Course: MBASubject: Research Methodology

Unit-3.2

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

• Questionnaires

• Designing Instrument for data collection

• Testing the instrument.

Questionnaire Design

• To be effective, should be done with respondent in mind.

• Language: What language is the respondent going to understand and respond in?

• For instance, a questionnaire printed in English could be administered to the respondent in the local language he speaks, by a trained interviewer who could translate each question on-line. The answers can be recorded in the given English language form if the interviewer is fluent in both languages. This makes it easier to tabulate.

Cont..

• Difficulty level: Avoid marketing jargon or difficult words unless the respondent is a postgraduate or an experienced executive. In other words, keep the language as simple and straightforward as possible.

• Fatigue: Avoid unnecessary questions.

• The golden rule is to keep the questionnaire as short as possible, and the ideal maximum interview time is probably about 20 minutes per interview.

Social Desirability bias

• There is a tendency on the part of respondents to give wrong, but “socially acceptable” answers to even the most ordinary, innocuous questions.

• For example, the socially desirable answer to the question “Do you read the daily newspaper?” is “yes”. It is as likely to be wrong as right.

• There are many ways to verify the accuracy of responses and todeal with them. Some of the techniques are –

• Repeating the same or similar question in the questionnaire atdifferent places.

• Asking indirect questions• Asking follow up questions to probe if the respondent is really

truthful.

Ease of Recording

• A questionnaire, that it has to be carried on the field, and data may be recorded on it while standing in awkward postures.

• The questionnaire design should ensure it is easy to carry, visible in different kinds of light, and the distance between different answer categories should be sufficient so that there is no confusion or mistake while placing a tick over the actual response for a given question.

Coding

• If the questionnaire is coded before doing the field work (as most questionnaires are these days), it must be ensured that the field staff knows where to mark the answers – on the code or on the actual answer choice.

• This should be done during the briefing and mock interview.

Instructions for Navigation

• Frequently, a questionnaire contains printed instructions for the interviewer.

• This includes ‘Go To’ statements, such as “If respondent is a non-user of Brand X”, then Go To Q.5. If not, Go To Q.9.

Sequencing of Questions

• Questions in a questionnaire should appear in a sequence startingfrom non-threatening or ice-breaking or introductory questions,and then proceed to the main body of questions.

• Generally, the age, income, occupation, education and similardemographic questions should appear at the end of aquestionnaire, after an interviewer has established a rapport orfamiliarity with the respondent. If these are asked in the beginning,there is a high likelihood of suspicion and non-cooperation resultingin a wasted effort in many cases.

• As far as possible, questions should follow a logical sequence, andmust be phrased appropriately.

Biased and Leading Questions

• The questions should be carefully worded to avoid bias.

• It is not a good practice to ask questions such as “Don’t you think liberalization is a good idea?”

• You could be better off getting an unbiased reply asking a question like “Some people think liberalization is a good thing, and some think it is bad.

• What do you think?”

Monotony

• One indicator that a questionnaire is monotonousfor the respondent is if he answers “Agree” toevery question or “Disagree” to every question,for four to five questions in a row.

• If this happens, the researcher must find a way toovercome the potential problem, by re-sequencing the questions which force therespondent to think before he answers, or bychanging the scale, or by some other method.

Analysis Required

• A questionnaire design is dependent on theanalysis required from it. But the mostimportant effect of the analysis required is inthe scale of measurement that must be used.

Types of Questions

• The six major types of questions that most questionnaires would generally use are-

1. Open-ended

2. Dichotomous (2 choices)

3. Multiple Choice

4. Ratings or Rankings

5. Paired Comparisons

6. Semantic Differential, or other special types ofscales.

Open-ended Questions

• An open-ended question is one which leaves it to the respondent to answer it as he chooses.

• An example is “What do you think of the taste of Brand X of Cola?”

• No alternatives are suggested.

• The answer can be in the respondent’s own words.

Dichotomous Questions

• These are those which ask the respondent to choose between twogiven alternatives.

• The most common example of this is the yes or no type ofquestions “Are you a user of Brand X toilet soap?” Yes or No are thealternatives given.

• A third choice is sometimes added to dichotomous questions suchas “Do you like Brand X of potato chips?” The choices given are“Yes”, “no”, and “neither like nor dislike”.

• Sometimes, any other, please specify “______” is used instead ofneither like nor dislike.

Multiple Choice Questions

• These are extensions of dichotomous questions, except that the alternatives listed number more than two.

