1. FAIRFAX COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT FOR HUMAN SERVICES
April 2003
Informational Brochure
Survey Questionnaire Design
Table of Contents A survey is a means of gathering information about a particular population
Preliminary 1 by sampling some of its members, usually through a system of standardized
Considerations questions. Surveys can be conducted by mail, telephone, personal
Survey Modes or Types 2 interview, or Internet. They can be administered either to individuals or
groups. The primary purpose of a survey is to elicit information which, after
Survey Questionnaire 4
Design evaluation, results in a profile or statistical characterization of the
Question Content 5 population sampled. Questions may be related to behaviors, beliefs,
attitudes, and/or characteristics of those who are surveyed.
Question Formats 6
Pretest 7 Preliminary Considerations
Glossary 7 Need for a Survey—Since almost all
surveys can be costly, it is critical to
discern whether or not the study
needs to be done. Begin by
contacting persons knowledgeable
in the field and by performing an
Types of Questions: environmental scan of other studies
• Attitudes—Respondents’ conducted on the topics of interest.
views, perceptions, or This work should provide the 4. Can the desired information
feelings. How they feel
(usually judgmental). answers to the following questions: actually be collected by a survey
or would another form of
• Beliefs—What 1. Have studies of this subject been
respondents think is research be more appropriate?
true; their perception of
done previously?
reality (assessment 5. Is there adequate time and
oriented, taps what they 2. Is there literature enough on the
resources available to conduct a
know). subject to answer the question
survey without skipping steps in
• Behaviors—What (i.e., books, periodicals,
respondents do the process?
reports)?
(present, past, and
future). Once the need for a survey is
3. Have other county organizations
determined, a problem statement
• Attributes—Personal or investigated this area, and do
demographic and objective must be developed for
they have information available
characteristics (age, the survey.
income, occupation). on the subject?

2. Page 2 Survey Questionnaire Design
Problem Statement—A clear, be located? early in the planning process
concise statement of the so that expectations for what
4. Does the information
problem to be studied and/or the survey can accomplish
collected need to be
the information desired should remain realistic in light of
statistically valid and does
be put into writing. It is helpful financial constraints.
it need to be generalized to
to list possible causes of the
a larger population? Survey Mode—The next step in
problem, as well as possible
the process is to determine
solutions. This will help clarify 5. What kinds of analyses
which survey mode to use. The
the survey objectives. would be useful for
survey mode is the type of
understanding the survey
Survey Objectives—Survey survey that will be conducted.
results?
objectives will be concerned The most frequently used
with the following issues: 6. Will the statistics resulting modes include face-to-face or
from the analysis of the personal interviews, telephone
1. What information is needed
survey data be appropriate interviews, and written
in order to understand the
for the sampling plan used interviews which are usually
problem, its causes, and
as well as the questions to conducted by mail or Internet.
possible solutions?
be answered? The factors that will determine
2. How will the information be which mode to choose include
Survey Budget—When
used and by whom? financial constraints; resource
conducting a survey, an
3. What/who is the population adequate budget must be constraints; and question
to be studied and can all developed to cover all phases length, complexity, and
members of the population of work. This should be done sensitivity.
Survey Modes or Types
A. Face-to-Face Interview
Face-to-face interviews or personal interviews
are surveys conducted in person by an
interviewer who usually travels to the person
being surveyed.
• Pros—High response rates; can clarify
questions, if necessary; control over
respondent selection; can use longer, more
complex questionnaire; and easier to
and training interviewers, contacting
motivate the respondent.
respondents, travel arrangements). Also,
• Cons—High costs, time-consuming, and more there is a tendency for respondents to give
administrative requirements (i.e., selecting socially acceptable answers.

3. Page 3
B. Telephone Interviews influenced, easy to administer and relatively
Telephone interviews are usually conducted low costs, can cover a wide geographical
from a central office that places telephone calls area, and more manageable for handling
to selected households or businesses. large samples.
• Pros—Good response rates, fast, some • Cons—Questionnaire may be given to
anonymity for respondents in answering someone else to fill out or may not reach the
questions, and control over respondent desired respondent; most difficult type of
selection. If a comprehensive list of the questionnaire to design; hard to interpret
target population is open-ended
available, the likelihood questions; cannot
of obtaining a control sequence in
representative sample which respondents
is high. answer questions;
and time-
• Cons—Questions must
consuming, given
be short and not
periodic mail-out
complex; cannot
requirements.
control interruption
by others in household/ D. Internet Questionnaire
office; hard to find An Internet questionnaire is a form of a written
persons at home, and those survey. Respondents may be invited to
that are at home may resent participate in the survey through email or
intrusion; there is mounting because they visit a particular web page.
displeasure among households receiving
• Pros—Fast to conduct and tabulate, some
unsolicited telephone calls; requires training
software products allow questionnaires to be
and quality control monitoring of the
customized depending on the respondent’s
interviewers; and is usually difficult to target
answers, avoids interviewer bias and
a specific geographical location.
distortion, answers unlikely to be socially
C. Mail Questionnaires influenced, easy to administer, and
Mail questionnaires are written surveys that are relatively low costs.
sent through the mail to selected members of • Cons—Information transferred via the
the population to be surveyed. Internet may not be confidential; poor
control over respondent selection; follow-up
• Pros—Good response rates with rigorous
difficult to conduct; difficult to obtain
follow-up procedures, relatively easy to
probability sample; and, like mail surveys,
obtain a listed population and locate
this is the most difficult type of questionnaire
respondents, can avoid interviewer bias and
to design.
distortion, answers unlikely to be socially

