Questionnaire Design: Business Research Methods

Naval Bajpai
Business Research Methods

Chapter 4
Questionnaire Design
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Learning Objectives
Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:
Understand the meaning and importance
of questionnaire
Understand three stages of the
questionnaire design process
Learn about pre-construction phase of the
questionnaire
Learn about construction phase of the
questionnaire
Learn about post-construction phase of
the questionnaire

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WHAT IS A QUESTIONNAIRE?

 A questionnaire consists of formalized and pre-
specified set of questions designed to obtain
responses from potential respondents.
 Questions in the questionnaire reflect the
research objective under investigation.
 Questionnaires are generally situation and culture
specific.
 Questionnaire design process requires a careful
attention to each step as the questionnaire or
research instrument should be adapted to the
specific cultural environment and should not be
biased in terms of any one culture (Malhotra et
al., 1996).
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QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN PROCESS

 Designing of the questionnaire is a systematic
process. This section explores the systematic
process of questionnaire design in three
phases: pre-construction phase, construction
phase, and post-construction phase.

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FIGURE 4.1 : Steps in questionnaire design process

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Phase I: Pre-Construction Phase

 Phase I is the pre-construction phase
of the questionnaire design process. It
consists of three steps: specific
required information in the light of
research objective, an overview of
respondent’s characteristics, and
decision regarding selecting an
appropriate survey technique.

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Step 1: Specific Required Information in the Light

of Research Objective
 The first and the foremost important decision relates to
finding the required information through a questionnaire.
 To generate specific information, the researcher should
clearly define the objective and the other research
components such as theoretical model, research
questions, and hypotheses.
 Clarity in all these components is very important as these
only will provide the base of specific information to be
collected through survey.

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Step 2: An Overview of Respondent’s

Characteristics
 While collecting the information, an overview of
the respondent’s characteristics is a vital
consideration.
 A researcher must construct the questionnaire in
the light of the respondent’s profile.
 Even while constructing a questionnaire, a
researcher has to keep the profile of a probable
respondent in mind.
 Various factors such as the respondent’s
qualification, age, experience, income,
marital status, occupation, and so on have a
decisive and impactful role in conducting a
research.
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Step 3: Decision Regarding Selecting an

Appropriate Survey Technique
 While constructing a questionnaire, a deep
thinking process is required to select an
appropriate survey technique.
 Chapter 7 provides a detailed discussion of
various survey and observation techniques and
its relative advantages and disadvantages. The
questions in the questionnaire must be
constructed, sequenced, and placed according to
the mode of the survey.

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Phase II: Construction Phase

 Phase II is the real construction phase of the
questionnaire design process.
 It consists of six steps:
 Decision regarding question format :structured
questions versus unstructured questions
 Decision regarding question relevance and
wording
 Decision regarding question sequencing
 Decision regarding question response choice
 Decision regarding the questionnaire layout
 Producing first draft of the questionnaire.

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Step 1: Decision regarding question format :structured
questions versus unstructured questions

 Questionnaires use two types of question formats.
These are open-ended questions and closed-
ended questions.
 In the case of a “closed-ended” question, the
respondent has to format the judgment to fit the
response categories and when “open-ended”
questions are used, the judgment has to be
verbalized into a preliminary answer (DeLeeuw,
2001).
 The closed ended question format can be
further divided into dichotomous, multiple-
choice questions, and scales. The following
sections focus on open-ended questions and closed-
ended questions.

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Open-ended Questions

One of the major limitations is to handle the
interviewer and the interpretation bias.

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Closed-ended Questions

 Closed-ended questions are structured questions. The
question structure does matter (Connolly et al., 2005).
 The closed-ended questions provide response alternative
to the respondents instead of giving them a free-to-express
response option.
 The choice offered to the respondents can be either in the
form of a rating system or a set of response
alternatives.
 These response alternatives are presented to the respondents
and they select the most appropriate one.
 The closed-ended questionnaires are generally cheaper, more
reliable, and faster to code, and analyse the collected data
(Swamy, 2007).
 The closed-ended question format can be further divided into
dichotomous, multiple-choice questions, and scales.

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Dichotomous Questions

Dichotomous questions have only two response
alternatives usually presenting the two extremes
“yes” or “no.” To make the alternatives balanced,
the researchers often present a third neutral
alternative “don’t know.”

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Multiple-Choice Questions

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Step 2: Decision Regarding Question Wording

 The negative wordings impact the process of
interpreting the questions, leading at least some
respondents to misinterpret how to respond and,
thus, reducing or destroying the usefulness of the
questions or the series of questions (Johnson et al.,
2004).
 In some cases of conducting personal interviews, the
researchers feel that they will be able to overcome
the wrong wording during the discussion, but they
suggest a different understanding.
 The effects of question wording on response accuracy
did not seem to be moderated by the respondent’s
knowledge gained via discussion (Bickart et al.,
2006).

