4.2.3.1 QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION Flashcards
what’s a closed question?
- structure the answer by only allowing responses which fit into pre-decided categories
- data that can be places into a category = nominal data
- can provide ordinal data (which can be ranked)
- this involves using a continuous rating scale to measure strength
of attitudes or emotions
what are the strengths of closed questions?
- can be economical
- provide large amounts of research data for relatively low costs
- large sample size can be obtained which should be representative
of the population - can then be generalised
- respondent provides info which can be easily converted into quantitate data
- allows statistical analysis of the responses
- questions are standardised
- all respondents are asked the same questions in the same order
- therefore can be replicated easily to check reliability
what is a weakness of closed questions?
- they lack detail
- response are fixed
- less scope for respondents to supply answers which reflect their
true feelings
what’s an open question?
- allow people to express what they think in their own words
- enable the respondent to answer in as much detail as they like in their own words
- give no pre-set answer options
- allow the respondents to put down exactly what they like in their
own words
what is a strength of open questions?
- rich qualitative data is obtained
- allow the respondent to elaborate on their answer
- means the research can find out why a person holds a certain attitude
what’s a limitation of open questions?
- time consuming to collect data
- takes longer for the respondent to complete open questions
- smaller sample size therefore may be obtained
- time consuming to analyse the data
- takes longer for researcher to analyse qualitative data
- have to read answers and try and put them into categories by coding
- subjective and difficult
- not suitable for less educated respondents
- require good writing skills
- better ability to express feelings verbally
what makes a good questionnaire?
AIMS
- all questions asked should address the aims of the research
- use only one feature of the construct you’re investigating per question
what makes a good questionnaire?
LENGTH
- the longer the questionnaire, the less likely people will complete it
- questions should be short, clear and be to the point
- any unnecessary questions should be omitted
what makes a good questionnaire?
PILOT STUDY
- what’s a pilot study?
small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events and improve the study design prior to full-scale research
- run a small scale practise study to ensure people will understand the questions
- people will also be able to give honest feedback on the questionnaire design
what makes a good questionnaire?
QUESTION ORDER
- should progress logically
- from the least sensitive to the most sensitive
- from factual and behavioural to the cognitive
- from general to specific
- researcher should ensure that the answer to the question isn’t influenced by the previous questions
= bias
what makes a good questionnaire?
TERMINOLOGY
1) clarity
- don’t use double negatives
- don’t use barrelled questions
2) jargon
- means referring to terms only familiar to people in that subject area
- avoid this
3) analysis
- questions used to be written so that they’re easy to analyse
what makes a good questionnaire?
PRESENTATION
- make sure it looks professional
- include clear and concise instructions
- of sent through the post make sure the envelope doesn’t signify ‘junk mail’
what has to be considered in the design of interviews?
1) decide whether to use a structured or non-structured interview
2) recording the interview
- interviewer may be making notes although this may affect listening skills
- alternatively they may be audio recorded / video recorded
3) most involve an interview schedule
- a set of questions the interviewer intends to cover
- this should be standardised for each ppt to reduce the effect of interviewer bias
