A questionnaire is a written research instrument used to collect required information from respondents by asking them questions. There are two main types of questionnaires: structured questionnaires with predetermined closed-ended questions and response options, and unstructured questionnaires that allow open-ended responses. When designing a questionnaire, it is important to pre-test it with a small group to check for clarity, length, question order effects, and to ensure the questions will elicit useful responses.

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Questionnaire Design
A questionnaire is a written research instrument in which all the
required information are collected by putting questions to the
respondent from whom data is sought.
Type of Questionnaire:
1. Structured or closed questionnaire: When the questions to
be asked and the response (answer) permitted is
completely predetermined i. e. , questions are with fixed
alternative answers. Structured questionnaire may be –
(a) Dichotomous questionnaire: When the questions are
with fixed two alternative answers and the respondents
have to tick one of the two alternatives according to
his or her choice, e.g., Respondent will tick either yes or
no. Or respondent will tick agree with or do not agree
with etc.
(b) Multiple choice questionnaires: When the questions are
with multiple numbers of alternative answers and the
respondents have to select any one or more of the

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multiple answers. For most of the purposes structured
or closed questionnaire are used which is free of bias
but there is difficulty when the respondent may not
agree with the given fixed answers or would like to give
answer in different way.
2. Unstructured or open questionnaire: When the respondent
is free to response (answer) in his or her own way against
given questions unstructured questionnaire are open to
bias.
Both structured and unstructured questionnaire may be
(i) Disguised questionnaire – When the purpose of the
study has to remain hidden in the questionnaire.
(ii) Undisguised- When the purpose of the study is
evidently clear in the questionnaire.
When to use a questionnaire?
a. When resources and money are limited. A
Questionnaire can be quite inexpensive to administer.
b. When it is necessary to protect the privacy of the
participants. Questionnaires are easy to administer
confidentially.
c. When corroborating other findings. In studies that
have resources to pursue other data collection
strategies, questionnaires can be a useful confirmation
tools.
Steps to design and administer a questionnaire
It is important to remember that a questionnaire should be
viewed as a multi-stage process beginning with definition of

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the aspects to be examined and ending with interpretation of
the results.
The steps required to design and administer a questionnaire
include:
I. Defining the Objectives of the survey
II. Determining the Sampling Group
III. Writing the Questionnaire
IV. Administering the Questionnaire
V. Interpretation of the Results
Parts of a questionnaire
1. Title: the title should be clear and brief
2. Introductory remarks: Here the researchers describe
about the purpose of the study, what is expected from the
research subject and assurance to the research subject
is given about confidentiality of the data.
3. Instruction: Instruction should be given how to answer the
questions.
4. The contents: The questions.
5. The ending: The ending of the questionnaire is to be
marked with thanks to the research subject.
6. Signature of the respondent with date: if possible,
signature of the subject is to be taken with date
General Considerations
(Quality of a good Questionnaire)
[Write short notes on: Qualities of a good research
questionnaire, (BSMMU, MD Radiology, January, 2010)]
Whether your questions are open or closed format, there are
several points that must by considered when writing and
interpreting questionnaires:
1. Clarity: Questions must be clear, succinct, and
unambiguous.

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2. Length: As a general rule, with only a few exceptions, long
questionnaires get less response than short questionnaires.
Keep your questionnaire short. In fact, the shorter the
better. Response rate is the single most important indicator
of how much confidence you can place in the results.
3. Beginning: Begin with a few non-threatening and
interesting items.
4. Leading Questions: A leading question is one that forces
or implies a certain type of answer.
5. Language: Use simple and direct language. Do not use
uncommon words or long sentences. Make items as brief
as possible.
6. Phrasing: Most adjectives, verbs, and nouns in English
have either a positive or negative connotation. Two words
may have equivalent meaning, yet one may be a
compliment and the other an insult. Consider the two
words "child-like" and "childish", which have virtually
identical meaning. Child-like is an affectionate term that
can be applied to both men and women, and young and
old, yet no one wishes to be thought of as childish.
7. Embarrassing Questions: Embarrassing questions dealing
with personal or private matters should be avoided.
8. Hypothetical Questions Hypothetical questions are based,
at best, on conjecture and, at worst, on fantasy. One simple
question such as: If you were governor, what would you do
to stop crime?
This force the respondent to give thought to
something he may have never considered. This does
not produce clear and consistent data representing real
opinion. Do not ask hypothetical questions.

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9. Prestige Bias: Prestige bias is the tendency for
respondents to answer in a way that make them feel better.
People may not lie directly, but may try to put a better light
on themselves.
10. Title: Give your questionnaire a title that is short and
meaningful to the respondent. A questionnaire with a title
is generally perceived to be more credible than one
without.
11. Instructions: Include clear and concise instructions on how
to complete the questionnaire.
12. Make it convenient - The easier it is for the respondent to
complete the questionnaire the better.
13. Question and Answer Choice Order - There are two broad
issues to keep in mind when considering question and
answer choice order. One is how the question and answer
choice order can encourage people to complete your
survey. The other issue is how the order of questions or
the order of answer choices could affect the results of your
survey. Ideally, the early questions in a survey should be
easy and pleasant to answer. Place the most important
items in the first half of the questionnaire.
14. Grouping of the Questions -Items on a questionnaire
should be grouped into logically coherent sections.
Grouping questions that are similar will make the
questionnaire easier to complete, and the respondent will
feel more comfortable. Questions that use the same
response formats, or those that cover a specific topic,
should appear together. Transitions between questions
should be smooth. Questionnaires that jump from one
unrelated topic to another feel disjointed and are not likely
to produce high response rates.
15. Dimension of question- Asks for an answer on only one
dimension. The purpose of a survey is to find out

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information. A question that asks for a response on more
than one dimension will not provide the information you
are seeking. For example, a researcher investigating a new
food snack asks "Do you like the texture and flavor of the
snack?" If a respondent answers "no", then the researcher
will not know if the respondent dislikes the texture or the
flavor, or both.
16. Mutually exclusive options - A good question leaves no
ambiguity in the mind of the respondent. There should be
only one correct or appropriate choice for the respondent
to make. An obvious example is:
Where did you grow up? __
A. country
B. farm
C. city
A person who grew up on a farm in the country would
not know whether to select choice A or B.
17. Anonymity and Confidentiality - An anonymous study is
one in which nobody (not even the researcher) can identify
who provided data. If not possible Anonymity, Assure the
respondent that All of their answers, if concern prestige,
will be kept confidential.
Pre-test of the Questionnaire
The last step in questionnaire design is to test a questionnaire
with a small number of interviews before conducting your main
interviews. Ideally, you should test the survey on the same
kinds of people you will include in the main study. If that is not
possible, at least have a few people, other than the question
writer, try the questionnaire. This kind of test run can reveal
unanticipated problems with question wording, instructions to
skip questions, etc. It can help see if the interviewees
understand your questions and giving useful answers.