• A common example is as follows –Please tick againstthe factors which made you buy this brand of car :

1. Reasonable Price

2. Great Looks (Appearance)

3. Fuel Economy

4. Easy Availability of Service

5. Any Other, please specify.

• In the above question, more than one category can be chosen.

Ratings or Rankings

• This is a question of the type, ‘Please rate the following detergent brands on a scale of 1 to 7 in their ability to clean clothes’.

• Brand A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7• Brand B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7• Brand X 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

• This is an example of rating. Ranking would have looked as follows :

• Please rank (1=Best, 2=next best, etc.) the following detergent brands on their ability to clean clothes.

• Brand A -----• Brand B -----• Brand X -----

Paired Comparisons

• A special type of question.

• This requires the respondent to choose between pairs ofchoices at a time. For example, there could be six brands ofcolor TVs, Brands A, B, C, D, E, F.

• A respondent may be asked to do a paired comparison tosay which Brand is better, but for only two Brands at a time.

• He is given a table or a card with two brands written on it,and has to choose the better brand, each time.

• This process has to repeat for as many pairs as exist in thegiven set of objects or brands.

Semantic Differential

• This type of question is similar to the rating scale. The onlyadditional

• feature is that a set of two adjectives forms the two extreme pointsof the scale. For example, a product is

• Easy to Use |----------------------| Difficult to Use• Expensive |----------------------| Inexpensive• Easily Available |----------------------| Not Easily Available• Convenient |-----|-----|-----|-----| Inconvenient

• There may be several intermediate points between the twoextreme values of the scale. These could be coded 1 to 5 or 1 to 7or whatever the number of points is. A commonly used 5 pointscale is from Completely Agree to Completely Disagree.

How to Choose a Scale and Question Type

• The researcher must decide on the scale and type of question based on the following factors.

• Information Need• Output format desired• Ease of tabulation• Ease of interpretation• Ease of statistical analysis• Reduction of various errors in understanding or

use by respondents and field workers

Transforming Information Needs Into A Questionnaire

• We will now illustrate by developing a complete questionnaire for a given set of informationneeds.

• Example of Information Needs : A soft drink concentrate manufacturer (such as Rasna’smanufacturer, for example) wants to know the following :

• Demographic profile of users versus non-users of soft drink concentrates.

• Among users• the preference for liquid concentrate versus powder.

• preference for powder with sugar added, versus powder with no added sugar.

• occasions of use by self

• whether served to guests

• rating on convenience, taste, price and availability

• brand preferred among soft drink concentrates.

• Among non-users

• Reasons for not using soft drink concentrate

• Substitute product usage, if any, and reasons for using or consuming them

• Let us attempt to develop a questionnaire for the above information needs. A possiblequestionnaire is shown in the next slide –

Questionnaire for Soft Drink Concentrate Study

• Q. No. _______• Date ---------- Centre _______

• Dear Sir / Madam,

• We are doing a brief survey to find out more about consumer preferences regarding soft drink concentrate. We would be grateful if you could spare a few minutes to participate in it. Thank you for your cooperation.

1. Do you use soft drink concentrate to make your own soft drinks at home ?Yes No

• If yes, continue with Q.2. If No, Go To Q.9.

2. Do you use liquid or powdered concentrate ? (Tick only one)Liquid

PowderBoth

(Questionnaire, contd.)

•.Which type of concentrate do you prefer out of the following ?Concentrate with sugar addedConcentrate without sugar added

•.What are the occasions when you use soft drink concentrate to make soft drinks ?(Tick only one)Regularly, all year roundRegularly, only in summerOccasionally, all year roundOccasionally, only in summer

•.Do you serve it to guests ?Yes No Depends on the guest

•.Which brand do you use ?Rasna Brand X Brand Y

•Any other (please specify) _______________

• (Questionnaire, contd.)

• .Please rate the brand you use on the following attributes, on a scale of 1 to 7 (7=Very Good, 1=Very poor).

• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

• Availability |-------|------|------|------|-------|-------|

• Taste |-------|------|------|------|-------|-------|

• Convenience |-------|------|------|------|-------|-------|

• Price |-------|------|------|------|-------|-------|

• .Any other comments on the brand you use ?• _______________________________________________________

• _________________________________________________________

• _______________________________________________________

After Q. 8, Go To Demographics Q.11.

• (Questionnaire, contd.)

