INSTITUTE OF NEW KHMER

Subject: Research MethodologyAdvised By: Lecturer TEP Sopheng

Chapter17 ‘Questionnaires’Conducted and Prepared By

PresenterNOU Sovannarout

Room: A2 , Shift: Morning, Semester: 1, Year: 4, Academic 2016-2017

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGE3??

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Overview A questionnaires a tool for

systematically gathering information from study participants.

Questionnaires can be designed for self-reporting or as scripts for interviews.

CONTENTWhat is ‘Questionnaires’?There are 6 steps:

Step1: Determine Your Questions

Step2: Draft the ItemsStep3: Sequence the ItemsStep4: Design the

QuestionnaireStep5: Pilot-test the

QuestionnaireStep6: Develop a Strategy for

Data Collection and Analysis

Questionnaire Design Plan

What is ‘Questionnaires’?A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case.

Questionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in that they are cheap, do not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or telephone surveys, and often have standardized answers that make it simple to compile data. However, such standardized answers may frustrate users. Questionnaires are also sharply limited by the fact that respondents must be able to read the questions and respond to them. Thus, for some demographic groups conducting a survey by questionnaire may not be concrete.

- The questionnaire has become one of the most used and abused means of collecting information. If well constructed, a questionnaire permits the collection of reliable and reasonably valid data, cheap and timely manner. However, there are many sloppy questionnaires and these yield unreliable data of limited validity and utility.- The decision to use a questionnaire is often motivate by a need to collect routine data from a large number of respondents who may be in one or several locations,

- Researchers who elect to use this form of data collection are cautioned to think carefully before they use questionnaires to gather information which could be gathered in another more efficient or valid way. It will greatly facilitate the data

analysis phase of the research. The task of developing and implementing a questionnaire can be accomplished by following the six essential steps outlined in this chapter: determine your questions, draft the questionnaire items, sequence the items, design the questionnaire, pilot-test

And Develop a Strategy for Data Collection and Analysis.

Step1: Determine Your Questions

To develop valid questionnaires, you must first clearly identify your general information needs.

What types of information do you require and from whom?

Accurately defining your needs is critical and will make it easier to write questions that will answer your research questions

And achieve your goals. Different target groups may provide

different types of information and a clear understanding of the purpose of the research will help you limit your questions to the relevant information and no more.

Research Q. should generate a number of subquestions.

Finally, before drafting the questionnaire items, you should highlight, underline or place a check-mark beside each subquestion that will be addressed through

The questionnaire. This will save your time and help

crystalize your thinking.Step2:

Draft the Items Once you have written your research

question and subquestion, questionnaire items will become immediately apparent.

Make Brainstorming as many items for each subquestion as possible to help you gain a full understanding of the breadth and depth of each question.

The task complete, you can move on and select the format(s) for the questions.

Fill-in-the-blankThis common format asks a question and leaves a blank for the response. The stem should be a complete sentence rather than just a phrase. Normally, the answer should not be more than a word, number or phrase>Sample Fill-in-the-blank

How many management courses have you completed in the past two years?_______

Multiple Choice Multiple choice questions are similar

to Fill-in-the-blank question, except the respondent is given a choice of answers and must check one. Sometimes there are discrete response (e.g. sex: male or female) in other instances a range of values is presented (e.g. annual income: $10,000-$50,000).

Sample Multiple choice itemsHow many days of training have you completed during the past 12 months? None6-10

Comment-on The Comment-on are similar to Fill-in-

the-blank question, except for one critical difference.

The comment-on question attempts to elicit an extensive answer by posing a question and leaving enough space for the respondent to write a short paragraph.

Sample Comment-on itemTo what extent did the training session relate to your job needs?____________________________________________________________________________________

List Ask the respondent to list things is a

good way to find out views in an unbiased way. This open format forces the respondent to think up answers without having a list of ‘acceptable’ options from which to choose.

Sample List ItemList three most important skills you acquired during this training session.1. ________________________________2. ________________________________3. ________________________________

Likert ScalesThe Likert Scales is one of the most useful question forms. The scale is named after Rensis Likert who developed this format in 1932. In its most popular form, the respondent is presented a sentence and is asked to agree or disagree on a three, 5 or 7 point scale.Sample Likert Scales ItemI use research Disagree Not Sure Agree Methods inMy job

Step3: Sequence the Items

is a common type of test item, where the user is required to place a number of items into the 'correct' order. This order may be temporal, preference, logical, or other order, and must be clearly specified in the question. As with Multiple Choice questions, this type of question works best with a reasonable number of possible answers, say at least five pairs to be matched. Good questionnaires, unless they are very short, generally contain subsections.

