Chapter

10
“ ”
Pretesting a questionnaire is absolutely essential

for success. All legitimate researchers

understand this and won’t dare waste the

public’s time or their own effort with a

questionnaire that hasn’t been pretested.

Diane Bowers, President, Council of American Survey

Research Organizations (CASRO), Port Jefferson, New York

Objectives [ After reading this chapter, the student should be able to: ]
1. Explain the purpose of a questionnaire and its objectives of asking questions
that the respondents can and will answer, encouraging respondents, and
minimizing response error.
2. Describe the process of designing a questionnaire, the steps involved, and
guidelines that must be followed at each step.
3. Discuss the observational form of data collection and specify the who, what,
when, where, why, and way of behavior to be observed.
4. Discuss the considerations involved in designing questionnaires for interna-
tional marketing research.
5. Understand the ethical issues involved in questionnaire design.
6. Discuss the use of the Internet and computers in designing questionnaires.
Questionnaire and Form Design

Overview Questionnaire or form design is an important step in formulating a research design. Once the
researcher has specified the nature of the research design (Chapters 3 through 7) and deter-
mined the scaling procedures (Chapters 8 and 9), a questionnaire or an observational form can
be developed. This chapter discusses the importance of questionnaires and observational
forms. Next, we describe the objectives of a questionnaire and the steps involved in designing
questionnaires. We provide several guidelines for developing sound questionnaires. We also
consider the design of observation forms. The considerations involved in designing question-
naires when conducting international marketing research are discussed. Several ethical issues
that arise in questionnaire design are identified.

Real Research The Consensus on Census 2000 Questionnaires

Every 10 years, the United States Census Bureau (www.census.gov) conducts a survey to determine how
many people are in the country, as well as the various demographics of these individuals. This survey is done
using questionnaires. Because the forms have been long and hard to understand in the past, there has been a
decline in mail responses for the census. As a result, the questionnaires were redesigned for the 2000 census.
The goal was to make them more user friendly and shorter in hopes of increasing the response rates.

As a result of improved
design, mail response
rates to the Census
2000 questionnaires
were about 10 percent
higher than in 1990.
304 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

The questionnaire was considerably shortened. Whereas the 1990 short form contained 12 subjects,
the 2000 short form had only 7 subjects (name, sex, age, relationship, Hispanic origin, and race for each
household member, as well as whether the home was owned or rented). Likewise, the long form for 2000
had 34 subjects instead of 38 for 1990.
Once the content of the questionnaire was determined, it was time to work on the structure and
actual wording of the statements. The hard part of the process was making the questions short enough
to keep respondents interested, but long enough to obtain the necessary data. Each question had to be
clearly defined using unambiguous words. A review was conducted of the 1990 census questions to
determine which ones needed to be revised. After determining the content, structure, wording, and
sequence of questions, the Bureau looked to a New York design firm, Two Twelve Associates
(www.twotwelve.com), to improve form and layout and develop visual imagery for the questionnaire,
including a logo and slogan.
The revised questionnaire was thoroughly pretested. The most extensive pretest was the 1996 National
Content Survey (formally known as the U.S. Census 2000 Test), which was designed to test new and
revised question wording, formatting, and sequencing.
During actual data collection, a card was first mailed before the questionnaire was sent and respondents
were given the option to request the questionnaire in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, or
Tagalog. Then the questionnaire package was sent in an official envelope with the Census logo on the front.
A note on the envelopes reminded the recipients that their response was required by law.
As a result of the user-friendly format of the 2000 questionnaires, mail response rates were about
10 percent higher than in 1990. The consensus was that the 2000 questionnaires were much improved over
those used a decade earlier. The Bureau has continued to redesign the Census questionnaire. The American
Community Survey is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are
changing. It will replace the decennial long form in future censuses and is a critical element in the Census
Bureau’s reengineered 2010 census.1 ■

Real Research comScore SurveySite for Web Site Evaluation

Online marketers and Web site designers are increasingly concerned with what design features and
experiences make visitors return to a site. An equally important concern is knowing what features and
experiences are undesirable so that they can avoid including them in their site. comScore SurveySite
(www.comscore.com), an online marketing research company, conducted an extensive study to address
these questions.
It recruited 87 American and Canadian Web sites to participate in the study. Each site was equipped
with a feedback icon so visitors could participate in a standardized survey that asked evaluative questions
about the visit. The questionnaire consisted of 12 questions that fell into two broad areas: design/technical
evaluation and emotional experience during the site visit. The design/technical questions were kept simple
so that even respondents who were not technically savvy could answer them. These questions were asked
first, in part A, and followed a logical order. Then, in part B, questions related to emotional experience were
asked. All the questions were asked using 7-point rating scales except one, which was open ended. That
question asked respondents what factors were most important in their decisions to return or not return to the
site. The final part, part C, obtained Web usage and demographic information. The questionnaire had been
extensively pretested before it was used in the study.
The results of the survey found that content was the most important factor in determining whether or
not a site would receive repeat visitors. Correspondingly, “frivolous content” was the most cited reason
for not returning to a site. The second most important factor in determining the repeat visit rate was
whether or not the respondent found the visit enjoyable. Enjoyment may mean that visitors found the
information they were looking for. Next, quality of the organization of the site and its degree of unique-
ness also influence repeat visit rates. Based on the results of this survey, marketers and site designers
should consider content, layout, and uniqueness when developing Web sites. Doing so will help improve
the number of repeat visitors to their site.2 ■

Questionnaires and Observation Forms

As was discussed in Chapters 5 and 6, survey and observation are the two basic methods for
obtaining quantitative primary data in descriptive research. Both of these methods require some
procedure for standardizing the data-collection process so that the data obtained are internally
consistent and can be analyzed in a uniform and coherent manner. If 40 different interviewers
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 305

conduct personal interviews or make observations in different parts of the country, the data they
collect will not be comparable unless they follow specific guidelines and ask questions and
record answers in a standard way. A standardized questionnaire or form will ensure comparability
of the data, increase speed and accuracy of recording, and facilitate data processing.

Experiential How Important Is a Questionnaire?

Research
Sprite is the third most popular soft drink brand, behind Coke and Pepsi. College students are heavy users
of soft drinks.

1. As the brand manager for Sprite, what information do you need to target this segment?
2. Search the Internet, as well as your library’s online databases, to obtain information that will assist
the brand manager of Sprite in targeting the student segment.
3. You and a fellow student each interview a different respondent (another student) to determine prefer-
ences for soft drinks, without constructing a questionnaire. How comparable are the data each of you
obtained? Next develop a formal questionnaire jointly and each of you administer it to another respon-
dent. Are the data you two obtained more comparable than before? What does this teach you about the
importance of a questionnaire? ■

Questionnaire Definition
questionnaire A questionnaire, whether it is called a schedule, interview form, or measuring instrument, is a
A structured technique for formalized set of questions for obtaining information from respondents. Typically, a questionnaire
data collection that consists is only one element of a data-collection package that might also include (1) fieldwork procedures,
of a series of questions, such as instructions for selecting, approaching, and questioning respondents (see Chapter 13);
written or verbal, that a (2) some reward, gift, or payment offered to respondents; and (3) communication aids, such as
respondent answers.
maps, pictures, advertisements, and products (as in personal interviews) and return envelopes
(in mail surveys). Regardless of the form of administration, a questionnaire is characterized by
some specific objectives.

Objectives of a Questionnaire
Any questionnaire has three specific objectives. First, it must translate the information needed
into a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer. Developing questions
that respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult.
Two apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information. Hence, this
objective is a challenge.
Second, a questionnaire must uplift, motivate, and encourage the respondent to become
involved in the interview, to cooperate, and to complete the interview. Incomplete interviews
have limited usefulness at best. In designing a questionnaire, the researcher should strive to
minimize respondent fatigue, boredom, incompleteness, and nonresponse. A well-designed
questionnaire can motivate the respondents and increase the response rate, as illustrated by the
Census 2000 questionnaire in the opening example.
Third, a questionnaire should minimize response error. The potential sources of error in
research designs were discussed in Chapter 3, where response error was defined as the error that
arises when respondents give inaccurate answers or their answers are misrecorded or misanalyzed.
A questionnaire can be a major source of response error. Minimizing this error is an important
objective of questionnaire design.

