Q UESTIONNAIRE D ESIGN

1. QUESTIONNAIREDESIGN

2. Often misused words generate misleading thoughtsHerbert Spencer TheSTOCK / LIVESTOCKCase The range of error due to use of imprecise words may be as high as 20 to 30 percent. Relevance and Accuracy Questionnaire Design

3. TheStepsin aSurveyProject Establish the goals of the project Determine your sample - Whom to interview Choose interviewing methodology - How to interview Create your questionnaire Questionnaire Design

4. TheInterviewingMethods • Personal Interviews • Telephone Surveys • Email Surveys • Internet/Intranet (Web Page) Surveys Choice of survey method will depend on several factors : Speed,  Cost, Internet Usage, Literacy Levels, Sensitive Questions Questionnaire Design

5. QuestionTypes Researchers use three basic types of questions:multiple choice, numeric open end and text open end. Examples of each kind of question follow: Questionnaire Design

6. Questionnaire Design

7. Designing the Questionnaire It’s all about the questions… • Effect of a given word • Balance in question wording • Don’t know answers – offered or volunteered? • Using scales • Question order • Pre-testing Questionnaire Design

8. The Effect of One Word How important do you think it is for the GOVERNMENT to set up a hotline telephone number people can call to get help when they have problems with their health plan? How important do you think it is to have a hotline telephone number people can call to get help when they have problems with their health plan? To have a hotline For government to set up a hotline Very Important Somewhat Important Not too important Not at all important Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University National Survey of Americans’ Views on Consumer Protections in managed Care, January 1998 Questionnaire Design

9. Balance in Question Wording • What’s wrong with these questions? • Do you support the India taking military action against Pakistan? • If you heard that Candidate X supported stricter gun control laws, would that make you more likely to vote for her? • Did you happen to vote in the presidential election in 2000? Questionnaire Design

10. Balance in Question Wording • Bad questions, improved: • Do you support or oppose the India taking military action against Pakistan? • If you heard that Candidate X supported stricter gun control laws, would that make you more likely to vote for her, less likely to vote for her, or wouldn’t it make much difference? • Did you happen to vote in the presidential election in 2000, or not? Questionnaire Design

11. Don’t Know Answers – offered or volunteered? Do you favor or oppose the government offering parents money or "vouchers" to send their children to private or religious schools, or public schools outside their district? Do you favor or oppose the government offering parents money or "vouchers" to send their children to private or religious schools, or public schools outside their district, or haven’t you heard enough about that to have an opinion? Oppose Oppose No opinion Favor Favor No opinion NPR/Kaiser Family Foundation/Kennedy School of Government Education Survey, June 1999 (conducted June 25 – July 19, 1999) Questionnaire Design

12. Using scales – getting to “the most” Now, I’m going to read you some different health care issues. As I read each one, please tell me how important you think it is for the President and Congress to deal with this issue – very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not important at all. When forced to choose… Which of the following issues you say are very important do you think is most important?* Percent saying “most important” Percent saying “very important” Helping people age 65 and over pay for prescription medicines Making Medicare more financially sound for future generations Increasing the number of Americans covered by health insurance Helping states with the cost of Medicaid *Also includes those who named only one issue as “very important” Lowering the cost of medical malpractice insurance for physicians Questionnaire Design Source: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Poll Report

13. How questions can affect one another • Ask general questions before specific priority questions in order to obtain unbiased responses (e.g. most important problem facing the nation) – FUNNEL TECHNIQUE • Pay attention to how one question might influence answers to future questions: • In considering whether or not to vote for a political candidate, how important is the candidate’s position on HIV/AIDS in making your choice? • What do you think are the two most important health care issues for the government to address? Questionnaire Design

14. Testing the Questionnaire • Pre-testing The last step in questionnaire design is to test a questionnaire with a small number of interviews before conducting your main interviews. Ideally, you should test the survey on the same kinds of people you will include in the main study. This kind of test run can reveal unanticipated problems with question wording, instructions to skip questions, etc. It can help see if the interviewees understand your questions and giving useful answers. If you change any questions after a pre-test, you should not combine the results from the pre-test with the results of post-test interviews. Questionnaire Design

15. References Roper Center for Public Opinion Research: iPoll http://roperweb.ropercenter.uconn.edu/iPOLL/ American Association for Public Opinion Research http://aapor.org/ National Journal: Poll Track http://nationaljournal.com/ Kaiser Family Foundation: Kaiser Health Poll Report http://www.kff.org/healthpollreport Strategos Institute at http://www.stategos.com/survey/ Zikmund G. William, Business Research Methods 7E, Chapter 15, Pg: 329 – 331, 344 – 347. Questionnaire Design