Order bias and prompts in the questionnaire

The order in which prompts are presented to respondents, whether on the questionnaire or screen, shown on a card or read out, can have a significant effect on the responses recorded. Such bias can occur with the presentation of: scalar responses; monadically rated batteries of attitude or image dimensions; lists from which responses are

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Question order in the questionnaire

There are certain rules regarding the ordering of questions that must always be borne in mind. These have been covered in Chapter 3 and include: There must be no prompting of any information before spontaneous questions on the same subject. The interview should normally start with the more general questions relating to the topic

Standardizing questions in the questionnaire

Where a question has been asked in a previous study it is usually to the advantage of the researcher to ensure that, unless there is a good reason otherwise, the same question should be used and the same pre-codes. Doing this allows the researcher to build up a body of knowledge about how this

Questionnaire in Tracking studies

Consistency of question wording is important in ongoing or tracking studies, in order to ensure that changes in data over time are not due to wording changes. To ensure data consistency, it is also important to maintain the order in which the questions are asked, so that any order bias that exists is itself

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Questionnaire in Omnibus studies

An omnibus survey is a particular type of study on which clients buy space for their own questions. The questionnaire can therefore cover a number of different subject areas for a number of different clients. The cost of sampling and contacting these respondents is effectively shared between all of the clients, making this a

Interviewer-administered paper questionnaires

If a paper questionnaire is being used, the primary concern with regard to layout is that the interviewer can follow the questionnaire sequence easily, asking the correct questions for each respondent and accurately recording the answers. This is the case for both face-to-face and tele­ phone interviews. If the interviewer has difficulty following the

Self-completion paper questionnaire

Much of the success of a paper-based self-completion survey depends on the appearance of the questionnaire and the ease with which respondents can use it. An unattractive questionnaire that is difficult to follow will reduce the response rate, increasing the risk of an unacceptably low level of response. An unattractive or shoddily produced questionnaire

CAPI and CATI as forms of electronic questionnaires

CAPI, CATI and all forms of electronic questionnaires have a number of advantages over paper questionnaires which have already been touched on in Chapter 2. Electronic questionnaires from all of the major software suppliers can: cope with complex routeing; rotate or randomize the order in which questions are asked; rotate or randomize the order

Replicating existing approaches to the Online questionnaires

As with CAPI and CATI, electronic formatting of the questionnaire brings opportunities to replicate and improve on pen and paper approaches. Thus it is possible to: rotate or randomize the order in which questions are asked; rotate or randomize the order of response codes between respondents; sum numeric answers (eg to ensure that answers

Enhancing the experience on the Online questionnaires

Some of the advances offered by web-based questionnaires are the enhance­ments that can be made to the ways in which the questions are asked, ma­terial displayed and responses recorded. Such enhancements include: drag and drop; page turning; magnifying; highlighting; virtual shopping. It has been shown that online questionnaires that utilize techniques such as these,

Why pilot questionnaires?

There are two key tests for a questionnaire: reliability and validity. A questionnaire is reliable if it provides a consistent distribution of responses from the same survey universe. The validity of the question­naire is whether or not it is measuring what we want it to measure. Testing a questionnaire directly for reliability is very

Types of pilot questionnaire survey

There are various types of pilot surveys that might be carried out according to the perceived need for piloting, time available and budget. These are: informal pilots carried out with a small number of colleagues; cognitive interviewing in which the questionnaire is tested amongst respondents; accompanied interviewing which may be used principally to test

Responsibilities to respondents as ethical issues of the questionnaires

1. The introduction What is said in the introduction to an interview is crucial in securing the cooperation of respondents. This is true for both interviewer-adminis­tered surveys and self-completion studies. From an ethical standpoint the introduction should include: the name of the organization conducting the study;* the broad subject area; whether the subject area

Responsibilities to clients as ethical issues of the questionnaires

Ethical behaviour does not just extend to the relationship between ques­tionnaire writer and respondent, however. The questionnaire writer also has a responsibility to behave ethically towards the client. Much has been written in previous chapters about designing questions that are unbiased and strive to capture the best and most accurate data. This is not

Response bias of questionnaire survey

No matter how carefully the questionnaire writer constructs the ques­tions, the data collected are only as accurate as the responses that are elicited. Respondents give inaccurate answers for a number of different reasons. They give inaccurate answers both consciously for reasons of their own, and also without any conscious realization that the informa­tion they

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Social desirability bias of questionnaire survey

Social desirability bias (SDB) arises because respondents like to appear to be other than they are. This can occur consciously, because respondents want to manage the impression that they are giving of themselves in terms of social responsibility, or subconsciously, because they believe themselves to be other than they are, possibly a form of

Dealing with SDB (Social desirability bias) of questionnaire survey

When writing the questionnaire care must be taken to identify question areas that are possible sources of SDB. If the questions ask about attitudes or behaviour on any subject that has a social responsibility component, then consideration should be given to how best to minimize any possible bias. Simply asking respondents to be honest

Determining whether SDB (Social desirability bias) exists in the questionnaire survey

It can be difficult to determine whether or not the responses to a question have been influenced by SDB. 1. Matched cells One approach to determining whether or not there is a problem is to use one of the techniques described above and to have part of the sample as a control cell that

Client presence in the international questionnaire surveys

If you are conducting a multinational study, then it is possible that the commissioning organization, or client, has a presence in most if not all of the countries that are to be covered. However, the extent and expertise of that presence may differ between countries, depending on the size and the nature of their

Common or tailored approaches to the international questionnaire surveys

When faced with the prospect of conducting a study across a number of countries the first issue is whether to write a separate questionnaire for each country or a single questionnaire that varies only on items such as brand lists. This can only be answered by examining the objectives of the study and the