Questionnaire Design Process

The great weakness of questionnaire design is lack of theory. Because there are no scientific
principles that guarantee an optimal or ideal questionnaire, questionnaire design is a skill
acquired through experience. It is an art rather than a science. Stanley Payne’s The Art of Asking
Questions, published in 1951, is still a basic work in the field.3 This section presents guidelines use-
ful to beginning researchers in designing questionnaires. Although these rules can help you avoid
major mistakes, the fine-tuning of a questionnaire comes from the creativity of a skilled researcher.
306 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

FIGURE 10.1 Specify the information needed.

Questionnaire
Design Process
Specify the type of interviewing method.

Determine the content of individual questions.

Design the questions to

overcome the respondent s inability
and unwillingness to answer.

Decide on the question structure.

Determine the question wording.

Arrange the questions in proper order.

Identify the form and layout.

Reproduce the questionnaire.

Eliminate bugs by pretesting.

Questionnaire design will be presented as a series of steps (see Figure 10.1). These steps are
(1) specify the information needed, (2) specify the type of interviewing method, (3) determine
the content of individual questions, (4) design the questions to overcome the respondent’s inabil-
ity and unwillingness to answer, (5) decide on the question structure, (6) determine the question
wording, (7) arrange the questions in proper order, (8) identify the form and layout, (9) repro-
duce the questionnaire, and (10) pretest the questionnaire. We will present guidelines for each
step. In practice, the steps are interrelated and the development of a questionnaire will involve
some iteration and looping. For example, the researcher may discover that respondents misun-
derstand all the possible wordings of a question. This may require a loop back to the earlier step
of deciding on the question structure.4

Specify the Information Needed

The first step in questionnaire design is to specify the information needed. This is also the first
step in the research design process. Note that as the research project progresses, the information
needed becomes more and more clearly defined. It is helpful to review components of the problem
and the approach, particularly the research questions, hypotheses, and the information needed. To
further ensure that the information obtained fully addresses all the components of the problem, the
researcher should prepare a set of dummy tables. A dummy table is a blank table used to catalog
data. It describes how the analysis will be structured once the data have been collected.
It is also important to have a clear idea of the target population. The characteristics of the
respondent group have a great influence on questionnaire design. Questions that are appropriate
for college students may not be appropriate for housewives. Understanding is related to respon-
dent socioeconomic characteristics. Furthermore, poor understanding is associated with a high
incidence of uncertain or no-opinion responses. The more diversified the respondent group, the
more difficult it is to design a single questionnaire that is appropriate for the entire group.
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 307

Type of Interviewing Method

An appreciation of how the type of interviewing method influences questionnaire design can be
obtained by considering how the questionnaire is administered under each method (see Chapter 6).
In personal interviews, respondents see the questionnaire and interact face to face with the
interviewer. Thus, lengthy, complex, and varied questions can be asked. In telephone interviews,
the respondents interact with the interviewer, but they do not see the questionnaire. This limits the
type of questions that can be asked to short and simple ones (see the department store project). Mail
questionnaires are self-administered, so the questions must be simple and detailed instructions
must be provided. In computer-assisted interviewing (CAPI and CATI), complex skip patterns
and randomization of questions to eliminate order bias can be easily accommodated. Internet
questionnaires share many of the characteristics of CAPI, but e-mail questionnaires have to be
simpler. Questionnaires designed for personal and telephone interviews should be written in a
conversational style.
In the department store project example, ranking 10 stores is too complex a task to be
administered over the telephone. Instead, the simpler rating task, where the stores are rated one
at a time, is selected to measure preferences. Note the use of cards to facilitate the ranking task
in the personal interview. Interviewer instructions (typed in capital letters) are much more
extensive in the personal interview. Another difference is that whereas the respondent records
the ranks in mail and electronic surveys, the interviewer records the store names in the personal
interview. The type of interviewing method also influences the content of individual questions.

Project Research Effect of Interviewing Method on Questionnaire Design

Mail Questionnaire
Please rank-order the following department stores in order of your preference to shop at these stores. Begin
by picking out the one store that you like most and assign it a number 1. Then find the second most preferred
department store and assign it a number 2. Continue this procedure until you have ranked all the stores in
order of preference. The least preferred store should be assigned a rank of 10. No two stores should receive
the same rank number. The criterion of preference is entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong answer.
Just try to be consistent.

STORE RANK ORDER

1. Nordstrom _________
2. Macy’s _________
3. Kmart _________
4. Kohl’s _________
5. JCPenney _________
6. Neiman Marcus _________
7. Marshalls _________
8. Saks Fifth Avenue _________
9. Sears _________
10. Wal-Mart _________

Telephone Questionnaire
I will read to you the names of some department stores. Please rate them in terms of your preference to shop
at these stores. Use a 10-point scale, where 1 denotes not so preferred and 10 denotes greatly preferred.
Numbers between 1 and 10 reflect intermediate degrees of preference. Again, please remember that the
higher the number, the greater the degree of preference. Now, please tell me your preference to shop at . . .
(READ ONE STORE AT A TIME)
308 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

NOT SO GREATLY
STORE PREFERRED PREFERRED
1. Nordstrom 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Macy’s 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. Kmart 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. Kohl’s 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. JCPenney 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. Neiman Marcus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. Marshalls 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8. Saks Fifth Avenue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9. Sears 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10. Wal-Mart 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Personal Questionnaire
(HAND DEPARTMENT STORE CARDS TO THE RESPONDENT) Here is a set of department store
names, each written on a separate card. Please examine these cards carefully. (GIVE RESPONDENT
TIME) Now, please examine these cards again and pull out the card that has the name of the store you like
the most, that is, your most preferred store for shopping. (RECORD THE STORE NAME AND KEEP
THIS CARD WITH YOU) Now, please examine the remaining nine cards. Of these remaining nine stores,
what is your most preferred store for shopping? (REPEAT THIS PROCEDURE SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL
THE RESPONDENT HAS ONLY ONE CARD LEFT)

STORE RANK NAME OF THE STORE

1. __________
1
2. __________
2
3. __________
3
4. __________
4
5. __________
5
6. __________
6
7. __________
7
8. __________
8
9. __________
9
10. __________
10

Electronic Questionnaire
This question for e-mail and Internet questionnaires will be very similar to that for the mail questionnaire;
in all these methods, the questionnaire is self-administered by the respondent. ■

Individual Question Content

Once the information needed is specified and the type of interviewing method decided, the next
step is to determine individual question content: what to include in individual questions.

Is the Question Necessary?

Every question in a questionnaire should contribute to the information needed or serve some specific
purpose. If there is no satisfactory use for the data resulting from a question, that question should be
eliminated. As illustrated in the opening example, a hard look at the 1990 Census of Population short
form resulted in the elimination of questions pertaining to five subjects.
In certain situations, however, questions may be asked that are not directly related to the infor-
mation that is needed. It is useful to ask some neutral questions at the beginning of the questionnaire
to establish involvement and rapport, particularly when the topic of the questionnaire is sensitive or
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 309

controversial. Sometimes filler questions are asked to disguise the purpose or sponsorship of the
project. Rather than limiting the questions to the brand of interest, questions about competing brands
may also be included to disguise the sponsorship. For example, a survey on personal computers
sponsored by HP may also include filler questions related to Dell and Apple. Questions unrelated to
the immediate problem may sometimes be included to generate client support for the project.
At times, certain questions may be duplicated for the purpose of assessing reliability or validity.5

Are Several Questions Needed Instead of One?

