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Chapter 10 Questionnaire Design. Chapter Objectives. explain why it is important for managers or business researchers to know how to design good questionnaires identify the types of information included in a questionnaire design questionnaires to tap different variables
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Chapter 10 Questionnaire Design
Chapter Objectives • explain why it is important for managers or business researchers to know how to design good questionnaires • identify the types of information included in a questionnaire • design questionnaires to tap different variables • evaluate questionnaires, distinguishing the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ questions therein • identify and minimise the biases in collecting data with questionnaires • discuss how a pilot study can be used to prove the structure of a questionnaire • discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different ways of administering questionnaires
Why are questionnaires important? Managers and business practitioners must: • have a working knowledge of the common business research processes • with limited knowledge they could run a high risk of potential litigation • be aware of the weaknesses of the resultant data from that limited questionnaire • be able to understand & intepret the analysis • need to know when to call in experts to provide assistance
Definition of a Questionnaire A questionnaire is a pre-formulated written set of questions to which respondents record their answers, usually within closely defined alternatives
When to Use a Questionnaire • When the researcher knows precisely what information is needed • When large numbers of people are to be reached in different geographical regions • When groups of people can be assembled in a convenient location (eg conference rooms) to whom questionnaires can be administered, and collected immediately
Advantages of Questionnaires • Helps a researcher or manager obtain data fairly easily • Information from questionnaires is easily coded • Benefits the scientific community if the measures are well validated and reliable • Often is a catharsis for respondents
Principles of Questionnaire Design • Principles of wording • Principles of measurement • General appearance • Questionnaire administration & testing
Principles of Wording To minimise bias: • Content and purpose of questions • Language and wording of the questionnaire • Type and form of questions • Biases in questions • Sequencing of questions • Classification data or personal information
Content and Purpose of Questions To get at objective facts or subjective feelings and perceptions?
Language and Wording of the Questionnaire • Would the respondent understand the words in the questionnaire? • Are the questions ambiguous? • Are there double-barrelled questions? • Are the questions leading? • Are there recall-dependent questions? • Any social desirability? • Does the length of the question exceed 20 words or one line of print?
Type of Questions • Open-ended questions • Freedom to answer the question any way one wants • Could pose problems for researcher in coding the response • Closed questions • Alternatives that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, given • Respondent can make a quick decision • Easy to intepret and code
Form of Questions Should be positively and negatively worded to reduce response bias or halo effects
Sequencing of Questions The Funnel Approach • From general to specific questions • From easy to difficult questions
Classification Data –Personal Information or Demographic Data Decisions on: • Name, number required? (anonymity) • What info required? (income, marital status, etc needed?) • Age, income, etc, should a range be given? If so, what are the appropriate ranges? • Eg, <20, 20 – 40, >40 • Should personal info be at beginning or end of questionnaire?
General Appearance of the Questionnaire • Introduction to respondents • Instructions and organising questions • Demographic data • Sensitive personal data • Open-ended question at end • Concluding the questionnaire
Introduction to respondents • identity of researcher • purpose of survey • establish rapport • motivate repsondents • confidentiality & anonymity • summarised results • distribution and/or publication of results • courteous note, thanks
Pre-testing Questionnaires • Face validity • Content validity • Pilot study • With sample of respondents from target population • Ideal research design • Factor analysis • Reality – less than ideal • Collecting and analysing data • Eg, SPSS or Excel
Gathering the Data • Personally administered questionnaires • Mail questionnaires • Electronic questionnaires
Multimethods of Data Collection Data from different sources and through different methods could improve the “goodness” of the data • Interview • Observation • Questionnaire • Same source and other source data • Objective measures (physical measurement, counting, etc) • Eg, performance data – get from all the above sources. See how they correlate.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Personal or Face-to-face Inteviews