Essentials ofEssentials of Marketing Research Marketing Research

Chapter 11:

Questionnaire Design

It is not every question that deserves an answer.

Publilius Syrus(Roman,1st century B.C.)

A QUESTIONNAIRE IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE QUESTIONS IT ASKS

The Functions of a Questionnaire

• Translates research objectives into specific questions

• Standardizes questions - every respondent answers same questions

• Fosters cooperation

• Permanent records of research

• Speed up the process.

Determine Survey Objectives

Decide Data Collection Method

Question Development

Question Evaluation

Client Approval

Pretest

Revise as needed

Finalize and Duplicate

Gather Data

Tabulate and Report

Steps in the Questionnaire Development Process

Note that this is an iterative process

A GOOD QUESTIONNAIRE A GOOD QUESTIONNAIRE APPEARSAPPEARS

• AS EASY TO COMPOSE AS DOES A GOOD POEM

• BUT IT IS USUALLY THE RESULT OF LONG, PAINSTAKING WORK

The Major Decisions in The Major Decisions in Questionnaire DesignQuestionnaire Design

1. What should be asked?

2. How should each question be phrased?

3. In what sequence should the questions be arranged?

4. What questionnaire layout will best serve the research objectives?

5. How should the questionnaire be pretested? Does the questionnaire need to be revised?

WHAT SHOULD BE ASKED?WHAT SHOULD BE ASKED?

• QUESTIONNAIRE RELEVANCE

• QUESTIONNAIRE ACCURACY

PHRASING QUESTIONSPHRASING QUESTIONS

• OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES– unprobed or probed

• FIXED-ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS– Closed Ended

• dichotomous or multiple category

– Scaled Response• unlabeled or labeled

DEVELOPING A QUESTIONNAIREDEVELOPING A QUESTIONNAIRE

• NO HARD AND FAST RULES

• ONLY GUIDELINES

• Avoid Complexity:

•use simple, conversational language

• Avoid leading and loaded questions

• Avoid ambiguity: be as specific as possible

• Avoid double-barreled items

• Avoid making assumptions

• Avoid burdensome questions

1. Do you believe that private citizens have the right toown firearms to defend themselves, their families, and property from violent criminal attack?

Yes No Undecided

2. Do you believe that a ban on the private ownershipof firearms would significantly reduce the number ofmurders and robberies in your community?

Yes No Undecided

1a. How many years have you been playing tennis on a regular basis? Number of years: __________ 5-6

b. What is your level of play?

Novice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1 Advanced . . . . . . . -4Lower Intermediate . . . . . -2 Expert . . . . . . . . . -5Upper Intermediate . . . . . -3 Teaching Pro . . . . -6

c. In the last 12 months, has your level of play improved, remained the same or decreased?

Improved. . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1 Decreased. . . . . . . -3Remained the same . . . . . -2

2a. Do you belong to a club with tennis facilities? Yes . . . . . . . -1No . . . . . . . -2

b. How many people in your household - including yourself - play tennis?Number who play tennis ___________

3a. Why do you play tennis? (Please “X” all that apply.)

To have fun . . . . . . . . . . -1To stay fit. . . . . . . . . . . . -2To be with friends. . . . . . -3To improve my game . . . -4To compete. . . . . . . . . . . -5To win. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -6

b. In the past 12 months, have you purchased any tennis instructional books or video tapes? Yes . . . . . . . -1

No . . . . . . . -2

Dear Passenger:

American Airlines is pleased to have you on board today.

To help us provide the best service possible, we need to know more about you and your opinions of our service. If you are over 11 years old, we would appreciate it if you would complete this questionnaire.

Your flight attendant will pick up your completed questionnaire shortly.

Thank you.

1. Please indicate: Flight number ___________ Date_____________

2a. At the city where you boarded this particular plane, did you make a connection from another flight?