Once we have ascertained that a question is necessary, we must make sure that it is sufficient to
get the desired information. Sometimes, several questions are needed to obtain the required
information in an unambiguous manner. Consider the question,

“Do you think Coca-Cola is a tasty and refreshing soft drink?” (Incorrect)

A “yes” answer will presumably be clear, but what if the answer is “no”? Does this mean
that the respondent thinks that Coca-Cola is not tasty, that it is not refreshing, or that it is neither
double-barreled tasty nor refreshing? Such a question is called a double-barreled question, because two or more
question questions are combined into one. To obtain the required information unambiguously, two distinct
A single question that questions should be asked:
attempts to cover two
issues. Such questions “Do you think Coca-Cola is a tasty soft drink?” and
can be confusing to “Do you think Coca-Cola is a refreshing soft drink?” (Correct)
respondents and result
in ambiguous responses. Another example of multiple questions embedded in a single question is the “why” ques-
tion. In the context of the department store study, consider the question,

“Why do you shop at Nike Town?” (Incorrect)

The possible answers may include “to buy athletic shoes,” “it is more conveniently located
than other stores,” and “it was recommended by my best friend.” Each of these answers relates to
a different question embedded in the “why” question. The first answer tells why the respondent
shops in the athletic merchandise store, the second answer reveals what the respondent likes
about Nike Town as compared to other stores, and the third answer tells how the respondent
learned about Nike Town. The three answers are not comparable and any one answer may not be
sufficient. Complete information may be obtained by asking two separate questions:

“What do you like about Nike Town as compared to other stores?” and
“How did you first happen to shop in Nike Town?” (Correct)

Most “why” questions about the use of a product or choice alternative involve two aspects:
(1) attributes of the product, and (2) influences leading to knowledge of it.6

ACTIVE RESEARCH
Old Navy: Quality and Style Are Never Old
Visit www.oldnavy.com and conduct an Internet search using a search engine and your library’s online
database to obtain information on Old Navy’s marketing program.
As the CEO of Old Navy, what would you do to improve consumers’ perceptions of the quality of
your brand?
Formulate a double-barreled question to determine consumer perceptions of the quality and style of
Old Navy clothing. Then reformulate this question to obtain unambiguous answers.

Overcoming Inability to Answer

Researchers should not assume that respondents can provide accurate or reasonable answers to all
questions. The researcher should attempt to overcome the respondents’ inability to answer. Certain
factors limit the respondents’ ability to provide the desired information. The respondents may not
be informed, may not remember, or may be unable to articulate certain types of responses.
310 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

Is the Respondent Informed?

Respondents are often asked about topics on which they are not informed. A husband may not be
informed about monthly expenses for groceries and department store purchases if it is the wife
who makes these purchases, or vice versa. Research has shown that respondents will often
answer questions even though they are uninformed, as the following example shows.

Real Research The Complaint About Consumer Complaints

In one study, respondents were asked to express their degree of agreement or disagreement with the following
statement: “The National Bureau of Consumer Complaints provides an effective means for consumers who
have purchased a defective product to obtain relief.” As many as 96.1 percent of the lawyers and 95 percent of
the general public who responded expressed an opinion. Even with a “don’t know” option in the response set,
51.9 percent of the lawyers and 75.0 percent of the public still expressed an opinion about the National Bureau
of Consumer Complaints. Why should these high response rates be problematic? Because there is no such
entity as the National Bureau of Consumer Complaints!7 ■

In situations where not all respondents are likely to be informed about the topic of interest,
filter questions filter questions that measure familiarity, product use, and past experience should be asked
An initial question in a before questions about the topics themselves.8 Filter questions enable the researcher to filter
questionnaire that screens out respondents who are not adequately informed.
potential respondents to The department store questionnaire included questions related to 10 different department stores,
ensure they meet the ranging from prestigious stores to discount stores. It was likely that many respondents would not be
requirements of the sample.
sufficiently informed about all the stores, so information on familiarity and frequency of patronage
was obtained for each store (see Chapter 1). This allowed for separate analysis of data on stores
about which the respondents were not informed. A “don’t know” option appears to reduce unin-
formed responses without reducing the overall response rate or the response rate for questions about
which the respondents have information. Hence, this option should be provided when the researcher
expects that respondents may not be adequately informed about the subject of the question.9

Can the Respondent Remember?

Many things that we might expect everyone to know are remembered by only a few. Test this out
on yourself. Can you answer the following?
What is the brand name of the shirt you were wearing two weeks ago?
What did you have for lunch a week ago?
What were you doing a month ago at noon?
How many gallons of soft drinks did you consume during the last four weeks? (Incorrect)
These questions are incorrect because they exceed the ability of the respondents to remember.
Evidence indicates that consumers are particularly poor at remembering quantities of products
consumed. In situations where factual data were available for comparison, it was found that con-
sumer reports of product usage exceeded actual usage by 100 percent or more.10 Thus, soft drink
consumption may be better obtained by asking:
How often do you consume soft drinks in a typical week?
i. ________ Less than once a week
ii. ________ 1 to 3 times per week
iii. ________ 4 to 6 times per week
iv. ________ 7 or more times per week (Correct)
telescoping The inability to remember leads to errors of omission, telescoping, and creation. Omission is
A psychological
the inability to recall an event that actually took place. Telescoping takes place when an individual
phenomenon that takes
telescopes or compresses time by remembering an event as occurring more recently than it
place when an individual
telescopes or compresses
actually occurred.11 For example, a respondent reports three trips to the supermarket in the last
time by remembering an two weeks when, in fact, one of these trips was made 18 days ago. Creation error takes place
event as occurring more when a respondent “remembers” an event that did not actually occur.
recently than it actually The ability to remember an event is influenced by (1) the event itself, (2) the time elapsed since
occurred. the event, and (3) the presence or absence of events that would aid memory. We tend to remember
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 311

events that are important or unusual or that occur frequently. People remember their wedding
anniversary and birthday. Likewise, more recent events are remembered better. A grocery shopper
is more likely to remember what was purchased on the last shopping trip as compared to what was
bought three shopping trips ago.
Research indicates that questions that do not provide the respondent with cues to the event,
and rely on unaided recall, can underestimate the actual occurrence of an event. For example,
unaided recall of soft drink commercials could be measured by questions like, “What brands of
soft drinks do you remember being advertised last night on TV?” The aided recall approach
attempts to stimulate the respondent’s memory by providing cues related to the event of interest.
The aided recall approach would list a number of soft drink brands and then ask, “Which of these
brands were advertised last night on TV?” In presenting cues, the researcher must guard against
biasing the responses by employing several successive levels of stimulation. The influence of
stimulation on responses can then be analyzed to select an appropriate level of stimulation.

Can the Respondent Articulate?

Respondents may be unable to articulate certain types of responses. For example, if asked to
describe the atmosphere of the department store they would prefer to patronize, most respondents
may be unable to phrase their answers. On the other hand, if the respondents are provided with
alternative descriptions of store atmosphere, they will be able to indicate the one they like the best.
If the respondents are unable to articulate their responses to a question, they are likely to ignore
that question and may refuse to respond to the rest of the questionnaire. Thus respondents should
be given aids, such as pictures, maps, and descriptions, to help them articulate their responses.

Overcoming Unwillingness to Answer

Even if respondents are able to answer a particular question, they may be unwilling to do so,
either because too much effort is required, the situation or context may not seem appropriate
for disclosure, no legitimate purpose or need for the information requested is apparent, or the
information requested is sensitive.

