Topic 6

Data Collection II: Survey Techniques

• Notes
• Discussion
• Readings
• Links

Notes

Designing a questionnaire

Designing a good questionnaire involves a series of efforts that start with asking yourself who are the respondents and what are your research objectives. This brings us back to the previous stage in the design process, the research design stage. If you have established clear research objectives and understand your sample, then you ready to design a suitable questionnaire. You first need to determine the topics you want to ask about, decide on the ordering of the questions, and finally write-up the questions. 

I highly recommend conducting a PILOT TEST to check the suitability of the questionnaire to your sample and objectives.

Designing effective questions

To design effective questions you need to determine the format of the questions and the contents of the questions. 

• Question format

Formats of questions can come in various forms.

1. Close-ended questions
2. Partially open-ended questions
3. Open-ended questions

You should select the appropriate format for a question that would result in a valid and reliable answer to what your are looking for. 

• Rating scales

Rating scales are often used in questionnaires. Scaling is "the assignment of objects to numbers according to a rule" (retrieved from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/scalgen.htm on 8/10/2000). The important types of scales are the Likert scale, the Thurstone scale, and the Guttman scale. 

• Criteria for writing effective questions

Several criteria exist that may help you in writing effective and unbiased questions. The following are some of these recommendations:

1. Avoid double-barreled questions
2. Use words with respondent's experience
3. Do not assume that the respondent has much information
4. Avoid complicated words with multiple meanings
5. Explicitly define even simple terms
6. Be specific about time and place
7. Avoid leading answers 
8. Avoid emotionally charged words
9. Avoid embarrassing answers
10. Use clear, relevant and to the point wording
11. Ask one thing at a time

Techniques for administering questionnaires

A questionnaire can be administered in different ways: through the mail; by telephone; group administered; or through a structured interview.

Interviews

Interviews can be face-to-face interviews or focused interviews. They can be structured interviews or unstructured interviews.

Focused Interviews

Focused interviews are in-depth interviewing techniques that attempts to find detailed information from people about a particular situation. This information may include their definition of the situation, their feelings towards the situation, and the reactions towards the situation. (YOU NEED TO CHECK THE REQUIRED READING FOR MORE ON FOCUSED INTERVIEWS)

Probing techniques are important in eliciting the required in-depth information from the interviewees. 

Advantages and disadvantages of survey methods

Check the following TABLE for a clear comparison between questionnaires and interview techniques. The comparison is based upon several issues of importance to the research or the researcher.

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Discussion

The following items are topics for discussion during this lecture. Students should prepare their thoughts and ideas around these topics.

• What are survey techniques?
• How to design a questionnaire?
• What are the criteria for writing good questions for a questionnaire or an interview?
• Advantages and limitations of survey techniques
• How to probe in focused interviews

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Readings

• On questionnaires & interviews

• Zeisel, J. (1984). Inquiry by Design: Tools for Environment-Behavior Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 10, pp.157-177, Standardized Questionnaires).
• Zeisel, J. (1984). Inquiry by Design: Tools for Environment-Behavior Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 11, pp.178-196, Asking Questions: Topics and Format).
• Zeisel, J. (1984). Inquiry by Design: Tools for Environment-Behavior Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 9, pp.137-156, Focused Interviews).

General References

• Leavitt, F. (1991). Research Methods for Behavioral Scientists. IA: WCB Publishers. (especially chapter 11)
• Sommer, R. & Sommer, B.B. (1997). A Practical Guide to Behavioral Research, 4th ed. Oxford University Press. (especially chapters 9 & 10)
• Zeisel, J. (1984). Inquiry by Design: Tools for Environment-Behavior Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (especially chapters 9, 10, &11)

Reading types:

• Skimming - Reading rapidly for the main points Scanning - Reading rapidly through a text to find specific information required Extensive - Reading longer texts, often for pleasure and for an overall understanding
• Intensive - Reading shorter texts for detailed information with an emphasis on precise understanding

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Links

• Survey research: An outline of topics involved in survey research.
• Planning the survey: Another simple outline summarizing the procedures to design a survey. The site includes important criteria for asking good questions in a survey.
• Interviews: A clear description of interview preparation, probing, and conducting successful interviews

• Selecting the survey method: Issues involved that may help you decide on the best type of survey to use in your study
• Constructing the survey: An IMPORTANT site for understanding all the basics about surveys including types of questions to be asked, contents of the questions, the wording and placement of questions, and the response formats. You need to check the sub-links in this link.

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This page last revised: 20/04/05