The key principles of effective questionnaire design:

10 things to think about in effective questionnaire design:

1.Think about the objectives of the survey: at the outset, the researcher should sit down with
the research plan (the statement of what is to be achieved and the methods which will be
involved) and list the objectives of the study. This will ensure that the survey covers all the
necessary points and it will generate a rough topic list which will eventually be converted into
more explicit questions.

2.Think about how the interview will be carried out: the way that the interview will be carried
out will have a bearing on the framing of the questions. For example, interviews carried out
over the telephone have some limitations compared with face to face interviews. Self-
completion questionnaires need to be very precise and explicit in the way they are designed.

3.Think about the introduction to the questionnaire: proper introduction should communicate
the purpose of the survey and what is required of the respondent. The introduction is one of
the most important components of a questionnaire because if it fails to engage with the
respondent, there will be no interview at all.

4.Think about the formatting: the questionnaire should be clear and easy to read. Questions
and response options should be laid out in a standard format and if the questionnaire is to be
administered on a doorstep, the typeface should be large enough to read. Where appropriate,
there should be ample space to write in open ended comments. There should be somewhere
(front or back) to write down the details of the respondent, the date of the interview and the
name of the interviewer.

5.Think about questions from the respondents’ point of view: questions should be framed in a
respondent friendly manner. The question usually has to be broken down into two or three
parts to make it relevant from the respondent’s point of view.

6.Think about the possible answers at the same time as thinking about the questions: the
whole purpose of a question is to derive answers and so it is essential that some thought is
given to all the possible replies that could be received. It is the anticipation of the complete
range of possible answers that throws up the faults in the question.

7.Think about the order of the questions: the questions should flow easily from one to another
and be grouped into topics in a logical sequence.

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8.Think about the types of questions: texture in the interview can be achieved by incorporating
different styles of questions. The researcher can choose from open ended questions, closed
questions and scales.

9.Think about how the data will be processed: the questionnaire is simply the vehicle by which
data is collected from many individuals before being stirred in the analysis pot. Consideration of
how the data will be analysed at the time of designing the questionnaire will make things easier
later on.

10. Pretest and revise: The final step is to test the questionnaire. It usually isn’t necessary to
carry out more than 10 to 20 interviews in a pilot because the aim is to make sure that it works,
and not to obtain pilot results. In theory the questionnaire should be piloted using the
interviewing method that will be used in the field (over the phone if telephone interviews are
to be used; self completed if it will be a self completion questionnaire). Time and money can
preclude a proper pilot so at the very least it should be tested on one or two colleagues for
sense, flow and clarity of instructions. The whole purpose of the test is to find out if changes
are needed so that final revisions can be made.

Types of Questions:
What type of Questions should be included in the questionnaire for survey research? Each type
has its own advantages and disadvantages. Actually : “The crucial issue is not which form is
best. Rather it is under which conditions a form is most appropriate”. The choice of questions
also depends upon the topic of research, the target population, etc. Survey questions can be
grouped into two categories i.e. open ended and close-ended questions.

Open Ended Questions:

Open-ended questions give liberty to the respondents to express their views. They give
tremendous freedom to the respondents to answer according to their interpretation. Given
below is an example of an open-ended question.

Example of Open Ended Questions:

Can you suggest some ways to further improve the use of Internet in your research?
.............................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................

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Advantages of Open Ended Questions:

•Researcher can get the real views of the respondents.

•Respondents can give their views in their own language reflecting creativity, self expression
and richness of detail.

•Such answers reveal the logic of the respondents.

Disadvantages of Open Ended Questions:

•Responses can be irrelevant or not to the point.

•Many interpretations of the same question may not lead to valuable analysis.

•Coding of the responses is not possible.

•Respondent needs more time to answer.

•More space is required for answers in the questionnaire.

The responses to open ended questions are difficult to analyse but not impossible. The
researcher has to carefully study the responses and put them in different categories. This
process may be very time consuming.

Close Ended Questions:

Close ended questions are best suited for large-scale surveys. They are easier and quicker for
the respondents as well as for the researcher. Close-ended questions are provided with a list of
accepted answers. A respondent has to pick and choose the right answers. The responses
chosen by respondents may be best suited to them but they may not be the correct answers.
There is a possibility that the list of alternative answers may not be sufficient for the
respondent, hence, limiting his/her options.

Given below is an example of a close-ended question.

Example of Close Ended Question:

Given here are some reasons with regard to dissatisfaction with the current state of Internet
based resources. Rank your answers by 1,2,3….. etc. Rank no. 1 is for the highest.

•There is dearth of research resources on the net _____.

•Instability of e- resources——.

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•Difficulty in verifying the authenticity of information on the net ———.

•The state of Indexing and Search engines not helpful ———.

•Lack of standardization ———.

Paul Burton further classifies the close ended questions into single choice or multiple-choice
questions.

Example:

Single choice question:

Gender: Male :______ Female :________

Multiple-choice question:

Which of the following computing skills do you have?

Word processing ______________

Internet browing ______________

E-mail etc. ___________________

Databasse ___________________

Power point searching __________

Any other please specify _________

Advantages of Close Ended Questions:

•Cost effective.

•Answers of the respondents can be compared. Easy for respondents to answer.

•Easy to code and tabulate.

•Performance of the respondents is more reliable.

•Sensitive questions can be properly answered.

•Less number of confused answers.

•Less knowledgeable persons can also answer.

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•With limited number of answer options, the possibility of getting enough responses to the
options or categories may be useful for analysis.

Disadvantages of Close Ended Questions:

•Ideas of the researchers are imposed on the respondents.

•It is possible that respondents get frustrated by not getting the desirous options of their
choice.

•Multiple choices from the researcher may be confusing for the respondents.

The disadvantages of both types of questions can be reduced if there is a judicious mix of both
the categories in the questionnaire. Most of the questionnaires mix these two types. Open and
close-ended types of questions are required to get facts or opinions of the respondents.

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