» NON USERS

• Do you consume any of the following regularly ? (You may tick more than one)

• Yes No• Fruit Juice

• Squash

• Bottled Soft Drinks

• Tea

• Coffee

• Nimbu Pani

• Buttermilk

• What are the reasons for not using soft drink concentrate ? (You may tick more than one)• Does Not Taste Good

• Expensive

• Chemical Additives

• Does not Contain Natural Fruit Juice

• Not Available Easily

• No Nutritional Value

• Any other (Please Specify) _______________________________________________• _____________________________________________________________________

» DEMOGRAPHICS

• Please let us know a little more about yourself.

• Your age group

• Less than 25

• 26 – 40

• 41 – 50

• Over 50

• Your monthly household income

• Less than 5000 Rupees/Month

• 5001 to 10,000 Rupees/Month

• 10,001 to 15,000 Rupees/Month

• Over 15,000 Rupees/Month

• Address : ___________________________________________________________________

• ___________________________________________________________________

Check Points

– Critically examine the questionnaire above to suggest improvements in any of thequestions or the scales or the choices given in the multiple choice questions.

– Some hints for discussing the merits and demerits of the above questionnaire –

• Are the income and age categories adequate for analysis of the data? (Questions11 and 12)

• Is the 7 point scale used in Question 7 easy to understand? Is it appropriate?Adequate?

• Should there be an open-ended question number 8? Why?

• Have we left out anything? Such as who decides on the brand to buy (for users)?Who decides to buy/use substitutes (for non-users)?

• Should we also ask which family members drink the soft drink (for users) madefrom concentrate?

• Should we ask the convenience and price questions separately (Question 7) anddifferently? What exactly do we want to know from respondents regarding price?Are we getting the answer?

Good Questionnaire & Bad Questionnaire

• A questionnaire is good if it measures what it set out to measure (ie.,it is VALID) and does it in an efficient manner.

• Usually, a questionnaire goes through various stages before it is usedin the field.

• Listing of information needs

• Conversion into questions with suitable scales of measurement

• Sequencing of questions into a logical order

• Trying it out in a pre-test on a handful of respondents in a conveniencesample or a field sample

• Modifications in the wording, scale or sequence as a result of the pre-test, and then

• Preparation of the final draft for the actual study

Reliability and Validity of a Questionnaire

– Reliability is the property by which consistent results are achieved when we repeatthe measurement of something.

– A questionnaire used on a similar population which produces similar results can betermed as reliable.

– Consistency of form and manner of asking questions (their exact wording, theamount of structuring, etc.) generally ensures reliability. Proper training given tointerviewers in a study also improves reliability, by reducing variation in the waythey ask questions and record answers.

– Validity is the property by which a questionnaire measures what it is supposed tomeasure.

– If we want to measure attitudes towards brands of washing machines in terms ofservice and product features, then that is what the critical questions in thequestionnaire should measure.

– The validity of questions on a questionnaire can be checked by comparing it withpreviously used items (questions) measuring the same thing, and also trying outdifferent questions to find out which one seems to measure what we intended tomeasure.

Successful Launch of the Gujarati Daily - Divya Bhaskar

• Abstract: the success of DB's launch strategy which resulted in Divya Bhaskar becoming the market leader and overtaking the existing market leader Gujarat Samachar.

• Issues:

1. Importance of market research in services sector.

2. New product launch strategies in print media.

3. Customer centric design of service offerings.

4. Census Vs sample surveys.

Introduction

• Imagine a company overtaking the market leader, in terms of sales, on the very first day of its launch. Divya Bhaskar, a Gujarati daily newspaper from the Dainik Bhaskar (DB) group of publications, achieved just this distinction when it was launched in Ahmedabad on June 22, 2003.

• The Dainik Bhaskar (DB) group is a Rs 17bn company with interests in textiles, solvent extraction, job printing, TV media, films, information technology, and family entertainment. Its flagship brand, the Dainik Bhaskar Hindi newspaper, is the largest circulated newspaper in the country with a circulation of 2.3 million copies. DB entered the non-Hindi market with the launch of its Gujarati daily, Divya Bhaskar...

Questions for Discussion

1. Briefly describe how Dainik Bhaskar went about with the market research exercise, prior to the launch of its Gujarati daily newspaper DivyaBhaskar in Ahmedabad.

2. How did the findings help Dainik Bhaskarbecome the number one newspaper right from the first day of its launch?

3. Why according to you, did DB go in for a near census instead of a sample survey?

4. Discuss the pros and cons of using a census in a market research study.

Reference

• Marketing Research –text & cases by RajendraNargundkar