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FIGURE 4.2 : Decision parameters regarding

question wording

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Question Wordings Must Be Simple and Easy
to Understand

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Vague or Ambiguous Words Must Be Avoided

Some words such as “often,” “occasionally” and
“usually,” “how long,” “how much,” and
“reasonably well” may be confusing for a respondent
because these words specify a specific time frame.

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Double-Barrelled Questions Must Be Avoided

Double-barrelled questions are those with wordings
such as “and” or “or.” In a doublebarrelled question, a
respondent may agree to one part of the question but
not to the other part.

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Avoid Leading and Loaded Questions

A leading question is the one which clearly reveals the
researcher’s opinion about the answer to the
question.
Identifying the loaded question bias in a question

requires more judgment because the wording elements
in a loaded question allude to the universal belief or
rules of behaviour (Burns & Bush, 1999).

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Split-ballot technique

 A leading question generally emphasizes either the
positive or negative aspect of the question.
 Sometimes, it becomes necessary to ask a question with
either the positive or negative aspect.
 In this situation, a split-ballot technique is used to
avoid bias due to positive or negative aspect of the
question.
 This technique involves the construction of a single
question in two alternative phrases, and the question
based on one phrase is administered to half of the
respondents and the question based on the other
phrase is administered to the other half of the
respondents.

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Split-ballot technique

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Avoid Using Overstated Words

The answer will always be overblown due to the
first part of the question, which generates a worry in
the mind of the respondent and results in a positive
answer, which is not possible otherwise. A more poised
way of asking the same question is shown below.

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Implied Assumptions Must Be Avoided

Above question has an implicit assumption that the
discount policy on bulk purchase offered by Company “A”
is working excellent and by answering “yes,” the
company will continue its policy.

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Respondent’s Memory Should Not Be

Overtaxed

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Generalization and Estimation Must Be

Avoided
Generalization means respondent’s belief, “what must
happen” or “what should happen.”

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Respondent’s Ability to Answer Must Be

Considered
A question targeted to officers older than 55 years to assess
the importance of Internet banking is as follows:
×
Targeting following question to young respondents may not
be an appropriate choice.

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Step 3:Decision Regarding Question
Sequencing

 Question sequence also plays a key role in generating the
respondent’s interest and motivation to answer the
question. Questions should have a logical sequencing in
the questionnaire and should not be placed abruptly.
 To facilitate the responses, a researcher has to follow
some logical steps in sequencing the questions in the
questionnaire. This arrangement usually requires the
considerations as shown in Figure 4.3.

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FIGURE 4.3:Decision parameters regarding

question sequence

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Screening Questions

 Researchers generally begin with some
screening questions to make sure that the
target respondent is qualified for the
interview.
 In some cases, when the researcher is very sure
about the qualification status of the respondent,
he or she does not incorporate the screening
question and starts from some “opening
questions.”

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Opening Questions

The opening questions should be simple,
encouraging, and trust building. From the research
objective point of view, these questions may
sometimes be little irrelevant but should be good
initiators.
These questions should not seek in-depth
information and should be as general as possible.
For example, a microwave company, trying to assess
“shift in consumer attitude” from traditional
way of cooking, should ask a first opening
question as follows:

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Transition Statements

 The movement from one set of questions to another set requires
transition statements.
 For example, a mineral water bottle manufacturing company is
encouraged with the expanding market.
 The company wants to assess the potential future market and hence
conducted a survey on non-users.
 Its researchers have identified various variables to get the potential use, of
which “awareness” and “taste” are important.
 It has prepared the first 11 questions with the first 5 questions based
on the “awareness” and the next 6 questions on “taste.”
 After asking the first set of 5 questions, a researcher moves to the
second set of 6 questions to get the potential consumer feeling for
mineral water taste.
 Thus, before asking the next set of 6 questions, a transition
statement is required to make the respondent familiar with the coming
questions.
 Hence, a transition statement “Now, I would like to understand your
opinion about the mineral water taste” will develop respondent’s
connectivity for the next set of 6 questions related to “taste,” and he or she
will be in a comfortable state of mind to answer these questions.

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Difficult to Answer Questions

 Difficult to answer, sensitive, or complicated
questions should be placed later in the
questionnaire.
 Placing it first will confuse the respondent and he or
she will tend to terminate the interview process.
 Asking difficult questions first in a telephone
interview reduces a respondent’s interest in the
interview process and he or she tends to terminate
the interview. Under telephone interview conditions,
substantively related questions affect the responses
to the target question only when asked first (Schwarz
& Hippler, 1995).

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Identification and Categorization Questions

 Identification questions are used to generate
some basic identification information such as
name, mailing address, office phone
number, personal phone number, or cell
phone number.
 Categorization questions are mainly used to
generate demographic information.
 For example, researchers generally want to
generate the information related to age,
experience, gender, and occupation of the
respondents.

