How to Construct

Questionnaires

Once you have decided that a questionnaire is the most

appropriate data collection method for your research, before
you go on to construct the questionnaire you need to think
about what, exactly, you want from your research. Too often
researchers rush into designing a questionnaire only to find
that it is not yielding the type of information they require.

DECIDING WHICH QUESTIONNAIRE TO USE

If you’re sure that a questionnaire is the most appropriate
method for your research, you need to decide whether you
intend to construct a closed-ended, open-ended or combina-
tion questionnaire. In open questions respondents use their own
words to answer a question, whereas in closed questions
prewritten response categories are provided.

The advantages and disadvantages of open and closed

questionnaires are discussed in Table 9. You need to think
about whether your questionnaire is to be self-adminis- tered,
that is, the respondent fills it in on his own, away from the
researcher, or whether it is to be interviewer administered.
Self-administered questionnaires could be sent through the
post, delivered in person or distributed via the internet. It is
also important to think about the analysis of your
questionnaire at this stage as this could influence its design
(see Chapter 11).
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TABLE 9: OPEN AND CLOSED QUESTIONS:

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OPEN QUESTIONS CLOSED QUESTIONS
Tend to be slower to Tend to be quicker to
administer. administer.
Can be harder to Often easier and quicker
record responses. for the researcher to
record responses.
May be difficult to code, Tend to be easy to code.
especially if multiple
answers are given.
Do not stifle response. Respondents can only
answer in a predefined
way.
Enable respondents to New issues cannot be
raise new issues. raised.
Respondents tend to feel Respondents can only
that they have been able answer in a way which
to speak their mind. may not match their
actual opinion and may,
therefore, become
frustrated.
In self-administered Is quick and easy for
questionnaires, respondents to tick boxes
respondents might not be – might be more likely to
willing to write a long answer all the questions.
answer and decide to
leave the question blank.
How do you know the
meaning of a blank
answer when you come
to the analysis?
Can use open questions Can include a section at
to find out all the the end of a closed-ended
possible responses before questionnaire for people
designing a closed-ended to write in a longer
questionnaire. response if they wish.
WORDING AND STRUCTURE OF QUESTIONS
When constructing each question think about the words
you use. Avoid jargon and technical terms whenever
possible. Try not to use words which may have a double
meaning or be misinterpreted, as some words have
different meanings for different groups of people. Don’t
use emotive words. Make sure the question is not
ambiguous. And, above all, avoid questions which will
cause annoyance, frustration, offence, embarrassment or
sadness. You should never make someone feel uncomfor-
table, for whatever reason, as a result of filling in your
questionnaire.

X Questions should be kept short and simple. This will

avoid many of the problems outlined above. Check that a
question is not double-barrelled, that is, two questions in
one. If it is, ask two questions rather than one. Also,
avoid negative questions – the type which have ‘not’ in
them as this can be confusing, especially when a
respondent is asked to agree or disagree.
X Make sure that your questions don’t contain some type
of prestige bias. This phrase refers to questions which
could embarrass or force respondents into giving a
false answer. They might do this if they do not want to
look ‘bad’ in front of the researcher, or they might do
it because it is expected behaviour. Questions about
income or educational qualifications might illicit this
type of response, so you need to be careful about how
you try to obtain this information.
X Some issues may be very sensitive and you might be better
asking an indirect question rather than a direct question.
 Promising confidentiality and anonymity may help, but
many respondents can, understandably, be sceptical about
these promises. If you ask an indirect question in which
respondents can relate their answer to other people, they
may be more willing to answer the question.

Using closed-ended questions

If you are constructing a closed-ended question, try to make
sure that all possible answers are covered. This is
particularly important for time and frequency questions such
as ‘how often do you . . .’ You need to make sure that all
the frequencies are covered so that respondents aren’t con-
strained in their answers and tick a box which isn’t right for
them. Also, you want to make sure that you don’t
artificially create opinions by asking someone a question
about which they don’t know, or don’t care. You need to
make sure that you include a ‘don’t know’ category in this
case.

Avoiding leading questions

Don’t asking leading questions. The question ‘How often do
you wash your car?’ might seem innocuous enough. However,
it makes two assumptions. Firstly, it assumes that the
respondent has a car and secondly, it assumes the respondent
washes his car. It could be considered a prestige bias
question. Would a respondent feel bad if they didn’t have a
car and therefore would tick ‘four times a week’ anyway?
Would they feel bad if they don’t ever wash their car but feel
the researcher expects them to? If you need to ask this
question, you should ask a filter question first to find out
whether the respondent actually owned a car. Then you would
need to ask: ‘If you wash your car, how many
times a year?’ By wording the question in this way and by
being careful about the frequency list, you’re not leading the
respondent into answering in a certain way.

Have a look at Exercise 2 which will help you to think

about some of the issues involved in the wording and
structuring of questions.