4. Page 4 Survey Questionnaire Design
Survey Questionnaire Design
The survey questionnaire should be designed to
include elements which make the survey B. General Layout
pertinent and relevant to the population to be The layout of a written questionnaire can have as
sampled, thereby maximizing response rates much to do with response and error rates as do
and minimizing error or bias. the actual questions. Therefore, the following
A. Components factors need to be carefully addressed:
The following sections 1. Length—All surveys should be as brief
normally comprise a as possible. Mail and telephone surveys
questionnaire: should be no longer than 10 to 15
1. Request for minutes. Personal interviews should not
Cooperation—This extend beyond 30 minutes.
might be a brief 2. Appearance—Mail and Internet
introductory paragraph surveys should give the appearance that
(or speech) at the they will be easy to complete. Neat,
beginning or could be a orderly written questionnaires with a lot
comprehensive cover of white space will increase response rates.
letter. It should highlight the reason for the 3. Instructions—Clear, unambiguous, and easily
survey, voluntary participation, readable instructions work best. In mail and
confidentiality, and willingness to provide a Internet surveys, it helps to offset instructions
copy of results to respondents if desired. from the rest of the text.
2. Instructions—Always simple, clear, and 4. Vertical Flow—Logical question and section
repetitive where necessary. Keep to a sequencing is critical. Avoid jumping from
minimum and make sure they are easy to topic to topic. Cluster similar types of
administer if given by an interviewer. questions either by subject, type of response,
3. Actual Questions—See Sections on Question and/or instruction.
Content and Question Formats. 5. Numbering Sequence—Precoding every item
4. Classification Data—Normally these are on the questionnaire allows for ease of data
demographic information and respondent entry. However, coding must be done
characteristics to ensure the target discretely if it is to appear on all but the
population has been sampled adequately. master copy of a written survey to avoid
5. Identification Data—This may include names, confusing respondents.
addresses, and telephone numbers and/or 6. Transition Statements—When shifting topics
identification numbers of participants to keep and/or sections in the questionnaire, clear
track of respondents and to facilitate follow- and understandable transition elements or
up procedures. statements are important.

5. Page 5
Question Content
The following factors must be considered when confuse
constructing the questions to be used in the respondents who
survey instrument: may not correctly
interpret the
1. Will the question elicit the type of response
intended meaning.
desired? For example, “How long have you
lived in your current home?” An open-ended 7. Is the person
question of this type may elicit answers such answering the
as “all my life,” instead of number of years. question the
appropriate
2. Use words which are simple, familiar, and
person? Often
unambiguous to the target population. Do not
times one member of a household has more
use colloquialisms or slang. A fifth grade
knowledge than others about the
reading level should be used when
household’s finances.
constructing questions. The question “Which
detrimental attributes impact on our 8. Will the respondent be willing to answer
transportation system?” contains words that certain types of questions truthfully? Some
are too difficult. The question “What do kids topics regularly elicit biased responses or
in your neighborhood do for fun?” is vague higher item nonresponse. These topics
and contains slang. Kids does not define a include information relating to income, or
specific age group and can refer to young criminal and other kinds of personal
goats. behaviors.
3. Avoid double-barrel questions. The question 9. Does the question bias the respondent’s
“Do you support smoking policies in private answer? “The president believes Social
industry, but not in governmental offices?” is Security should be privatized to protect the
two separate questions. funds. Do you agree?” If this appeared on a
survey, the answers might reflect feelings
4. Determine whether respondents will be able
about the president rather than what should
to answer accurately; are they likely to know,
be done with Social Security.
understand, and/or remember items relating
to the desired information? Respondent recall 10. Questions which appear to be “off the wall”
becomes unreliable quickly. Structure and unrelated to the subject matter being
questions to assist memory by measuring a explored should be avoided. The questions
discrete and recent time period rather than a should provide the information needed as
vague reference to the past. defined in the survey objectives and
purpose.
6. Avoid questions containing double negatives
or phrases such as, “would you agree or 11. The first question is important and should be
disagree that…” These types of questions short, simple, and relevant. More complex