Effort Required of the Respondents

Most respondents are unwilling to devote a lot of effort to provide information. Hence, the
researcher should minimize the effort required of the respondents. Suppose the researcher is
interested in determining from which departments in a store the respondent purchased
merchandise on the most recent shopping trip. This information can be obtained in at least two
ways. The researcher could ask the respondent to list all the departments from which merchan-
dise was purchased on the most recent shopping trip, or the researcher could provide a list of
departments and ask the respondent to check the applicable ones:
Please list all the departments from which you purchased merchandise
on your most recent shopping trip to a department store. (Incorrect)
In the list that follows, please check all the departments from which you purchased
merchandise on your most recent shopping trip to a department store.
1. Women’s dresses ______
2. Men’s apparel ______
3. Children’s apparel ______
4. Cosmetics ______
·
·
·
17. Jewelry ______
18. Other (please specify) ______ (Correct)
The second option is preferable, because it requires less effort from respondents.
312 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

Context
Some questions may seem appropriate in certain contexts but not in others. For example, questions
about personal hygiene habits may be appropriate when asked in a survey sponsored by the
American Medical Association, but not in one sponsored by a fast-food restaurant. Respondents are
unwilling to respond to questions that they consider inappropriate for the given context. Sometimes,
the researcher can manipulate the context in which the questions are asked so that the questions seem
appropriate. For example, before asking for information on personal hygiene in a survey for a
fast-food restaurant, the context could be manipulated by making the following statement. “As a
fast-food restaurant, we are very concerned about providing a clean and hygienic environment for
our customers. Therefore, we would like to ask you some questions related to personal hygiene.”

Legitimate Purpose
Respondents are also unwilling to divulge information that they do not see as serving a legitimate
purpose. Why should a firm marketing cereals want to know their age, income, and occupation?
Explaining why the data are needed can make the request for the information seem legitimate and
increase the respondents’ willingness to answer. A statement such as, “To determine how the con-
sumption of cereal and preferences for cereal brands vary among people of different ages, incomes,
and occupations, we need information on . . .” can make the request for information seem legitimate.

Sensitive Information
Respondents are unwilling to disclose, at least accurately, sensitive information because this may
cause embarrassment or threaten the respondent’s prestige or self-image. If pressed for the
answer, respondents may give biased responses, especially during personal interviews (see
Chapter 6, Table 6.2).12 Sensitive topics include money, family life, political and religious beliefs,
and involvement in accidents or crimes. The techniques described in the following section can be
adopted to increase the likelihood of obtaining information that respondents are unwilling to give.

Increasing the Willingness of Respondents

Respondents may be encouraged to provide information that they are unwilling to give by the
following techniques.13
1. Place sensitive topics at the end of the questionnaire. By then, initial mistrust has been
overcome, rapport has been created, the legitimacy of the project has been established, and
respondents are more willing to give information.
2. Preface the question with a statement that the behavior of interest is common. For example,
before requesting information on credit card debt, say, “Recent studies show that most
Americans are in debt.” This technique, called the use of counterbiasing statements, is
further illustrated by the following example.14

Real Research Public Versus Private

A recent poll conducted by Gallup (www.gallup.com) sought to obtain information on whether personal
information about political candidates or ordinary citizens should be disclosed to the public. This question
was prefaced with the following statement: “The question of where to draw the line on the matter of
privacy has been much debated, with some saying that the standards should be different for candidates for
important public office than for ordinary citizens.” This statement increased the willingness of the people
to respond. ■

3. Ask the question using the third-person technique (see Chapter 5): Phrase the question as if
it referred to other people.
4. Hide the question in a group of other questions that respondents are willing to answer. The
entire list of questions can then be asked quickly.
5. Provide response categories rather than asking for specific figures. Do not ask, “What is your
household’s annual income?” Instead, ask the respondent to check the appropriate income
category: under $25,000, $25,001–$50,000, $50,001–$75,000, or over $75,000. In personal
interviews, give the respondents cards that list the numbered choices. The respondents then
indicate their responses by number.
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 313

6. Use randomized techniques. In these techniques, respondents are presented with two
questions, one sensitive and the other a neutral question with a known probability of a
“yes” response (e.g., “Is your birthday in March?”). They are asked to select one question
randomly, for example, by flipping a coin. The respondent then answers the selected
question “yes” or “no,” without telling the researcher which question is being answered.
Given the overall probability of a “yes” response, the probability of selecting the sensitive
question, and the probability of a “yes” response to the neutral question, the researcher
can determine the probability of a “yes” response to the sensitive question using the law
of probability. However, the researcher cannot determine which respondents have
answered “yes” to the sensitive question.15

Choosing Question Structure

A question may be unstructured or structured. In the following sections, we define unstructured
questions and discuss their relative advantages and disadvantages and then consider the major
types of structured questions: multiple choice, dichotomous, and scales.16

Unstructured Questions
unstructured Unstructured questions are open-ended questions that respondents answer in their own words.
questions They are also referred to as free-response or free-answer questions. The following are some
Open-ended questions that examples:
respondents answer in their
own words. 䊉 What is your occupation?
䊉 What do you think of people who patronize discount department stores?
䊉 Who is your favorite political figure?
Open-ended questions are good as first questions on a topic. They enable the respondents to
express general attitudes and opinions that can help the researcher interpret their responses to
structured questions. Unstructured questions have a much less biasing influence on response
than structured questions. Respondents are free to express any views. Their comments and expla-
nations can provide the researcher with rich insights. Hence, unstructured questions are useful in
exploratory research.
A principal disadvantage is that potential for interviewer bias is high. Whether the interview-
ers record the answers verbatim or write down only the main points, the data depend on the skills
of the interviewers. Tape recorders should be used if verbatim reporting is important.
Another major disadvantage of unstructured questions is that the coding of responses is costly
and time-consuming.17 The coding procedures required to summarize responses in a format useful
for data analysis and interpretation can be extensive. Implicitly, unstructured or open-ended ques-
tions give extra weight to respondents who are more articulate. Also, unstructured questions are not
suitable for self- or computer-administered questionnaires (mail, mail panel, CAPI, e-mail, and
Internet), because respondents tend to be more brief in writing than in speaking.
Precoding can overcome some of the disadvantages of unstructured questions. Expected
responses are recorded in multiple-choice format, although the question is presented to the respon-
dents as an open-ended question. Based on the respondent’s reply, the interviewer selects the
appropriate response category. This approach may be satisfactory when the respondent can easily for-
mulate the response, and it is easy to develop precoded categories because the response alternatives
are limited. For example, this approach may be used to obtain information on ownership of appli-
ances. It has also been used successfully in business surveys, as shown by the following example.

Real Research Assessing Access Attitudes

A major telecommunications firm conducted a national telephone survey to determine the attitudes of
businesses toward telecommunication services . One of the questions was asked as an open-ended question
with precoded responses.18
Which company or companies is your business presently using for long-distance telephone
service? If more than one, please indicate the names of all the companies. (ASK AS AN OPEN-
ENDED QUESTION. ALLOW FOR MULTIPLE RESPONSES AND SCORE AS FOLLOWS.)
314 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

1. _______ VERIZON
2. _______ SPRINT NEXTEL
3. _______ QWEST
4. _______ AT&T
5. _______ Regional Bell operating co. (insert name)
6. _______ Other (specify)
7. _______ Don’t know/no answer ■

In general, open-ended questions are useful in exploratory research and as opening questions.
Otherwise, their disadvantages outweigh their advantages in a large survey.19

Structured Questions
structured questions Structured questions specify the set of response alternatives and the response format. A structured
Questions that question may be multiple choice, dichotomous, or a scale.
prespecify the set of
response alternatives MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS In multiple-choice questions, the researcher provides a choice
and the response format. of answers and respondents are asked to select one or more of the alternatives given. Consider
A structured question the following question.
could be multiple choice,
dichotomous, or a scale. Do you intend to buy a new car within the next six months?
_______ Definitely will not buy
_______ Probably will not buy
_______ Undecided
_______ Probably will buy
_______ Definitely will buy
_______ Other (please specify)