EXERCISE 2
Read the following questions and decide what is
wrong with them.Think about how you might
overcome the pro- blems you have identi¢ed.

1. Do you go
swimming? Never
&
Rarely &
Frequently &
Sometimes &
2. What do you think about the Green Peace attempt
to blackmail the Government?
3. What is wrong with the young people of today
and what can we do about it?
4. How many books have you read in the last
year? None &
1 ^ 10 &
10 ^ 20 &
20 ^ 30 &
Over 30 &

5. What is the pro¢t of your company, to the nearest

one hundred pounds?
6. What do you think should be done about global
warming?

Points to consider

1. The problem with this question is in the

categories supplied for the answer. Everybody
has a di¡erent idea as to what words such as
‘sometimes’ and ‘fre- quently’ mean. Instead,
give speci¢c time frames such as ‘twice a year’
or ‘once a month’. Also, the order of answers
should follow a logical sequence ^ in the example
above, they do not.

2. This is a very leading question which uses an

emotive word ^ blackmail. It assumes that
Green Peace is blackmailing the Government and
assumes thatsome- one knows about the issues
and would be able to answer. A ¢lter question
would have to be used in this case and the word
‘blackmail’changed.

3. This question is double-barrelled, leading and ambig-

uous. It asks two questions in one and so needs to
be split up. The word ‘wrong’ is emotive and
suggests there is something not normal about
the young people of today. It asks the respondent
to distance themselves and comment from the
moral high ground.

4. This question may contain prestige bias ^

would people be more likely to say they have
read plenty of books when they might not have
read any? Also, the categories for the answers
need modi¢cation ^ which box would you tick for
someone who answered ‘20’?
 5. This question assumes knowledge and could only be
asked of someone who has the ¢gures to hand. It
also asks for what could be con¢dential information
which a respondent might be reluctant to give. The
word ‘pro¢t’ has di¡erent meanings for di¡erent
people, especially if the question is asked by an
interviewer, rather than read by the respondent.
In an often quoted case, when this question was
used, the respondent took it to mean ‘prophet’and
as such was unable to answer the question.

6. In this question it is assumed that the

respondent thinks something should be done
about global warn- ing and that they are able to
comment on the issue. Indeed, global warming in
itself is a contested issue. This question leads
the respondent into having an opi- nion about
something on which they might not otherwise
have one.

LENGTH AND ORDERING OF QUESTIONS

When you’re constructing a questionnaire, keep it as short as
possible. If it has to be longer because of the nature of your
research, think about whether your respondents will actually
take the time to fill it in. Some people will do so if they feel
there is some personal benefit to be gained. This is why long
consumer behaviour surveys offer entry into large prize
draws for completed questionnaires. If your budget is
limited, you might be able to offer a copy of the final report
or other information which may be of use to the respondent
as an incentive.
Be realistic about how long a questionnaire will take to fill
in. Saying it will take a ‘moment’ is not helpful. Include
filter questions with answers such as ‘If no, go to question
28’. Psychologically it’s good for respondents to be able
to jump sections as it stops people becoming frustrated by
unnecessary or irrelevant questions.

As with interviewing or focus groups, when designing a

questionnaire start with easy questions which respondents
will enjoy answering, thus encouraging them to continue
filling in the questionnaire. If you begin with complex
questions which need long responses, your respondents
will be less likely to fill in the form. If you’re constructing
a combined questionnaire, keep your open-ended
questions for the end as, once someone has spent time
completing the rest of the questionnaire, they are more
likely to continue with those questions which take a little
more effort to complete.

When constructing a questionnaire, you need to make it as

interesting as possible and easy to follow. Try to vary the
type and length of questions as variety provides interest.
Group the questions into specific topics as this makes it
easier to understand and follow. Layout and spacing are
extremely important. If your questionnaire looks clut- tered,
respondents will be less likely to fill it in.

Collecting personal information

Opinion is divided about where personal information
should be included on a questionnaire. I tend to include it
at the end, as I believe people are more likely to fill in this
information when they have already invested time and
energy in completing the rest of the form.
As the researcher, you need to think about collecting only
that type of personal information which is completely
relevant to your research. Be sensitive to the type of
information people will be reluctant to give. An example
of a personal profile section is provided in Fig.1. This
form may seem short, but it is important not to ask for too
much personal information as respondents will become
suspicious and want to know why you want the informa-
tion. You also need to assure them that you understand
and will comply with the Data Protection Act (see
Chapter 13).

PILOTING THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Once you have constructed your questionnaire, you must
pilot it. This means that you must test it out to see if it is
obtaining the results you require.

First of all, ask people who have not been involved in its
construction to read it through and see if there are any
ambiguities which you have not noticed.

