Creating A Good Questionnaire

1. Creating A Good Questionnaire IB Geography: Mini IA

2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Questionnaires • Advantages • Can assess a large group quickly • Easy to analyze if constructed correctly • Disadvantages • Requires “good” language skills • Some people give answers they think you want • Not very good for getting in-depth information

3. The Basics • The purpose of a questionnaire in this case is to yield quantifiable data based on participant responses. • There are 2 main types of questions asked in questionnaires: open and closed. • Your Mini IA questionnaire needs to have: • 3 open • 7 closed

4. Open Questions • Used to explore topics in-depth • Gives people a chance to respond in detail • They are time-consuming to summarize and analyze

5. Examples of Open Questions • What do you think of ….? • What do you like about….?

6. Open Questions • Open-ended Questions • Example: • What changes would you like to see in our science class? • Stem Plus Questions Example: • Some things I would like to see change in our science class are _________________

7. Closed Questions • A closed question is one where the respondent is limited to one or more of a limited range of options. • Questionnaires based on closed questions are much easier and quicker to analyze. • A large amount of information can be processed in a short period of time.

8. Closed Questions • The disadvantage of closed questions is that they tend to presume the answer in advance, and may limit a respondent’s possible choices in a way that may not reveal the true characteristics of the topic studied. • In closed questions, it is important to avoid any overlap between successive categories, and it is sometimes necessary to add a catch-all category of “Other”. Questionnaires that have numerous Yes/No questions are unlikely to yield much useful data, or allow for interesting methods of presentation

9. Examples of Closed Questions • Here are 2 examples of closed questions: • Do you agree that the new school is good for the community? Yes/No • How many times do you visit the grocery store each month? 1, 1-2, 3-5, >5

10. Closed Questions • Dichotomous Questions (2 choices) • Yes/No • Agree/Disagree Do you think a paper recycling program should be started in your school? Yes No

11. Closed Questions • Multiple-choice Questions • Give respondents options • May ask for single or multiple answers Example: How did you hear about our Website? ___ Newspaper ___ Magazine ___ Radio ___ Internet ___ Other: Please specify __________

12. Closed Questions • Rank Order Questions • Respondents place things in order • Example: • Which activities do you like to do in your spare time? Place a “1” next to the activity that you like to do most, a “2” by the next favorite, and so on to the least favorite. • ___ Watch TV • ___ Read • ___ Visit friends • ___ Surf the Internet • ___ Shop

13. Closed Questions • Rating Scale (Semantic Differential) • Also called a “Likert Scale” • Give a statement; choose your response along a scale • Example: My students are motivated to learn.

14. Effects of Scales • The police need to do a better job of enforcing traffic laws. • 2 Level - 3 level

15. Effects of Scales 5 Level

16. Demographics Questions • Demographic questions may ask about personal characteristics such as -- • age • ethnicity • gender • home characteristics

17. Things to Avoid Unclear or ambiguous questions Examples: What do you think about school? What role should the principal play in educating students?

18. Things to Avoid • Know your audience • Make sure that the length, content, and wording matches the intended audience • Keep questions clear and concise • Avoid technical wording