This document discusses best practices for designing, distributing, and analyzing questionnaires. It describes the key stages of developing a questionnaire including selecting participants, designing question content and format, pre-testing, and coding responses. Important considerations for question design are outlined such as using clear, unambiguous questions aligned with research objectives. The benefits and drawbacks of open-ended versus closed questions are compared. Common problems with question types are identified. Effective coding of questionnaire responses into a summary sheet and software is explained. Piloting the questionnaire with similar participants to identify issues is strongly recommended.

1. Questionnaires
Coombes, 2001, Research Using IT

2. Stages of Questionnaires
1. Selecting the population
2. Designing the questionnaire
a. Preparatory work
b. Question content
c. Questionnaire format
d. Pre-testing
3. Training the interviewers
4. Coding the data
5. Analyzing the data

3. Questionnaire should be…
• Objectives  questions
• Completion  easy and simple
• Answers  data needed & data analysis
• Good Questions
 Clear
 Explicit
 No ambiguity
• Wrong questions
 Confusing
 Wrong
 Not crucial

4. Open vs. Closed Questions
• Number of subjects
• Data analysis
• Advantages & disadvantages (p. 126)

5. Open-Ended Questions
Advantages
• More freedom to express
opinion
• Bias reduced (not limited
to certain answers)
• Can explain answers
• More questions to clarify
• Not influencing the
answers
Disadvantages
• Analysis is time
consuming
• Longer time to carry out
• Trainings for researcher
• Answer may not be full
for busy participants

6. Closed Questions
Advantages
• Quick to administer
• Easier to code and
analyze
• Participants with more
info can’t express
themselves more
Disadvantages
• Misleading conclusions
because options are
limited
• Not able to express
personal opinions
(choosing the nearest
answers)

7. Problem Questions
• Double-barred questions
 Two in one questions
 “and”? Check!
• Leading questions
 Emotive
 No “do you think…”, “do you agree…”

8. Problem Questions (con’t)
• Hypothetical questions
 Imaginary situation
 No “if”
•Memory questions
 Recalling events, information, or dates
 Can you answer the question? If not, revise!
 Use “can you list…” or “what were your subjects in
college..”

9. Problem Questions (con’t)
•Sensitive questions
 Culturally not OK questions
 Put at the end of the
questionnaire
 Use a show card (a list of banded
answers)
•Long questions
 Too long  too complicated to
understand
 Use a show card (p. 129)
 Shorten/divide the question

10. Problem Questions (con’t)
• Questions requiring
prior knowledge
 Takes time to answer
 If you can’t instantly answer
it, remove it or restate it
• Confusing questions
 Ambiguous/overlapping
categories (p. 131)
 Piloting the questionnaire

11. Problem Questions (con’t)
• Specific questions
 Comparative words (p. 132)
 Make it specific/countable

12. Presentation of Questionnaire
• See p. 133
• Package, package, package!
• Clearly printed
• Consistent in display
• Logically presented
• Plenty of space for reply
• Clear and unambiguous instructions

14. Coding the questionnaire
• Summary sheet (for questionnaire in
p. 134)
Q
#
Question1 Question2 Question3 Question4 Question5
1.
1
1.2 1.3 Other 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Ot
her
3.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 Ot
her
1     
2     
3 Gate-
crashed
   
4  fre
e
  

15. Coding Data for Open-Ended Answers
• Simple coding
 Create a categorization
 Each time the answer refers to one of the category, write a number beside it
 Move the coded answer to the summary sheets
• Individual topic coding numbers
 Long, in-depth open-ended answers
 Important vs. unimportant answers
 Worth quoting?
 Steps:
o Different color for different subjects
o Papers with different headings (topics)
o Cut and paste the same topic answers to the heading paper
o Code the answers in the heading paper + reference to the page number

16. Coding the questionnaire (con’t)
• Use commercially available software
• Excel or SPSS
• Easy to do statistical analysis

17. Piloting the questionnaire
• Try it on!
• Pilot subjects should be similar to the
subjects
• Ask questions (see p. 137)
 Length of completion?
 Clear questions?
 Ambiguous questions?
 Objection to answer?
 Layout/presentation: easy to follow?
 First impression?
 Any other comments?

18. Distributing the finishedquestionnaire
• Objectives explanation
 Separate letter
 Instructions on top
• Return date
 2 weeks or less
• Return arrangement
• Methods of distribution
• Pre-coding questionnaires
• Analysis of data obtained