Sample Sequence the item

Step4: Design the Questionnaire

The format of a questionnaire is extremely important because it is a major factor in determining whether the questionnaire will be completed.There are two important aspects to design:Individual questions and the whole questionnaire. Individual questions, certain types of

questionnaire layout can reduce confusion and contribute to valid responses.

Six rules to AID Questionnaire Design

1. Lay out items to avoid confusion • use the formats shown in the examples;• do not change pages in the middle of a question;• give instructions on what you want the respondent

to do for each type of question;• number the questions consecutively.

2. Use a booklet• to make it professional;• to facilitate flip side French/English versions.

3. Include a title and introductory explaination• to let your clients know what you are doing;• to help them fill it out properly.

4. Organize into sections, each with a title• to help structure thinking;• to facilitate analysis.

5. Group similar types of items together• especially rating scales;• fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice can be

mixed.6. Use all available space• try to limit it to 4 pages;• use space for comments to fill in pages;• ensure it is visually appealing to the eye.

Step5: Pilot-test the Questionnaire

A pilot test (pretest) of the questionnaire is helpful for checking content, clarity, layout, timing, and other factors.

Volunteers from the target population (but not the sample population) should be asked to complete the preliminary survey and provide feedback on it. The survey instrument should be revised based on these observations. Several rounds of pilot testing may be required.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when conducting a pilot test:

Keep it practicable by testing your survey on a small group of peopleTest your survey on individuals that are similar to your actual survey populationAfter completing the survey, ask participants to provide feedback on the intelligibility of questions and response options, as well as the length of time it took them to complete the survey. Assess if the questionnaire has issues (too long, too complex, too ambiguous etc.)

Review the test responses to the survey, looking for any inconsistencies or unexpected answers.

Make any necessary changes to the survey before implementing it on a large scale. Consider conducting a second pilot test if extensive changes have been made to the original survey.

Step6: Develop a Strategy for Data

Collection and AnalysisNow we have a questionnaire ready to

go!You will need to work out a strategy for how and where to send it. The first part of your strategy is to select a representative sample that represents all the subjects you want to reach. Then prepare a list. The second part of your strategy is do decide on the technology you will use to send out your questionnaire.There are three basic options:

1. StandardQuestionnaire can be printed, in

your office or by a printer, and mailed to respondents. Respondents fill them out and mail them back. Alternatively, sometime it is possible to administer them in a group meeting with the targeted respondents. Result are manually entered into a database or statistical program for analysis.

2. Optical ScanningIt is possible to print

questionnaires so they can be read by an optical scanner that picks up the responses automatically. This approach is only beneficial when you have hundreds of questionnaires. Smaller sample probably do not justify the printing and set-up costs.

3. Electronic QuestionnairesThe advent of electronic

communication has created yet another way to administer a questionnaire. Sending questionnaires via electronic mail (e-mail) is growing in popularity for professionals, organizations and individuals networked through the internet. This form of questionnaire is designed on a computer and sent as a computer file to the subject via e-mail.- And feed back, this is useful for in house surveys.

SUMMARIZE

Questionnaire ContentThe questionnaire must include questions confirming that participants meet the eligibility criteria for the study.The questionnaire must also be able to accurately place participants into key categories, such confirming that all cases in a case-control study meet the case definition.A survey should be neither too short nor too long (Depending on the audience too).

Types of QuestionsAfter determining the broad categories of questions and the specific topics to be addressed in each section, each question topic should be assigned a specific type of question. Close-ended questions allow a limited number of possible answersOpen-ended questions allow participants to give free-response answers

Open-Ended QuestionsOpen-ended questions allow participants to: explain their selections and qualify their responses give multiple answers provide responses not anticipated by the researcher

However: they take longer to ask and answer they may result in irrelevant answers recoding for statistical analysis is often difficult

Close-Ended QuestionsClose-ended questions come in a variety of formats, including:

Date and time variables Numeric variablesCategorical variablesPaired-comparison variablesRank-order variables

Close-Ended QuestionsCategorical variables come in a variety of formats:

Dichotomous variables have only two response options (like yes/no)Ordinal variables are ranked based on an inherent orderNominal variables are have no built-in order

Examples of Types of

Questions

ConclusionWell constructed questionnaires permit researchers to gather reasonably valid quantitative and qualitative data in a simple, timely and cost efficient manner. This chapter has presented how to develop and implement a questionnaire in six steps. These steps in their major components are summarized in Sample multiple choice item. By following these six steps you should be able to produce an effective questionnaires are so important in educational research, I have included a complete sample questionnaire Sample comment-on and the cover letter for a study that evaluated training taking by supervisors in industry. Developing a questionnaire requires thought, care and time, but the end of product can be satisfying.

Thank You For Your Pay Attention. ?

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