Amateur researchers may not find tool construction challenging till they give it a careful serious thought to the process and the choices it involves. The presentation intends to draw attention to several nitty-gritties of tool construction with ample examples and task based interactions. With reference to research into social science, it facilitates deep diving into principles of developing a tool with high validity. It highlights the need for careful wording as against casual use.

1. CONSTRUCTING RESEARCH TOOL:
Questionnaire – skill development
B ED SPECIAL EDUCATION, SEM 4
COURSE D 19, MODULE 3
UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI
asmita huddar
principal.hacse@gmail.com
www.hashuadvanismarak.org/hacse

2. QUICK RECAP
There has to be a SMART and VISIBLE link among every
step of research AND research reporting:
At this point, at least ensure the link among:
Title
Objective
Operational definitions
Tool
Raw data tables
Conclusions

3. QUICK RECAP: KEEPYOURPREVIOUSNOTES&draft
proposalHANDY
Refer to your notes to remember and reflect
on
1. the meaning of the word – SMART 3 mins
2. Your locked objective and the drafts of
objectives prior to that – 5 mins
3. your operational definitions: 5 mins
4. your variables their role and relations – 3 mins
5. various research tools and the one you chose. 5
mins

4. ASK DOUBTS NOW!
Don’t let your doubts freeze in your mind.
I like silly doubts! Go ahead……

5. Questionnaire:
Read the statement and decode it in
your own way.
Read it again.
Explain the meaning to your bench
mate
A set of questions / statements to which the
research participants are expected to respond to.
Using this tool the researcher collects multiple
responses in order to analyze and conclude as per
the set objectives.

6. DataCollectionTools:
Takea pause.
Readyournotes.
Reflectoneachoneof them
Thinkwhichoneyouselectedandwhy
•Questionnaire
•Interview schedule
•Observation blue print
•Performance Tests (Standardized / researcher made / adapted)
•Document study (Exam scores / admission data etc)
•Rating scale
•Checklist

7. For hands-on skill development, we
are using ‘questionnaire’
NOTE: (Most of the learning points are
same across the tools)
NO,
Not because it is my favourite!
No
Not because it is the best tool!!
(Remember we discarded the concept and the word ‘ best’? )
Because it is the most frequently occurring tool in amateur
research

8. What kind of questionnaire do you
intend to construct? Read your
objective once again
Reflect on who are your respondents?
how are you going to deliver it?
how are you going to collect the responses ?
How are you going to analyse the responses?
………….
And many more details

9. Questionnaire:
Type
Self administered/ researcher
Administered/ out sourced
Oral/written/
electronic
Identity hidden/
identity mentioned
Close ended/
multiple choice/
relative grading/
open ended/
combination
Face to face/
by post/electronic(e-mail/
phone/sms)/other
Individual/
group

10. Skilldevelopment:
Lets make a questionnaire!
what do you need to begin with…
paper
pencil
objective

11. SMART OBJECTIVE?
TOBJECTIVE X:
To compare the level of fear of ghost in childhood and
adulthood experienced by middle aged security guards
currently working in Pune.
Point to ponder…..
What all will you make more specific in operational
definition?
Subject selection criteria? Reflect and share with the
bench mate

12. SMARTer objective: Similar context
OBJECTIVE Y:
To study the experience of fear of ghost
in graduate level male and female
students who are hostellers in terms of
-frequency of fear experience
-degree of severity of fear experience
-Physical symptoms noted during this
experience

13. What kind of questions would you
like to ask?
What are the different kinds of
question for you to choose from?
Same content can be phrased
differently. You need to chose on
wisely.