Several of the issues discussed in Chapter 9 with respect to itemized rating scales also apply
to multiple-choice answers. Two additional concerns in designing multiple-choice questions are
the number of alternatives that should be included and order or position bias.
The response alternatives should include the set of all possible choices. The general guideline
is to list all alternatives that may be of importance and include an alternative labeled “Other
(please specify),” as shown here. The response alternatives should be mutually exclusive.
Respondents should also be able to identify one, and only one, alternative, unless the researcher
specifically allows two or more choices (for example, “Please indicate all the brands of soft drinks
that you have consumed in the past week”). If the response alternatives are numerous, consider
using more than one question to reduce the information-processing demands on the respondents.
order or position bias Order or position bias is the respondents’ tendency to check an alternative merely because
A respondent’s tendency to it occupies a certain position or is listed in a certain order. Respondents tend to check the first or
check an alternative merely the last statement in a list, particularly the first. For a list of numbers (quantities or prices), there is
because it occupies a a bias toward the central value on the list. To control for order bias, several forms of the
certain position or is listed questionnaire should be prepared with the order in which the alternatives are listed varied from
in a certain order.
form to form. Unless the alternatives represent ordered categories, each alternative should appear
once in each of the extreme positions, once in the middle, and once somewhere in between.20
Multiple-choice questions overcome many of the disadvantages of open-ended questions,
because interviewer bias is reduced and these questions are administered quickly. Also, coding and
processing of data are much less costly and time-consuming. In self-administered questionnaires,
respondent cooperation is improved if the majority of the questions are structured.
Multiple-choice questions are not without disadvantages. Considerable effort is required to
design effective multiple-choice questions. Exploratory research using open-ended questions may
be required to determine the appropriate response alternatives. It is difficult to obtain information
on alternatives not listed. Even if an “Other (please specify)” category is included, respondents
tend to choose among the listed alternatives. In addition, showing respondents the list of possible
answers produces biased responses. There is also the potential for order bias.21
dichotomous question
A structured question DICHOTOMOUS QUESTIONS A dichotomous question has only two response alternatives: yes or
with only two response no, agree or disagree, and so on. Often, the two alternatives of interest are supplemented by a neutral
alternatives, such as yes alternative, such as “no opinion,” “don’t know,” “both,” or “none.”22 The question asked before about
and no. intentions to buy a new car as a multiple-choice question can also be asked as a dichotomous question.
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 315

Do you intend to buy a new car within the next six months?
___________ Yes
___________ No
___________ Don’t know
The decision to use a dichotomous question should be guided by whether the respondents
approach the issue as a yes-or-no question. Although decisions are often characterized as series of
binary or dichotomous choices, the underlying decision-making process may reflect uncertainty,
which can best be captured by multiple-choice responses. For example, two individuals may be
equally likely to buy a new car within the next six months if the economic conditions remain
favorable. However, one individual, who is being optimistic about the economy, will answer
“yes,” whereas the other, feeling pessimistic, will answer “no.”
Another issue in the design of dichotomous questions is whether to include a neutral response
alternative. If it is not included, respondents are forced to choose between “yes” and “no” even if
they feel indifferent. On the other hand, if a neutral alternative is included, respondents can avoid
taking a position on the issue, thereby biasing the results. We offer the following guidelines. If a
substantial proportion of the respondents can be expected to be neutral, include a neutral alterna-
tive. If the proportion of neutral respondents is expected to be small, avoid the neutral alternative.
The general advantages and disadvantages of dichotomous questions are very similar to those
of multiple-choice questions. Dichotomous questions are the easiest type of questions to code and
analyze, but they have one acute problem: The response can be influenced by the wording of the
question. To illustrate, the statement, “Individuals are more to blame than social conditions for
crime and lawlessness in this country,” produced agreement from 59.6 percent of the respondents.
However, on a matched sample that responded to the opposite statement, “Social conditions are
more to blame than individuals for crime and lawlessness in this country,” 43.2 percent
(as opposed to 40.4 percent) agreed.23 To overcome this problem, the question should be framed
in one way on one-half of the questionnaires and in the opposite way on the other half. This is
referred to as the split ballot technique.

SCALES Scales were discussed in detail in Chapters 8 and 9. To illustrate the difference between
scales and other kinds of structured questions, consider the question about intentions to buy a new
car. One way of framing this using a scale is as follows:
Do you intend to buy a new car within the next six months?
Definitely Probably Probably Definitely
will not buy will not buy Undecided will buy will buy
1 2 3 4 5
This is only one of several scales that could be used to ask this question (see Chapters 8 and 9).
As shown in the following example, a survey may contain different types of questions.

Real Research Question Structure in GAP

The Global Airline Performance (GAP) study is a survey conducted to measure the opinions of air travelers
on 22 airlines departing from 30 airports across the world. It reaches 240,000 passengers each year and is
conducted in seven languages. This survey uses different types of structured questions, including multiple
choice, dichotomous, and scales, as illustrated in the following.24
Q. How did you make your reservation? (Please pick ONE only)
________ Airline Web site
________ Airline phone reservations or ticket office
________ Through travel agent
________ Other
Q. Are you using an e-ticket (electronic paperless ticket) on this trip?
________ Yes
________ No
316 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

Q. Based on your experience of today’s flight, would you select this airline for your next trip on this route?
________ Definitely would (5)
________ Probably would (4)
________ Might/might not (3)
________ Probably not (2)
________ Definitely not (1) ■

ACTIVE RESEARCH

Estée Lauder: The Sweet Smell of Perfume

Conduct an Internet search using a search engine and your library’s online database to obtain information
on consumers’ attitudes toward perfumes.
As the marketing chief for Estée Lauder perfumes, how would you instill positive consumer attitudes
toward your brands?
Obtain information on consumers’ attitudes toward Estée Lauder perfumes using an unstructured,
a multiple-choice, a dichotomous, and a scaling question.

Choosing Question Wording

Question wording is the translation of the desired question content and structure into words
that respondents can clearly and easily understand. Deciding on question wording is perhaps
the most critical and difficult task in developing a questionnaire, as illustrated by the Census
2000 questionnaire in the opening example. If a question is worded poorly, respondents
may refuse to answer it or may answer it incorrectly. The first condition, known as item nonre-
sponse, can increase the complexity of data analysis.25 The second condition leads to response
error, discussed earlier (see also Chapter 3). Unless the respondents and the researcher assign
exactly the same meaning to the question, the results will be seriously biased.26
To avoid these problems, we offer the following guidelines: (1) define the issue, (2) use ordi-
nary words, (3) use unambiguous words, (4) avoid leading questions, (5) avoid implicit alternatives,
(6) avoid implicit assumptions, (7) avoid generalizations and estimates, and (8) use positive and
negative statements.

Define the Issue

A question should clearly define the issue being addressed. Beginning journalists are admonished
to define the issue in terms of who, what, when, where, why, and way (the six Ws).27 These can
also serve as guidelines for defining the issue in a question. (See Chapter 3 for an application of
these guidelines to descriptive research.) Consider the following question:

Which brand of shampoo do you use? (Incorrect)

On the surface, this may seem to be a well-defined question, but we may reach a different
conclusion when we examine it under the microscope of who, what, when, and where. “Who”
in this question refers to the respondent. It is not clear, though, whether the researcher is refer-
ring to the brand the respondent uses personally or the brand used by the household. “What” is
the brand of shampoo. However, what if more than one brand of shampoo is being used?
Should the respondent mention the most preferred brand, the brand used most often, the brand
used most recently, or the brand that comes to mind first? “When” is not clear; does the
researcher mean last time, last week, last month, last year, or ever? As for “where,” it is
implied that the shampoo is used at home, but this is not stated clearly. A better wording for
this question would be:

Which brand or brands of shampoo have you personally used at home

during the last month? In case of more than one brand, please list all
the brands that apply. (Correct)
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 317

Use Ordinary Words

Ordinary words should be used in a questionnaire and they should match the vocabulary level
of the respondents.28 When choosing words, keep in mind that the average person in the
United States has a high school, not a college, education. For certain respondent groups, the
education level is even lower. For example, the author did a project for a major telecommuni-
cations firm that operates primarily in rural areas. The average educational level in these areas
is less than high school, and many respondents had only fourth- to sixth-grade education.
Technical jargon should also be avoided. Most respondents do not understand technical mar-
keting words. For example, instead of asking,
“Do you think the distribution of soft drinks is adequate?” (Incorrect)
ask,
“Do you think soft drinks are readily available when you want to buy them?” (Correct)

Use Unambiguous Words

The words used in a questionnaire should have a single meaning that is known to the respondents.
A number of words that appear to be unambiguous have different meanings to different people.29
These include “usually,” “normally,” “frequently,” “often,” “regularly,” “occasionally,” and
“sometimes.” Consider the following question:

In a typical month, how often do you shop in department stores?

