Instruction Sheet Formatting Questionnaires for Online Submission

In order to streamline the online questionnaire development process can you please ensure that you follow the instructions below. Once you have completed the steps below please send your questionnaire (in the format described below) to Luke Barisic. 1.Questionnaires should be sent in Word Document format or something similar (no PDFs please!). 2. Please make sure you proofread all of your instructions to remove paper-and-pencil terms and replace them with online-friendly terms. Here are some examples: Paper-And-Pencil Please circle... Please write... Place a cross in the box... Online Please select... Please type... Click on the box...

3. Please also remember to proofread your Plain Language Statement for paper-and-pencil terms, as online questionnaire responses are generally not returned to you in a reply paid envelope. 4. Most scales are formatted to look pretty when printed on paper. They are not optimally designed to be converted into online questionnaires. I generally perform bulk copy and pastes of these scales when editing for the web. This is for two reasons: i. It saves time. ii. It also ensures that questionnaire items are reproduced verbatim (as my spudfingers are prone to typos) 5. Please edit any scales to remove existing formatting, including tables, bullet points, indenting, repetition of scale headers and response options etc., as these all interfere with performing clean copy-and-pastes. I have provided an example below using the DASS21 (a commonly used scale). 6. Please also try to minimise formatting with other question types (e.g. demographic questions, non-scale items). For questions with multiple response options, first list the question and then start each response on a new line directly below the question.

Original DASS21:

Example (Scales)

DAS S 21
The rating scale is as follows: 0 1 2 3

Name:

Date:

Please read each statement and circle a number 0, 1, 2 or 3 which indicates how much the statement applied to you over the past week. There are no right or wrong answers. Do not spend too much time on any statement.

Did not apply to me at all Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time Applied to me to a considerable degree, or a good part of time Applied to me very much, or most of the time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I found it hard to wind down I was aware of dryness of my mouth I couldn't seem to experience any positive feeling at all I experienced breathing difficulty (eg, excessively rapid breathing, breathlessness in the absence of physical exertion) I found it difficult to work up the initiative to do things I tended to over-react to situations I experienced trembling (eg, in the hands) I felt that I was using a lot of nervous energy I was worried about situations in which I might panic and make a fool of myself I felt that I had nothing to look forward to I found myself getting agitated I found it difficult to relax I felt down-hearted and blue I was intolerant of anything that kept me from getting on with what I was doing I felt I was close to panic I was unable to become enthusiastic about anything I felt I wasn't worth much as a person I felt that I was rather touchy I was aware of the action of my heart in the absence of physical exertion (eg, sense of heart rate increase, heart missing a beat) I felt scared without any good reason I felt that life was meaningless 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Reformatted DASS 21:

Instructions: Please read each statement and select a number 0, 1, 2 or 3 which indicates how much the statement applied to you over the past week. There are no right or wrong answers. Do not spend too much time on any statement. The rating scale is as follows: Scale: 0 1 2 3 Did not apply to me at all Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time Applied to me to a considerable degree, or a good part of time Applied to me very much, or most of the time

Items: 1. I found it hard to wind down. 2. I was aware of dryness of my mouth. 3. I couldn't seem to experience any positive feeling at all. 4. I experienced breathing difficulty (eg, excessively rapid breathing, breathlessness in the absence of physical exertion). 5. I found it difficult to work up the initiative to do things. 6. I tended to over-react to situations. 7. I experienced trembling (eg, in the hands). 8. I felt that I was using a lot of nervous energy. 9. I was worried about situations in which I might panic and make a fool of myself. 10. I felt that I had nothing to look forward to. 11. I found myself getting agitated. 12. I found it difficult to relax. 13. I felt down-hearted and blue. 14. I was intolerant of anything that kept me from getting on with what I was doing. 15. I felt I was close to panic. 16. I was unable to become enthusiastic about anything. 17. I felt I wasn't worth much as a person. 18. I felt that I was rather touchy. 19. I was aware of the action of my heart in the absence of physical exertion (eg, sense of heart rate increase, heart missing a beat). 20. I felt scared without any good reason. 21. I felt that life was meaningless. As you can see, I have eliminated all tables and formatting and I have not repeated the rating scale after each question. The items are numbered, but not by using bullets or numbering formatting in Word. I have also modified paper and pencil terms (e.g. circle) to more online-friendly terms (e.g. select).