Questionnaire Design Business Research

QUESTIONNAIRE

DESIGNPRESENTED BY:ROHIT CHANDRASIMRANJEET SINGH RAJAN MITTAL PARMEET SINGHMANVIR SINGH

“It is not every question that deserves an answer.”

Publius Syrus(roman,1st century B.C.)

A Good Questionnaire Appears As easy to compose as a good poem But, it is usually the result of long,

painstaking work

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN: AN OVERVIEW OF THE MAJOR DECISIONS1. What should be asked

Questionnaire relevancyAll information collected should address a research question in helping the decision maker in solving the current marketing problemQuestionnaire accuracyIncreasing the reliability and validity of respondent information requires that:

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?

PHRASING QUESTIONSOpen ended questionsPose some problem and ask respondents to answer in their own words

What things do you like most about your job?What comes to mind when you look at this

advertisement?

Advantages: Are most beneficial in exploratory research, especially

when the range of responses is not known. May reveal unanticipated reactions toward the product. Are good first questions because they allow respondents

to warm up to the questioning process. Disadvantages:

High cost of administering open-ended response questions

The possibility that interviewer bias will influence the answer

Bias introduced by articulate individuals’ longer answers

Fixed –alternative questionsQuestions in which respondents are given specific, limited-alternative responses and asked to choose the one closest to their own viewpoint.

Did you work overtime ?Yes or NO.

Advantages: Require less interviewer skill Take less time to answer Are easier for the respondent to answer Provides comparability of answers

Disadvantages: Lack of range in the response alternatives Tendency of respondents to choose convenient

alternative

Types of Fixed-Alternative Questions

Simple-dichotomy questions Requires the respondent to choose one of two

alternatives (e.g., yes or no).Did you make any long distance calls last week? (Yes or No).

Determinant choice questionsRequires the respondent to choose one response

from among multiple alternatives (e.g., A, B, or C).

Please give us information about your flight First class Business Class Coach class

Frequency Determination Questions

Asks for an answer about general frequency of occurrence (e.g., often, occasionally, or never).

How frequently do you watch MTV Channel? Every Day 5-6 times a week Once a week Never

Checklist questionsAllows the respondent to provide multiple answers to a single question by checking off items.

Please check which of the following sources of about investments you regularly use

Personal advice of your broker Brokerage research reports Reports on internet Non of these

Structured Unstructured

Undisguised

Disguised

Example:

Typical descriptive surveywith straight-forward, structured questions

Example:

Survey with open-endedquestions to discover “new”answers or focus group interview

Example:

Survey interview to measurebrand A’s image versuscompetitive brands’ images or brand recall (unaided recall)

Example:

Projection techniques usedmostly for exploratory research

Classifying Surveys by Degree of Structure and Degree of Disguise

PHRASING QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ADMINISTERED TELEPHONE AND PERSONAL INTERVIEW SURVEYS

The means of data collection—telephone interview, personal interview, self-administered questionnaire—will influence the question format and question phrasing.

Eg. How you are satisfied with after sale service of your laptop?

Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Slightly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

ART OF ASKING QUESTIONS

Avoid complexity :Use simple , Conversational languageAvoid leading and loading questions

Leading : A questions that suggest or implies certain answers.

Loaded : A questions that suggest socially desirable answer or is emotionally changedAvoid ambiguity : Be specific as possible

Avoid double barreled ItemsA questions that may induce Bias because it

covers two issue at once.Between you & your husband who does the housework over

and above that done by any hired help? I do all of it I do almost all of it I do over half of it We split the work fifty-fifty.

Avoid making assumptionsAvoid Burdensome questions that may tax respondent Memory

WHAT IS THE BEST QUESTION SEQUENCE?

ORDER BIASBias caused by the influence of earlier questions in

questionnaire.FUNNEL TECHNIQUE

Asking general questions before specific questions on order to obtain unbiased responses.

FILTER QUESTIONQuestion in a questionnaire that screams out respondent not

qualified to answer a second question

PIVOT QUESTIONFilter question use to determine which version of second

question will be asked

Factors Influencing the Sequencing Questions

Anchoring effect The first concept measured tends to become a

comparison point from which subsequent evaluations are made.

Randomization of items on a questionnaire susceptible to the anchoring effect helps minimize order bias.

Order of alternatives on closed questions

The order of choices should be rotated if producing alternative forms of the questionnaire is possible.

WHAT IS THE BEST LAYOUT?

Layout of traditional questionnaire

Layout of internet questionnaire

LAYOUT OF TRADITIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE

Multiple-grid question Several similar questions arranged in a grid format.

The title of a questionnaire should be phrased carefully:

To capture the respondent’s interest, underline the importance of the research

Emphasize the interesting nature of the study Appeal to the respondent’s ego Emphasize the confidential nature of the study To not bias the respondent in the same way that a

leading question might

LAYOUT OF INTERNET QUESTIONNAIRE Graphical User Interface (GUI)

The researcher can control the background, colors, fonts, and other features displayed on the screen so as to create an attractive and easy-to-use interface between the user and the Internet survey

Layout Issues Paging by going from screen to screen Scrolling layout gives the respondent the ability to

scroll down Push buttons

A small outlined area, such as a rectangle or an arrow, that the respondent clicks on to select an option or perform a function, such as submit

Status bar A visual indicator that tells the respondent what portion of the survey he or she has completed.

Radio Button A circular icon, resembling a button, that activates

one response choice and deactivates others when a respondent clicks on it.

Drop-down Box A space saving device that reveals responses

when they are needed but otherwise hides them from view.

Check Boxes Small graphic boxes, next to an answers, that a

respondent clicks on to choose an answer; typically, a check mark or an X appears in the box when the respondent clicks on it.

Open-ended Boxes Boxes where respondents can type in their

own answers to open-ended questions. Pop-up Boxes

Boxes that appear at selected points and contain information or instructions for respondents.

SOFTWARE THAT MAKES QUESTIONNAIRE INTERACTIVE

Variable piping software Allows variables to be inserted into an Internet

questionnaire as a respondent is completing it. Error trapping software

Controls the flow of an internet questionnaire.

Forced answering software Prevents respondents from continuing with an

Internet questionnaire if they fail to answer a question.

Interactive help desk A live, real-time support feature that solves

problems or answers questions respondents may encounter in completing the questionnaire.

HOW MUCH PRE TESTING AND REVISING ARE NECESSARY? Pretesting Process

Seeks to determine whether respondents have any difficulty understanding the questionnaire and whether there are any ambiguous or biased questions.

Preliminary Tabulation A tabulation of the results of a pretest to help

determine whether the questionnaire will meet the objectives of the research.

Designing Questionnaires for Global MarketsBack TranslationBack Translation

Taking a questionnaire that has previously been Taking a questionnaire that has previously been translated into another language and having a second, translated into another language and having a second, independent translator translate it back to the original independent translator translate it back to the original language.language.

A questionnaire developed in one country may be A questionnaire developed in one country may be difficult to translate because equivalent language difficult to translate because equivalent language concepts do not exist or because of differences in concepts do not exist or because of differences in idiom and vernacular.idiom and vernacular.

THANK YOU

LMT School Of Management