_______ Never
_______ Occasionally
_______ Sometimes
_______ Often
_______ Regularly (Incorrect)

The answers to this question are fraught with response bias, because the words used to
describe category labels have different meanings for different respondents. Three respondents
who shop once a month may check three different categories: occasionally, sometimes, and
often. A much better wording for this question would be the following:

In a typical month, how often do you shop in department stores?

_______ Less than once
_______ 1 or 2 times
_______ 3 or 4 times
_______ More than 4 times (Correct)

Note that this question provides a consistent frame of reference for all respondents.
Response categories have been objectively defined, and respondents are no longer free to inter-
pret them in their own way.
Additionally, all-inclusive or all-exclusive words may be understood differently by different
people. Some examples of such words are “all,” “always,” “any,” “anybody,” “ever,” and
“every.” Such words should be avoided. To illustrate, “any” could mean “every,” “some,” or
“one only” to different respondents, depending on how they look at it.
In deciding on the choice of words, researchers should consult a dictionary and thesaurus
and ask the following questions of each word used:
1. Does it mean what we intended?
2. Does it have any other meanings?
3. If so, does the context make the intended meaning clear?
4. Does the word have more than one pronunciation?
5. Is there any word of similar pronunciation that might be confused with this word?
6. Is a simpler word or phrase suggested?
The U.S. Census Bureau took great pains to use ordinary and unambiguous words in the
Census 2000 questionnaires, which not only improved the response rate but also resulted in more
accurate data (see opening example).
318 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

Avoid Leading or Biasing Questions

leading question A leading question is one that clues the respondent to what answer is desired or leads the
A question that gives the respondent to answer in a certain way. Some respondents have a tendency to agree with whatever
respondent a clue as to way the question is leading them to answer. This tendency is known as yea-saying and results in
what answer is desired or a bias called acquiescence bias. Consider the following question:
leads the respondent to
answer in a certain way. Do you think that patriotic Americans should buy imported automobiles when that would
put American labor out of work?
acquiescence bias
(yea-saying) _______ Yes
This bias is the result of _______ No
some respondents’ _______ Don’t know (Incorrect)
tendency to agree with
the direction of a leading This question would lead respondents to a “No” answer. After all, how can patriotic Americans
question (yea-saying). put American labor out of work? Therefore, this question would not help determine the preferences
of Americans for imported versus domestic automobiles. A better question would be:
Do you think that Americans should buy imported automobiles?
_______ Yes
_______ No
_______ Don’t know (Correct)
Bias may also arise when respondents are given clues about the sponsor of the project.
Respondents tend to respond favorably toward the sponsor. The question, “Is Colgate your
favorite toothpaste?” is likely to bias the responses in favor of Colgate. A more unbiased way of
obtaining this information would be to ask, “What is your favorite toothpaste brand?” Likewise,
the mention of a prestigious or nonprestigious name can bias the response, as in, “Do you agree
with the American Dental Association that Colgate is effective in preventing cavities?” An
unbiased question would be to ask, “Is Colgate effective in preventing cavities?”30

Avoid Implicit Alternatives

implicit alternative An alternative that is not explicitly expressed in the options is an implicit alternative. Making
An alternative that is not an implied alternative explicit may increase the percentage of people selecting that alternative, as
explicitly expressed. in the two following questions.
1. Do you like to fly when traveling short distances? (Incorrect)
2. Do you like to fly when traveling short distances,
or would you rather drive? (Correct)
In the first question, the alternative of driving is only implicit, but in the second question, it
is explicit. The first question is likely to yield a greater preference for flying than the second
question.
Questions with implicit alternatives should be avoided unless there are specific reasons for
including them.31 When the alternatives are close in preference or large in number, the alternatives
at the end of the list have a greater chance of being selected. To overcome this bias, the split ballot
technique should be used to rotate the order in which the alternatives appear.

Avoid Implicit Assumptions

Questions should not be worded so that the answer is dependent upon implicit assumptions about
what will happen as a consequence. Implicit assumptions are assumptions that are not stated in
the question, as in the following example.32
1. Are you in favor of a balanced budget? (Incorrect)
2. Are you in favor of a balanced budget if it would result in an increase
in the personal income tax? (Correct)
Implicit in question 1 are the consequences that will arise as a result of a balanced budget. There
might be a cut in defense expenditures, increase in personal income tax, cut in social programs, and
so on. Question 2 is a better way to word this question. Question 1’s failure to make its assumptions
explicit would result in overestimating the respondents’ support for a balanced budget.
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 319

Avoid Generalizations and Estimates

Questions should be specific, not general. Moreover, questions should be worded so that the
respondent does not have to make generalizations or compute estimates. Suppose we were inter-
ested in households’ annual per capita expenditure on groceries. If we asked respondents
“What is the annual per capita expenditure on groceries in your household?” (Incorrect)
they would first have to determine the annual expenditure on groceries by multiplying the
monthly expenditure on groceries by 12 or the weekly expenditure by 52. Then they would have
to divide the annual amount by the number of persons in the household. Most respondents would
be unwilling or unable to perform these calculations. A better way of obtaining the required
information would be to ask the respondents two simple questions:

“What is the monthly (or weekly) expenditure on groceries in your household?”

and
“How many members are there in your household?” (Correct)
The researcher can then perform the necessary calculations.

Dual Statements: Positive and Negative

Many questions, particularly those measuring attitudes and lifestyles, are worded as statements to
which respondents indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement. Evidence indicates that the
response obtained is influenced by the directionality of the statements: whether they are stated
positively or negatively. In these cases, it is better to use dual statements, some of which are posi-
tive and the others negative. Two different questionnaires could be prepared. One questionnaire
would contain half negative and half positive statements in an interspersed way. The direction of
these statements would be reversed in the other questionnaire. An example of dual statements was
provided in the summated Likert scale in Chapter 9 designed to measure attitudes toward Sears;
some statements about Sears were positive whereas others were negative.

ACTIVE RESEARCH

FedEx: The Big Caters to the Small

Visit www.fedex.com and conduct an Internet search using a search engine and your library’s online
database to obtain information on the overnight package delivery market. Write a brief report.
As the marketing director for FedEx, how would you penetrate the important small business market
for overnight package delivery?
Evaluate the wording of the following question asked of small business owners/CEOs: “If FedEx
were to introduce a new overnight delivery service for small businesses, how likely are you to adopt it?”

Determining the Order of Questions

Opening Questions
The opening questions can be crucial in gaining the confidence and cooperation of respondents.
The opening questions should be interesting, simple, and nonthreatening. Questions that ask
respondents for their opinions can be good opening questions, because most people like to
express their opinions. Sometimes such questions are asked even though they are unrelated to the
research problem and their responses are not analyzed.33

Real Research Opening Opinion Question Opens the Door to Cooperation

The American Chicle Youth Poll was commissioned by the American Chicle Group, Pfizer Company
(www.pfizer.com), and conducted by GfK NOP (www.gfkamerica.com). A nationwide cross-section of
1,000 American young people, age 8 to 17 and attending school, was interviewed. The questionnaire
contained a simple opening question asking an opinion about living in the local town or city.
To begin with, I’d like to know, how much do you like living in this (town/city)? Would you say you like
it a lot, a little, or not too much?
320 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

A lot ________
A little ________
Not too much ________
Don’t know ________ ■

In some instances, it is necessary to screen or qualify the respondents, or determine whether

the respondent is eligible to participate in the interview. In these cases, the qualifying questions
serve as the opening questions.