14. REFER TO OBJECTIVE X
1.Multiple choice:
When you compare your childhood level of fear of ghost with the
level of fear of ghost that you experience today, you feel it:
• has decreased
• has increased and
• has remained the same
2.Multiple choice-grading:
How much increase do you feel in the current level of fear of ghost
than that of childhood level?
No increase/little increase/great increase

15. 3.Yes / No:
has there been any increase in the level of fear for ghost since
childhood? Yes/No
4.Open ended:
How much increase do you feel when you compare current level of
fear of ghost to that of your childhood level?
5.Combination:
Has there been any increase in the level of fear for ghost since
childhood? Yes/No
Describe the difference if Yes-----------------------------------------

16. Constructingquestionnaire :
Dos anddon’ts
(Youmake the list)
Read the question and tell me what is wrong with it?
Reflect on the specific question and state the reason for its
inappropriateness

17. Refer to OBJECTIVES X AND Y
Q 1 . Do you think most of the people experience fear of ghost
during night rather than the day time?
Focus has to be clear.
Appropriate objective for this question could be:
To find out the opinion of the students----------(not what they
themselves experience)
Remember? each item in the questionnaire must tightly match the
objective
We need the tool which measures what it intends to measure (V----
-- of the tool)

18. Q 2. Do you experience fear of ghost during night rather than
the day time?
(leading question, bias of the researcher)

19. Q 3. Do you think ghosts exist?
Yes / No /any other
Each item should go well with the objective
Q 4. How often do you experience the fear of ghost
Once in a day/once a week/once a month/ 4,5 times in a
month/once in three months/less than once in a three months.
Avoid overlap

20. Q 5. When do you generally experience the fear of ghost? Early
morning/morning/evening/late evening/night/late night/midnight
Avoid gaps (indicate full range)

21. Q 6 . Like most of the others, do you experience the fear more
frequently and more seriously when alone?
Avoiding Leading questions
•Avoid hyphenated questions (two issues clubbed together)
•Avoid biased selection of options for multiple choice question.
Q 7. When do you experience fear of ghost? ( after watching horror
movie/ early morning/once in a week)
•Avoid confusion of points (I can select all options)

22. Q 8. Do you think fear of ghost does not decrease when no one
stops discussing the issue. (Yes/No/Don’t know)
Avoid questions with negatives and double negatives.

23. MARK THE DIFFERENCE (Focus: Frequency )
Q 9. Do you experience the fear of ghost regularly?
Yes/No
Q 10. Do you experience the fear of ghost regularly?
Yes/Some times/No
Q 11. Do you experience --------------------------- (Almost
always/Many times/Sometimes/rarely/ never)
Q 12. How frequently do you---------------------------
(everyday/once in a week/once in a month/ once in a
year/less than once in a year)
Q 13. How many days did you experience fear of ghost
in last two months? -----------days per month
Q 14. How many days did you experience fear of ghost
in last two months? ----------days in July ,-----------days in
August.
Try to make questions simple and quantified.

24. Construction guidelines
Avoid gaps (coverage of full range)
No overlaps (discrete, mutually exclusive)
Use quantified terms
Each item should go well with the objective
Avoid ambiguity
Have a clear and brief introductory lines
Have confidentiality clarified
Have clear instructions
Have terms defined if required
Have clear demographic data
Avoid unnecessary details

25. Sample: part A of the tool:
Demographics
How can you make demographic data quantified?
Name (Remember, you can choose not to ask this or make this
optional?)
Birthdate: (what would you prefer? Asking age or birthdate?
Why?
Type of student: Day scholar / Hosteller / Other
Etc etc

26. Some more points
Appropriate ordering of the items
 Familiar context first
 General to specific
 Comforting questions first
 Logical theme in ordering
 Clarity of statement
Length of the questionnaire
Language
 Selection
 Level
 Clarification of concept

27. Ethical Issues
Informed consent
Right to withdraw
Right to withhold response
Confidentiality/non-access/anonymity
Methodological rigor

28. Any doubts? Discussion time!
What did you learn?
What did you enjoy?
What did you find difficult to understand?
DO YOU FEEL READY TO MAKE THE FIRST DRAFT OF YOU
RESEARCH TOOL ?
ARE YOU READY TO MAKE THE FIRST DRAFT OF YOUR
RESEARCH TOOL?
The two questions above mean different things! Hope you didn’t
take them to mean the same thing!!

29. WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Good! There are plenty of resources.
Try these…
Cohen, Manion and Morrison(2000), Research Methods in
Education
Williamson,Karp and Dalphin(1977), The Research Craft
Kothari (200 ), Research Methodology