifically, we can say that in an unstructured questionnaire, the interviewer is provided with a general guide on the type of information to be obtained, but the exact question formulation is largely his own responsibility and the replies are to be taken down in the respondent’s own words to the extent possible; in some situations tape recorders may be used to achieve this goal.

2. Question sequence: In order to make the questionnaire effective and to ensure quality to the replies received, a researcher should pay attention to the question-sequence in preparing the questionnaire. A proper sequence of questions reduces considerably the chances of individual questions being misunderstood. The question-sequence must be clear and smoothly-moving, meaning thereby that the relation of one question to another should be readily apparent to the respondent, with questions that are easiest to answer being put in the beginning. The first few questions are particularly important because they are likely to influence the attitude of the respondent and in seeking his desired cooperation. The opening questions should be such as to arouse human interest. The following type of questions should generally be avoided as opening questions in a questionnaire :

(i) questions that put too great a strain on the memory or intellect of the respondent;

(ii) questions of a personal character;

(iii) questions related to personal wealth, etc.

3. Question formulation and wording: With regard to this aspect of questionnaire, the researcher should note that each question must be very clear for any sort of misunderstanding can do irreparable harm to a survey. Question should also be impartial in order not to give a biased picture of the true state of affairs. Questions should be constructed with a view to their forming a logical part of a well thought out tabulation plan. In general, all questions should meet the following standards: (a) should be easily understood; (b) should be simple i.e., should convey only one thought at a time; (c) should be concrete and should conform as much as possible to the respondent’s way of thinking. (For instance, instead of asking. “How many razor blades do you use annually?” The more realistic question would be to ask, “How many razor blades did you use last week?

Essentials of a good questionnaire (Principles to be followed for designing an ideal questionnaire)

To be successful, questionnaire should be comparatively short and simple i.e., the size of the questionnaire should be kept to the minimum. Questions should proceed in logical sequence moving from easy to more difficult questions. Personal and intimate questions should be left to the end. Technical terms and vague expressions capable of different interpretations should be avoided in a questionnaire. Questions may be dichotomous (yes or no answers), multiple choice (alternative answers listed) or open-ended. The latter type of questions are often difficult to analyse and hence should be avoided in a questionnaire to the extent possible. There should be some control questions in the questionnaire which indicate the reliability of the respondent. For instance, a question designed to determine the consumption of particular material may be asked first in terms of financial expenditure and later in terms of weight. The control questions, thus, introduce a cross-check to see whether the information collected is correct or not. Questions affecting the sentiments of respondents should be avoided. Adequate space for answers should be provided in the questionnaire to help editing and tabulation. There should always be provision for indications of uncertainty, e.g., “do not know,” “no preference” and so on. Brief directions with regard to filling up the questionnaire should invariably be given in the questionnaire itself. Finally, the physical appearance of the questionnaire affects the cooperation the researcher receives from the recipients and as such an attractive looking questionnaire, particularly in mail surveys, is a plus point for enlisting cooperation. The quality of the paper, along with its colour, must be good so that it may attract the attention of recipients.