Project Research Opening Question

In the department store project, the questionnaire was to be answered by the male or female head of the
household who did most of the shopping in department stores. The first question asked was, “Who in your
household does most of the shopping in department stores?” Thus the opening question helped in identify-
ing the eligible respondents. It also gained cooperation because of its simple and nonthreatening nature. ■

Type of Information
The type of information obtained in a questionnaire may be classified as (1) basic information,
(2) classification information, and (3) identification information. Basic information relates directly
classification to the research problem. Classification information, consisting of socioeconomic and demo-
information graphic characteristics, is used to classify the respondents and understand the results.
Socioeconomic and Identification information includes name, postal address, e-mail address, and telephone number.
demographic Identification information may be obtained for a variety of purposes, including verifying that the
characteristics used to
respondents listed were actually interviewed, remitting promised incentives, and so on. As a
classify respondents.
general guideline, basic information should be obtained first, followed by classification and, finally,
identification identification information. The basic information is of greatest importance to the research project
information and should be obtained first, before we risk alienating the respondents by asking a series of personal
A type of information questions. The questionnaire given in problem 7 (see exercises for this chapter) incorrectly obtains
obtained in a questionnaire identification (name) and some classification (demographic) information in the beginning.
that includes name, postal
address, e-mail address, Difficult Questions
and phone number.
Difficult questions or questions that are sensitive, embarrassing, complex, or dull should be
placed late in the sequence. After rapport has been established and the respondents become
involved, they are less likely to object to these questions. Thus in the department store project,
information about credit card debt was asked at the end of the section on basic information.
Likewise, income should be the last question in the classification section, and telephone number
the final item in the identification section.

Effect on Subsequent Questions

Questions asked early in a sequence can influence the responses to subsequent questions. As a
rule of thumb, general questions should precede specific questions. This prevents specific ques-
tions from biasing responses to general questions. Consider the following sequence of questions:

Q1: “What considerations are important to you in selecting

a department store?” (Incorrect)
funnel approach
Q2: “In selecting a department store, how important is convenience
A strategy for ordering
questions in a questionnaire
of location?” (Correct)
in which the sequence
Note that the first question is general, whereas the second is specific. If these questions were
starts with general
asked in the reverse order, respondents would be clued about convenience of location and would
questions that are followed
by progressively specific
be more likely to give this response to the general question.
questions in order to Going from general to specific is called the funnel approach. The funnel approach is
prevent specific questions particularly useful when information has to be obtained about respondents’ general choice
from biasing general behavior and their evaluations of specific products. 34 Sometimes the inverted funnel
questions. approach may be useful. In this approach, questioning begins with specific questions and
concludes with the general questions. The respondents are compelled to provide specific
information before making general evaluations. This approach is useful when respondents
have no strong feelings or have not formulated a point of view.
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 321

Logical Order
Questions should be asked in a logical order. All of the questions that deal with a particular topic
should be asked before beginning a new topic. When switching topics, brief transitional phrases
should be used to help respondents switch their train of thought.
branching questions Branching questions should be designed carefully.35 Branching questions direct respondents
Question used to guide to different places in the questionnaire based on how they respond to the question at hand. These
an interviewer through a questions ensure that all possible contingencies are covered. They also help reduce interviewer and
survey by directing the respondent error and encourage complete responses. Skip patterns based on the branching
interviewer to different questions can become quite complex. A simple way to account for all contingencies is to prepare a
spots on the questionnaire
flowchart of the logical possibilities and then develop branching questions and instructions based
depending on the answers
on it. A flowchart used to assess the use of credit in store purchases is shown in Figure 10.2.
given.
Placement of branching questions is important, and the following guidelines should be
followed: (1) The question being branched (the one to which the respondent is being
directed) should be placed as close as possible to the question causing the branching, and
(2) the branching questions should be ordered so that the respondents cannot anticipate what
additional information will be required. Otherwise, the respondents may discover that they
can avoid detailed questions by giving certain answers to branching questions. For example,
the respondents should first be asked if they have seen any of the listed commercials before
they are asked to evaluate commercials. Otherwise, the respondents will quickly discover that
stating they have seen a commercial leads to detailed questions about that commercial and
that they can avoid detailed questions by stating that they have not seen the commercial.

FIGURE 10.2 Introduction

Flowchart for
Questionnaire
Design
Ownership of Store, Bank,
and Other Charge Cards

Purchased Products in a Specific

Department Store During
the Last Two Months

Yes No

How Was Payment Ever Purchased Products

Made? in a Department Store?

Credit Cash Yes

Other
No

Store Bank Other

Charge Charge Charge
Card Card Card

Intentions to Use Store, Bank,

and Other Charge Cards
322 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

ACTIVE RESEARCH
Flat Panel Television Sets: The Market Is Anything but Flat
Conduct an Internet search using a search engine and your library’s online database to obtain information
on consumers’ perceptions, preferences, and purchase intentions for flat panel television sets.
Specify the information needed and the order in which you would obtain information on consumers’
perceptions, preferences, and purchase intentions for Samsung flat panel television sets.
As the vice president for marketing, what marketing strategies would you formulate to increase
Samsung’s penetration of the flat panel television market?

Form and Layout

The format, spacing, and positioning of questions can have a significant effect on the results, as
illustrated by the Census 2000 questionnaire in the opening example. This is particularly important
for self-administered questionnaires. Experiments on mail questionnaires for census of population
revealed that questions at the top of the page received more attention than those placed at the
bottom. Instructions printed in red made little difference except that they made the questionnaire
appear more complicated to the respondents.

Project Research Form and Layout

In the department store project, the questionnaire was divided into several parts. Part A contained the qual-
ifying question, information on familiarity, frequency of shopping, evaluation of the 10 stores on each of
the eight factors of the choice criteria, and preference ratings for the 10 stores. Part B contained questions
on the relative importance attached to each factor of the choice criteria and the preference rankings of the
10 stores. Part C obtained information on lifestyles. Finally, part D obtained standard demographic and
identification information. Identification information was obtained along with classification information,
rather than in a separate part, so as to minimize its prominence. Dividing the questionnaire into parts in
this manner provided natural transitions. It also alerted the interviewer and the respondent that, as each
part began, a different kind of information was being solicited. ■

It is a good practice to divide a questionnaire into several parts. Several parts may be needed for
questions pertaining to the basic information. The questions in each part should be numbered,
particularly when branching questions are used. Numbering of questions also makes the coding
precoding of responses easier. The questionnaires should preferably be precoded. In precoding, the codes
In questionnaire design, to enter in the computer are printed on the questionnaire. Typically, the code identifies the line
assigning a code to every number and the column numbers in which a particular response will be entered. Note that when
conceivable response CATI or CAPI is used, the precoding is built into the software. Coding of questionnaires is
before data collection. explained in more detail in Chapter 14 on data preparation. Here we give an example of a
precoded questionnaire. To conserve space, only part of the questionnaire is reproduced.