Once this has been done, alter the questions accordingly,

then send out a number of questionnaires to the type of
people who will be taking part in the main survey. Make sure
they know it is a pilot test and ask them to forward any
comments they may have about the length, structure and
wording of the questionnaire. Go through each response very
carefully, noting comments and looking at the answers to the
questions as this will help you to discover whether there are
still ambiguities present.
1. Are you: Female? &
Male? &
2. What is your age?
Under 26 & 46–55 &
26–35 & 56–65 &
36–45 & Over 65 &
3. To which of these ethic groups do you consider you belong?
(These categories were used in the 2001 Census and have
been reproduced for ease of comparison.)

White:
British &
Any other White background (please describe) &
Mixed:
White and Black Caribbean &
White and Black African &
White and Asian &
Any other Mixed background (please describe) &
Asian or Asian British:
Indian &
Pakistani &
Bangladeshi &
Any other Asian background (please describe) &
Black or Black British
Caribbean &
African &
Any other Black background (please describe) &
Chinese or other Ethic Group
Chinese &
Any other (please describe) &

Which of the following categories apply to you?

(Please tick all that apply.)
Housewife/husband &
Full-time student &
Part-time student &
Self-employed &
Seeking paid employment &
In part-time, paid employment &
In full-time, paid employment &
Fig. 1. Personal profile form.

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Alter the questionnaire again. If you have had to undertake

major alterations, you may need to pilot the questionnaire
again. This may seem a rather long and laborious process,
but it is incredibly important, especially if you’re intending
to send out a large number of questionnaires.

OBTAINING A HIGH RESPONSE

Questionnaires are big business and as more and more fall
through our letterboxes we become less willing to spend
the time completing them. You need to make yours stand
out so that all your careful planning and construction is
not wasted. There are many simple measures you can take
to try to ensure a high response rate.

X Is the questionnaire relevant to the lives, attitudes and

beliefs of the respondents?
X Can the respondents read if they are to be given a self-
administered questionnaire?
X Are there any language issues? Do you need to translate
the questionnaire into another language?
X Are your intended respondents likely to co-operate? For
example, illegal immigrants may be less likely to fill in
a questionnaire than legal immigrants.
X Is the questionnaire well constructed and well laid out?
X Is it clear, concise and uncluttered?
X Are the instructions straightforward and realistic about
how long it will take to complete?
X Has the respondent been told who the research is for and
what will happen to the results?
X Has the respondent been reassured that you understand and
will comply with the Data Protection Act?
X Has the questionnaire been piloted to iron out any
problems?
X Can your respondents see some personal benefit to be gained
by completing the questionnaire?
X Is return postage included?
X Has a follow-up letter and duplicate questionnaire been
sent in cases of none response?

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN CHECKLIST

X Make your questionnaire as short as possible.
X Make sure people will be able to answer your questions.
X Don’t assume knowledge or make it seem that you expect a certain
level of knowledge by the way your questions are worded.
X Start with easy to answer questions. Keep complex questions for
the end.
X Ask for personal information at the end.
X Use a mix of question formats.
X Don’t cause offence, frustration, sadness or anger.
X Avoid double-barrelled questions.
X Avoid words with emotional connotations.
X Avoid negative questions.
X Avoid jargon and technical words.
X Avoid words with multiple meanings.
X Avoid leading questions.
X Avoid vague words such as ‘often’ and
‘sometimes’. X Provide all possible responses in a
closed question. X Consider as many alternatives
as possible.
X Use specific time frames when asking about behaviour.
X Use specific place frames, e.g. ‘In which country were you

born?’
SUMMARY
X Think about how you’re going to analyse your survey
prior to constructing your questionnaire.
X Decide whether you’re interested in behaviour, beliefs,
attitudes or characteristics or a combination of the
above.
X Make sure you have made the right decisions concern- ing
open-ended questions, closed-ended questions or a
combination of both.
X Decide whether your questionnaire is to be self-
administered or interviewer administered.
X Think about how you intend to distribute your
questionnaire, e.g. by hand, through the post or via the
internet.
X Construct the questionnaire adhering to the checklist
produced above.
X Include a covering letter with information about who the
research is for and what will happen to the results.
X Include instructions on how to complete the
questionnaire.
X Include details about how the questionnaire is to be
returned (making sure you enclose a pre-paid envelope
if you need the respondent to return the form to you).
X Make sure you include a date by which time you would
like the questionnaire returned.
X Pilot the questionnaire and instructions to check that all
can be understood.
X Amend accordingly and re-pilot.
X Send out/administer questionnaire.
X Send out follow-up letters and questionnaires to non- responders.

FURTHER READING
Aldridge, A. and Levine, K. (2001) Surveying the Social World: Principles and Practice in
Survey Research, Buckingham: Open University Press.
Oppenheim, A. N. (2000) Questionnaire Design, London: Continuum International Publishing
Group Ltd.
Tourangeau, R., Rips, L.J. and Rasinski, K. (2000) The Psychology of Survey Response,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.