6. Page 6 Survey Questionnaire Design
issues can come later in the questionnaire. Questions Should Contain
Simple Familiar Words
This will ensure higher response rates.
Complex Term Simplified Term
12. In multiple-choice or close-ended proximity closeness
questions, make sure all possible response exhausted tired
choices are included and are mutually leisure time free time
exclusive. When asking the number of candid honest
priority most important
times something has occurred, it is not
employment work
unusual for the answer choice “none” or assistance help
“0” to be missing. rectify correct
Question Formats
There are five basic formats from which to 4. Closed-ended with unordered response
structure questions in a survey instrument: choices: “Which of the following job tasks
do you like the most?” (circle one letter)
1. Open-ended: “The job tasks I enjoy most
are___________________________.” A. Writing
2. Modified open–ended: “I was _______years B. Editing
old when I began my current job.”
C. Organizing
3. Closed-ended with ordered response
5. Partially close-ended: “Which job task do
choices: “How would you rate your prefer-
you most enjoy doing?” (circle one letter)
ences for the following job tasks?” (circle
one answer for each item): A. Writing
ANSWER CHOICES B. Editing
Writing Enjoy Neutral Dislike C. Organizing
Editing Enjoy Neutral Dislike D. Other (please specify)_____________
Organizing Enjoy Neutral Dislike
In general, close-ended with ordered or unor-
dered response choices are the easiest to code
for data processing. Open-ended are the most
difficult. However, all question types can be
useful depending upon what is being measured
(behaviors, attitudes, et cetera) and the kinds of
information needed.

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Pretest
The last steps before actual to be surveyed. Some administered to ensure:
distribution of the preliminary data analysis (even
1. Ease of administration of
questionnaire include: if hand calculated) should be
the survey,
attempted to check both
1. A review by colleagues and
design and coding procedures. 2. Field processes to be
potential data users, and
It often is useful to run two or employed work smoothly,
2. A pretest of the survey more versions of the 3. Questions are easily
instrument to be used. questionnaire to determine understood,
For comprehensive pretesting, which version will do the best
4. All important questions
a mock copy should be job. This may include
have been asked, and
submitted to a representative variations on questions.
cross-sample of the population 5. Instructions are
In general, a pretest is
understood.
Glossary
• Bias (error): Distortion or resulting from the survey
unreliability in survey results. process.
All surveys contain some bias. • Element: The basic unit about
Bias is increased when the which survey information is
respondents (persons sought (i.e., person, business,
answering the survey) are not household, car, dog, et cetera)
representative of the population • Instrument: The tool or device
being questioned, when used for survey
questions are poorly written or measurement, usually
misunderstood, and when the a questionnaire.
researcher uses inappropriate • Nonresponse: Unit
techniques to analyze the data. nonresponse refers to
• Census: A study using all the refusal of persons
available elements (members) selected to be
of a population. sampled to participate
• Coding: The assignment of in a survey (i.e.,
numerical (or other) values to person does not
individual questions and return the mail
answers on a survey instrument questionnaire). Item
(questionnaire) to facilitate nonresponse refers to selected
statistical analysis of the questions left unanswered by
information. the person responding.
• Data: The collection of • Population: The universe or
observations and information collection of all elements

8. Page 8 Common Pitfalls in Conducting a Survey
(persons, business, et cetera) being population selected to be sampled.
described or measured by a sample. • Sample: Any portion of the population, less
• Pretest: An initial evaluation of the survey than the total.
design by using a small subsample of the • Survey: A process of inquiry for the purpose
intended population for preliminary of data collection and analysis using
information. Number of Survey Returned
observation, polls, questionnaires, and/or
• Questionnaire: A measuring device used to
Number of Elements in Sample interviews.
query a population/sample in order to • Statistics: Descriptive measures based upon
obtain information for analysis. a probability sample.
Number of Survey Returned
• Response Items: The various answer choices
Number of Elements in Sample
provided on a survey instrument.
• Response Rates: The percentage of surveys/
questionnaires completed from the total
sample queried. Typically response rates
are calculated as:
 Surveys Completed 
Response Rate = 
 Number Sampled - Ineligible Elements  × 100

 
• Respondent: An element or member of the
Fairfax County Department of Systems
Management for Human Services
Economic and Demographic Research
12011 Government Center Parkway
Suite 222
Fairfax, Virginia 22035
Phone: 703-324-4519
TTY: 711 (Virginia Relay)
Fax: 703-803-8598
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