Yes, from American . . . . 1Yes, from Other Airline . . 2No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

b. Did you board this plane at the airport from which it just took off, or were you a through passenger for which that was an intermediate stop?

Boarded here . . . . . . . . . . 1Through passenger. . . . . . 2

3. How would you rate the overall service from American for this flight, all things considered, from your arrival at the airport terminal until now?

Excellent Good Fair PoorOverall Service . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 4

4. Please rate each of the following with regard to this flight, if applicable.

Excellent Good Fair Poor

1 2 3 4Courtesy and Treatment from the: Skycap at airport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Airport Ticket Counter Agent . . . . . Boarding Point (Gate) Agent . . . . . Flight Attendants . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Your Meal or Snack. . . . . . . . . . . . .Beverage Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Seat Comfort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carry-On Stowage Space. . . . . . . .Cabin Cleanliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . Video/Stereo Entertainment . . . . . .On-Time Departure . . . . . . . . . . . .

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGNQUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

• QUESTION SEQUENCE• ORDER BIAS

• FUNNEL TECHNIQUE

• FILTER BIAS

• QUESTION LAYOUT

Questionnaire Organization• Introduction

• Screening Questions• first questions asked

• used to select specific respondents

• ex. have you bought a classical music CD in the last month?

• Warm-ups• immediately after screening questions

• easy to answer, flows into other questions

• Ex. how often do you go shopping?

Questionnaire Organization

• Transitions– Prior to major series of questions– Can be used to branch respondents

• Complicated and Difficult to Answer– Middle or close to end of questionnaire

• Classification and Demographic Questions– Last section– Could be sensitive questions

Questionnaire Organization

• Funnel Approach– wide to narrow or general to specific

• Work Approach– difficult to answer questions are placed deep in

the questionnaire

• Sections Approach– arrange in logical sets

Very Important: the Pretest

• A pretest is a dry-run of the real thing

• Can reveal errors which need to be corrected

• Look for common problems

• Can pretest both a representative sample and a sample of experts

Five Desirable Qualities of Question Writing

• The question should be focused on a single issue or topic

• The question should be brief

• The question should be interpreted the same way by all respondents

• The question should use the respondent’s core vocabulary

• The question should be grammatically simple

Errors to Avoid when Writing Questions

• Should not assume criteria that are not obvious

• Should not be beyond respondent’s ability or experience

• Should not use a specific example to represent a general case

• Should not request specific recall when generalities will be remembered

Errors to Avoid when Writing Questions

• Should not require respondents to guess a generalization

• Should not ask for details that cannot be related

• Should not use wording that overstates a condition

• Should not have ambiguous wording

Errors to Avoid when Writing Questions

• Should not be double-barreled

• Should not lead the respondents to a particular answer

• Should not have loaded wording or phrasing

Can you spot the sources of bias?

• Do you think a Porsche 911 is exorbitantly priced?

• Isn’t a Hyundai priced about as cheaply as a car can be?

• Should Americans buy a foreign car and hurt our economy or buy American cars and help our economy?

• If you won a million dollar lottery, would you want to buy a rolls Royce?

• The last time you saw a Cadillac ad, such as the ones that are usually in the Sunday paper, what model was it promoting?

Precoding the Questionnaire

• Precodes are code numbers placed on the questionnaire to facilitate data entry after the survey has been conducted.

• Example

• Have you bought a pair of blue jeans in the last three months?

• Yes (1) No (2) Unsure (3)

• The numbers in parenthesis are precodes

Cover Letters and Openers

• Cover letter and opening comments should be tailored to specific groups

• Must interest respondent enough to fill out survey

• Must overcome respondent’s concerns about privacy

• Disguised surveys do not reveal client’s name

Designing Observational Forms

• Observation form indicates what behavior is to be watched and how it should be recorded

• Should achieve consistency, structure, and completeness.

• Must pretest• Build-Up Approach: observe, then decide on

categories• Break-Down Approach: create categories first