Questionnaire and Form

Design
 Questionnaire Definition
 A questionnaire is a structured technique for
data collection which consists of a series of
questions, written or verbal, which a
respondent answers. It is a package that
includes:
– Field work procedures- instructions for
selecting, approaching to respondents.
– Some rewards - gifts
– Communication aids – maps, pictures,
 Objectives of a questionnaire
 It must translate the information needed into
a set of specific questions
 A questionnaire must uplift, motivate, and
encourage the respondent to become
involved in the interview
 A questionnaire should minimize response
error.
Questionnaire Design Process
 Specify the information needed
 Specify the type of interviewing method
 Determine the content of individual questions
 Design the questions to overcome the respondent’s inability
and unwillingness to answer
 Decide on the question structure
 Determine the question wording
 Arrange the questions in proper order
 Identify the form and layout
 Reproduce the questionnaire
 Pretest the questionnaire
 Individual Question Content

 Is the question necessary?

 Are several questions needed instead of
one?
 Overcoming Inability to
Answer
 Is the respondent informed?
 Can the respondent remember?
 Can the respondent articulate?
Overcoming Unwillingness to Answer

 Effort required of the respondents

 Context
 Legitimate purpose
 Sensitive information
 Increasing the willingness of respondents
 Choosing Question Structure
 Unstructured Questions: Unstructured questions are
open-ended questions that respondents answer in their own
word.
 Structured Questions: Questions that pre-specify the set
of response alternatives and the response format. A
structured question could be multiple-choice,
dichotomous, or a scale.

 Disguised questionnaire: A disguised questionnaire

attempts to hide the purpose of the study
 Undisguised questionnaire: An undisguised questionnaire
is one in which the purpose of the research is obvious from
the questions posed.
 Choosing Question Wording
 Define the issue
 Use ordinary words
 Avoid ambiguous words
 Avoid leading questions
 Avoid implicit assumptions
 Avoid generalizations and estimates
 Use positive and negative statements
 Determine the Order of the
Questions
 Opening questions
 Type of information
 Difficult questions
 Effect of subsequent questions
 Logical order
 Guidelines in brief of designing a
questionnaire
 Covering letter
 The number of questions should be as few as possible
 Questions should be logically arranged
 Questions should be short and simple
 Questions of a sensitive nature should be avoided
 Instructions to the informants
 Footnotes
 Questions should be capable of objective answers
 Answer to questions should not require calculations
 Pre-testing the questionnaire
 Cross-checks
 Incentives to respondents
 Methods of tabulations to be used
 Editing Primary Data
 The data should be complete
 The data should be consistent
 The data should be accurate
 The data should be homogenious