Developing a Questionnaire - Research Survey - Lecture Slides, Slides of Research Methodology

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Developing a Questionnaire

Using Questionnaires in Survey Research

• Construction is key to valid and reliable

research

• Well written and manageable questions
  • Manageable interviews
• Consider why use survey methods?

Procedure for Development

• Specify what information will be sought
• Determine the type of questionnaire and method of administration
• Determine the content of individual questions
• Determine the form of response to each question
• Determine the wording of each question

Forms

• Self-administered surveys
• Face-to-face interviews
• Telephone surveys
• Computer assisted and Web-based
• E-mail

Self-Administered

• Response rates tend to be lowest for mailed questionnaires
  • As low as 20 – 30%
  • Low response rate affects generalizability
• More standardization of the questions
• An increased reliability over other qualitative methods
  • Response patterns can vary

Self-Administered

• Closed-ended items limit the researcher
  • Adjust for differences in respondents
  • Clarify misunderstood items
  • Explain ambiguity
• Not suitable for all audiences
  • Young children
  • Visually impaired
  • Learning/reading disabilities

Web-Based Surveys

• Create own web page or hire a commercial company
  • www.hostedsurvey.com
• Allow for instant data coding
• Need to be able to write code or use software
• Maybe less time and costs
• Access is a huge issue (affecting generalizability)
  • Variation in computer ownership and usage
  • Internet access

Interviews

• Reading questionnaire items in a face-to-face

or telephone situation

• Unstructured or in-depth
  • Suited for exploratory research
  • Either with one person or in focus groups
  • Open-ended items
  • Cannot standardize
  • Good for complex situations

Interviews

• Response rates tend to be highest with face-

to-face interviews

• Excluding ‘street corner’ technique
• Issues
• More time
• Smaller samples
• Higher cost

Telephone

• Most popular
  • Less costly
  • Less time
  • Less subjective to interviewer
    • As compared to face-to-face
• Often conducted with computers
• Can probe for information/clarification
• Threshold about 20 minutes

Conceptualizing the Task

• List the set of research questions, hypotheses
  • Consider how others have measured
  • At least one questionnaire item for each variable
  • Operationalize the concept
• Outline what you want to cover
  • Consider the following categories
    • Attitudes: feelings and opinions
    • Behaviors: what they actually do
    • Demographics: who they are

Measuring Behavior

• Translate opinions into action
• Useful in
  • Making policy
  • Improving working conditions
  • Evaluation of programs
• Measure of what they say they do

Instructions

• Beginning of each section, should include clear instructions
• Disclose needed information for respondents to decide whether to complete the survey
• Consider phrasing – Don’t alienate
• Tell whether
  • Anonymous : no names or IDs
  • Confidential : names or IDs, not attached responses

Instructions

• Information about due date
  • General time line is a good idea
• Information on submitting
• Be consistent with instructions and format
  • A little variation might break up ‘routine’