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Logical Order of Questioning

 In a questionnaire, the questions must flow in a
logical sequence. There are at least three
approaches to suggest the roadmap to place the
questions in a logical sequence; they are funnel
technique, work technique, and sections
technique.
 Funnel technique suggests asking general
questions first and then the specific questions.
 Work technique suggests that difficult-to-
answer, sensitive, or complicated questions
should be placed later in the questionnaire.
 The third technique is the section technique in
which questions are placed in different sections
with respect to some common base.
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Step 4: Decision Regarding Question Response
Choice

 It is important to understand that too many
response choices will burden the
respondent and he or she will be perplexed
while answering.
 Few response choices will not be able to
cover all ranges of possible alternatives.
 As a general rule, the researchers present a
question with five to seven response
alternatives.

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Step 5: Decision Regarding Questionnaire
Layout

 Questionnaire layout is important to enhance the
response rate. A recent study (Lagarace & Washburn,
1995) revealed that a user-friendly format, and to some
extent colour, is valuable to increase mail survey
response rate.
 The appearance of a questionnaire is particularly
important in mail surveys because the instrument, along
with the preliminary letter and/ or cover letter, must sell
itself and convince the recipient to complete and return it
(Boser, 1990).
 It has been observed that the respondent emphasizes
the questions that are placed at the top of the
questionnaire compared with that at the bottom.

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Step 6: Producing First Draft of the Questionnaire

 Printing on a poor, quality paper or an
unprofessional look of the questionnaire may
generate a non-serious feeling among the
respondents.
 So, the questionnaire may be printed on a
good, quality paper and must have a
professional look.
 The appearance of the front cover on a mail
questionnaire and the nature of first questions
have been purported to have an important
influence on the respondent’s decision to
complete the questionnaire (Frey, 1991).

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Phase III: Post-Construction Phase

 Phase III is the post-construction phase of the
questionnaire design process. It consists of four
steps:
1. Pre-testing of the questionnaire
2. Revisiting the questionnaire based on the inputs
obtained from the pre-testing
3. Revising final draft of the questionnaire
4. Administering the questionnaire and obtaining
responses.

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Step 1: Pre-Testing of the Questionnaire

 Pre-testing of the questionnaire involves administering
the questionnaire to a small sample of the
population to identify and eliminate the potential
problems of the questionnaire, if any.
 Testing a questionnaire can be a time-consuming process,
and this stage of questionnaire has often been
overlooked in the past in researcher’s eagerness to
start collecting data (Williams, 2003).
 Researchers generally use two common procedures to pre-
test: protocol analysis and debriefing.

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Step 1: Pre-Testing of the Questionnaire

(Cont.)
 Using protocol analysis, a researcher asks the respondent to
“think aloud” while answering the question.
 Debriefing is an interview conducted when a
respondent has filled the questionnaire.
 After completing, the respondents are informed that the
questionnaire they have just filled was a pre-test
questionnaire and are requested to share their views
about various dimensions of the questionnaire.
 They are also requested to find out the problems with the
questionnaire, which they realized while filling it.
 While taking a decision about the sample size for pre-
testing, as a thumb rule, a researcher should keep the
nature of population diverse in mind.
 More heterogeneity in population requires relatively large
size of the sample compared with the situation when
population is relatively homogeneous.
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Step 2: Revisiting the Questionnaire Based on
the Inputs Obtained from Pre-Testing

 To enhance the accuracy, after incorporating
suggestions from the pre-testing, a researcher can
go for second pre-testing.
 It is always possible that the second pre-testing
may also reveal some of the problems of the
questionnaire.
 Pre-testing of the questionnaire might have provided
many inputs in a subjective manner.
 At this stage, the researcher must objectively
incorporate all the inputs obtained from the pre-
testing exercise.
 All the parameters related to the question
wording (as discussed in the previous sections)
must be carefully considered.
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Step 3: Revised Final Draft of the Questionnaire

 At this stage, the researcher once again carefully
examines the questionnaire.
 Insertions and deletions of the previous stage
must be re-checked to provide the desired accuracy.
 The researcher makes the questionnaire “ready to
administer” by eliminating all the minute
mistakes and tries to make it error free.
 After careful examination of all the incorporations
obtained from pre-testing, the researcher is now
ready to have the final draft of the questionnaire and
administers to the sample taken from a target
population.

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Step 4: Administration of the Questionnaire and

Obtaining Responses
 At this stage, the researchers administer

the questionnaire to the respondents
and obtain the responses.
 These responses are coded, data are
tabulated, and appropriate statistical
techniques are applied to analyse the
data.
 Chapter 9 describes the data
preparation and data coding.
 Chapters 10–18 open the detailed
discussion related to data analysis.
Naval Bajpai

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Naval Bajpai

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

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Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

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Business Research Methods

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Identifying the loaded question bias in a question

Business Research Methods

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Business Research Methods

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Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

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Business Research Methods

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Business Research Methods

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Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

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Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

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Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods

Copyright© Dorling Kindersley India Pvt Ltd

Business Research Methods