Designing Questions to Gather Factual Data

1. Designing Questions to Gather Factual Data

2. What is Factual Data • Data and information to be provided in the answers could be objectively verified • Some questions ask for descriptions of people (age, gender, countries of origin) • Description of events have done or happen to them • Organization or leading their lives

3. Challenging To Writing a Good Question • Defining Objectives and specifying the kind of answers needed to meet the objectives of the questions • Ensuring that all have respondent have a shared, common understanding of the meaning of the question

4. Challenging To Writing a Good Question • Ensuring that people are asked the questions to which they know they know the answers • Asking question that respondents are able to answer in the terms required by the question (answering the question the way the investigator want) • Asking the questions respondents are willing to answer accurately

5. Question Objective • The objective defines the kind of information that is needed • The difference between the question objective and question itself is a critical distinction • Our goal is the process of going from objective to a set of words, a question, the answers to which will achieve that objective

6. Question Objective • Example 1: Objective : Age Question1: How old were you on your last birthday? Question2: On what date were you born?

7. Question Objective • Example 1: Objective : Age Question1: How old were you on your last birthday? Problem (Ambiguity might be whether age is required to exact year, or somehow broad categories) Question2: On what date were you born?

8. Question Objective • Example 1: Objective : Age Question1: How old were you on your last birthday? Question2: On what date were you born? (the relation between the objective and the information asked for in the question is close)

9. Question Objective • Example 2: Objective : Income Question1: How much money do you make per month on your current job? Question2: How much money did you make in the last twelve months from paid jobs? Question3: What was the total income for you, and all family members living with you in your home, from jobs and from other sources during the last calendar year?

10. Question Objective • Example 2: Objective : Income These question meet the objective as stated , but the results will be very different

11. Question Objective • Example 2: Objective : Income Question1: How much money do you make per month on your current job? (Current salary might be the best measure of quality or status of the job a person hold but not good of measure the well off of the person )

12. Question Objective • Example 2: Objective : Income Question2: How much money did you make in the last twelve months from paid jobs? (Measuring income to find out about resources available to the person. Income for the past year might be a more relevant and appropriate measure.

13. Question Objective • Example 2: Objective : Income Question3: What was the total income for you, and all family members living with you in your home, from jobs and from other sources during the last calendar year? People tend to share in and benefits from other family, the total family income from all people and all resource mish have the most to do with how “well off ‘ the person

14. Question Objective • A good question has to be ore specific than simply as “income” • Researchers need to decide what their goals are, to be able to write the ideal question

15. Question Objective Example3 Objective: Soft drink consumption Question1: How many soft drink did you drink yesterday? Question2: How many soft drinks did you drink in the last seven days?

16. Question Objective Example3 Objective: Soft drink consumption Question1: How many soft drink did you drink yesterday? (Produce a more accurate count of soft drink consumption but for limited period. Behavior on one day is not a very good way to characterize an individual (Why?) Question2: How many soft drinks did you drink in the last seven days?

17. Question Objective Example3 Objective: Soft drink consumption Question2: How many soft drinks did you drink In the last seven days? (subject to more response error, because it is difficult reporting task, will do better job in characterizing)

18. Question Objective Example3 Objective: Soft drink consumption The relationship between the question objective and what specific question would achieve

19. Question Objective Example4 Objective: Use of medical care Question1: How many times have you seen or talked to a doctor about your health in the past two weeks? Question2: How many times have you received any kind of medical care in the health in the last two weeks? Question3:How many times have you received any kind of medical care in the health in the last two weeks?

20. Question Objective Example4 Objective: Use of medical care There are uncertainty generated by this question objective • What Do you mean by medical care ? • What the service should be included ? • (Is the goal to count events, to get estimate of how much services is being used, or characterize individuals (high or low user to medical

21. Questions?