Graduate School

Master of Business Administration

Far Eastern University
Manila

COURSE CODE: MBA 700

RESEARCH METHODS IN BUSINESS

Submitted to curing
RAMON A. VICTOR, Ph.D.

Assigned Topic
QUESTIONNAIRE AND INSTRUMENTS

EDWARD M. HOCSON, RME

January 6, 2018
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

 A questionnaire is good if its valid and measures in an efficient

manner.

 Consistency of form and manner of asking questions the exact

wording generally ensures reliability.

 Reliability is the property by which consistent results are achieved

when we repeat the measurement of something.

 Lastly, be clear of the objective to ensure that enough questions

are asked to generate information necessary to address research
problems.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Questionnaire and Instruments

a. Revisiting the Research Questions Hierarchy

b. Constructing and Refining the Measurements
Questions
c. Drafting and Redefining the Instruments
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.

 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 to
deal with them. Some of the techniques are –
 Repeating the same or similar question in the questionnaire at
different places.
 Asking indirect questions
  Asking follow up questions to probe if the respondent is really
truthful.

Ease of Recording:

 A questionnaire, that it must 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 starting

from non-threatening or ice-breaking or introductory questions, and
then proceed to the main body of questions.
  Generally, the age, income, occupation, education and similar
demographic questions should appear at the end of a
questionnaire, after an interviewer has established a rapport or
familiarity with the respondent. If these are asked in the beginning,
there is a high likelihood of suspicion and non-cooperation resulting
in a wasted effort in many cases.
 As far as possible, questions should follow a logical sequence, and
must 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 monotonous for the

respondent is if he answers “Agree” to every question or “Disagree”
to every question, for four to five questions in a row.
 If this happens, the researcher must find a way to overcome the
potential problem, by resequencing the questions which force the
respondent to think before he answers, or by changing the scale, or
by some other method.

Analysis Required:

A questionnaire design is dependent on the analysis required from it. But

the most important effect of the analysis required is in the 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 of scales.

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.

Customer Measures:

 Customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction

 Customer retention
 Gains and losses of customers and customer accounts
 Customer complaints and warranty claims.
 Perceived value, loyalty, positive referral, and customer relationship
building

Dichotomous Questions:

 These are those which ask the respondent to choose between two
given alternatives.
  The most common example of this is the yes or no type of
questions “Are you a user of Brand X toilet soap?” Yes or No are
the alternatives given.
 A third choice is sometimes added to dichotomous questions such
as “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 of
neither 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 against the 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 of choices at
a time. For example, there could be six brands of color TVs, Brands
A, B, C, D, E, F.
 A respondent may be asked to do a paired comparison to say
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 the given
set of objects or brands.

Semantic Differential:

This type of question is like the rating scale. The only additional feature is
that a set of two adjectives forms the two extreme points of 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 two extreme
values of the scale. These could be coded 1 to 5 or 1 to 7 or
whatever the number of points is. A commonly used 5-point scale 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 information needs.

 Example of Information Needs: A soft drink concentrate

manufacturer (such as Rasna’s manufacturer, 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 possible
 questionnaire 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.

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
 Powder

Both

Which type of concentrate do you prefer out of the following?

Concentrate with sugar added

Concentrate without sugar added

What are the occasions when you use soft drink concentrate to make soft
drinks? (Tick only one)

Regularly, all year round

Regularly, only in summer

Occasionally, all year round

Occasionally, 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

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.

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) ______________________

Please let us know a little more about yourself.

Your age groups

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 the questions 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?
(Questions 11 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)
made from concentrate?

• Should we ask the convenience and price questions separately

(Question 7) and differently? 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
used
 in 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
convenience sample or a field sample
 Modifications in the wording, scale or sequence as a result of the
pretest, 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 repeat the measurement of something.
 A questionnaire used on a similar population which produces
similar results can be termed as reliable.
  Consistency of form and manner of asking questions (their exact
wording, the amount of structuring, etc.) generally ensures
reliability. Proper training given to interviewers in a study also
improves reliability, by reducing variation in the way they ask
questions and record answers.
 Validity is the property by which a questionnaire measures what it is
supposed to measure.
 If we want to measure attitudes towards brands of washing
machines in terms of service and product features, then that is what
the critical questions in the questionnaire should measure.
 The validity of questions on a questionnaire can be checked by
comparing it with previously used items (questions) measuring the
same thing, and also trying out different questions to find out which
one seems to measure what we intended to measure.

Reference:

Marketing Research –text & cases by Rajendra Nargundkar