Real Research Example of a Precoded Survey from The American Lawyer

Magazine (www.americanlawyer.com)
The American Lawyer
A Confidential Survey of Our Subscribers
1. Considering all the times you pick it up, about how much time, in total, do you spend in reading or
looking through a typical issue of The American Lawyer?
Less than 30 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -1 1 1/2 hours to 1 hour 59 minutes . . . . ⵧ -4
30 to 59 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -2 2 hours to 2 hours 59 minutes . . . . . . ⵧ -5
1 hour to 1 hour 29 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -3 3 hours or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -6
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 323

2. After you have finished reading an issue of The American Lawyer, what do you usually do with it?
Save entire issue for firm library . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -1 Place in a waiting room/public area ⵧ -5
Save entire issue for home use . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -2 Discard it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -6
Pass it along to others in my company . . . . . . . ⵧ -3 Other __________________________ ⵧ -7
Clip and save items of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -4 (Please specify)
3. Not including yourself, how many other people, on the average, would you estimate read or look
through your personal copy (not the office copy) of The American Lawyer?
Number of additional readers per copy:
One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -1 Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -5 10 –14 . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -9
Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -2 Six . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -6 15 or more . . . . . . . . ⵧ -x
Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -3 Seven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -7 None . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -0
Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -4 8–9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⵧ -8
Source: www.americanlawyer.com. ■
The questionnaires themselves should be numbered serially. This facilitates the control of
questionnaires in the field as well as the coding and analysis. Numbering makes it easy to
account for the questionnaires and to determine if any have been lost. A possible exception to
this rule is mail questionnaires. If these are numbered, respondents assume that a given
number identifies a particular respondent. Some respondents may refuse to participate or may
answer differently under these conditions. However, recent research suggests that this loss of
anonymity has little, if any, influence on the results.36

Reproduction of the Questionnaire

How a questionnaire is reproduced for administration can influence the results. For example, if
the questionnaire is reproduced on poor-quality paper or is otherwise shabby in appearance, the
respondents will think the project is unimportant and the quality of response will be adversely
affected. Therefore, the questionnaire should be reproduced on good-quality paper and have a
professional appearance.
When a printed questionnaire runs to several pages, it should take the form of a booklet rather
than a number of sheets of paper clipped or stapled together. Booklets are easier for the inter-
viewer and the respondents to handle and do not come apart with use as do clipped and stapled
papers. They allow the use of double-page format for questions and look more professional.
Each question should be reproduced on a single page (or double-page spread). A researcher
should avoid splitting a question, including its response categories. Split questions can mislead
the interviewer or the respondent into thinking that the question has ended at the end of a page.
This will result in answers based on incomplete questions.
Vertical response columns should be used for individual questions. It is easier for interviewers
and respondents to read down a single column rather than sideways across several columns.
Sideways formatting and splitting, done frequently to conserve space, should be avoided. This
problem can be observed in The American Lawyer questionnaire.
The tendency to crowd questions together to make the questionnaire look shorter should be
avoided. Overcrowded questions with little blank space between them can lead to errors in data
collection and yield shorter and less informative replies. Moreover, they give the impression
that the questionnaire is complex and can result in lower cooperation and completion rates.
Although shorter questionnaires are more desirable than longer ones, the reduction in size
should not be obtained at the expense of crowding.
Directions or instructions for individual questions should be placed as close to the questions as
possible. Instructions relating to how the question should be administered or answered by the respon-
dent should be placed just before the question. Instructions concerning how the answer should be
recorded or how the probing should be done should be placed after the question (for more information
on probing and other interviewing procedures, see Chapter 13). It is a common practice to distinguish
instructions from questions by using distinctive type, such as capital letters. (See the department store
project in the section titled “Effect of Interviewing Method on Questionnaire Design.”)
Although color does not influence response rates to questionnaires, it can be employed
advantageously in some respects. Color coding is useful for branching questions. The next
question to which the respondent is directed is printed in a color that matches the space in which
324 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

the answer to the branching question was recorded. Surveys directed at different respondent
groups can be reproduced on different colored paper. In a mail survey conducted for a major
telecommunications firm, the business questionnaire was printed on white paper, whereas the
household questionnaire was printed on yellow paper.
The questionnaire should be reproduced in such a way that it is easy to read and answer. The
type should be large and clear. Reading the questionnaire should not impose a strain. Several
technologies allow researchers to obtain better print quality and simultaneously reduce costs.
One effort along these lines resulted in a lowering of printing costs from $1,150 to $214.37

Pretesting
pretesting Pretesting refers to the testing of the questionnaire on a small sample of respondents to identify
The testing of the and eliminate potential problems. Even the best questionnaire can be improved by pretesting. As a
questionnaire on a small general rule, a questionnaire should not be used in the field survey without adequate pretesting.
sample of respondents for A pretest should be extensive, as illustrated by the Census 2000 questionnaire in the opening example.
the purpose of improving
All aspects of the questionnaire should be tested, including question content, wording, sequence,
the questionnaire by
form and layout, question difficulty, and instructions. The respondents in the pretest should be
identifying and eliminating
potential problems.
similar to those who will be included in the actual survey in terms of background characteristics,
familiarity with the topic, and attitudes and behaviors of interest.38 In other words, respondents for
the pretest and for the actual survey should be drawn from the same population.
Pretests are best done by personal interviews, even if the actual survey is to be conducted by
mail, telephone, or electronic means, because interviewers can observe respondents’ reactions and
attitudes. After the necessary changes have been made, another pretest could be conducted by mail,
telephone, or electronic means if those methods are to be used in the actual survey. The latter
pretests should reveal problems peculiar to the interviewing method. To the extent possible, a
pretest should involve administering the questionnaire in an environment and context similar to
that of the actual survey.
A variety of interviewers should be used for pretests. The project director, the researcher who
developed the questionnaire, and other key members of the research team should conduct some
pretest interviews. This will give them a good feel for potential problems and the nature of the
expected data. Regular interviewers, however, should conduct most of the pretest interviews. It is
good practice to employ both experienced and new interviewers. The experienced interviewers
can easily perceive uneasiness, confusion, and resistance in the respondents. New interviewers
can help the researcher identify interviewer-related problems. Ordinarily, the pretest sample size
is small, varying from 15 to 30 respondents for the initial testing, depending on the heterogeneity
of the target population. The sample size can increase substantially if the pretesting involves
several stages or waves.
Protocol analysis and debriefing are two commonly used procedures in pretesting. In proto-
col analysis, the respondent is asked to “think aloud” while answering the questionnaire.
Typically, the respondent’s remarks are tape-recorded and analyzed to determine the reactions
invoked by different parts of the questionnaire. Debriefing occurs after the questionnaire has
been completed. Respondents are told that the questionnaire they just completed was a pretest
and the objectives of pretesting are described to them. They are then asked to describe the
meaning of each question, to explain their answers, and to state any problems they encountered
while answering the questionnaire.
Editing involves correcting the questionnaire for the problems identified during pretesting.
After each significant revision of the questionnaire, another pretest should be conducted, using a
different sample of respondents. Sound pretesting involves several stages. One pretest is a bare
minimum. Pretesting should be continued until no further changes are needed.
Finally, the responses obtained from the pretest should be coded and analyzed. The analysis
of pretest responses can serve as a check on the adequacy of the problem definition and the data
and analysis required to obtain the necessary information. The dummy tables prepared before
developing the questionnaire will point to the need for the various sets of data. If the response to a
question cannot be related to one of the preplanned dummy tables, either those data are superflu-
ous, or some relevant analysis has not been foreseen. If part of a dummy table remains empty, a
necessary question may have been omitted. Analysis of pretest data helps to ensure that all data
collected will be utilized and that the questionnaire will obtain all the necessary data.39 Table 10.1
summarizes the questionnaire design process in the form of a checklist.
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 325

TABLE 10.1
Questionnaire Design Checklist
Step 1 Specify the information needed.
1. Ensure that the information obtained fully addresses all the components of the problem. Review components of the
problem and the approach, particularly the research questions, hypotheses, and the information needed.
2. Prepare a set of dummy tables.
3. Have a clear idea of the target population.
Step 2 Specify the type of interviewing method.
1. Review the type of interviewing method determined based on considerations discussed in Chapter 6.
Step 3 Determine the content of individual questions.
1. Is the question necessary?
2. Are several questions needed instead of one to obtain the required information in an unambiguous manner?
3. Do not use double-barreled questions.
Step 4 Design the questions to overcome the respondent’s inability and unwillingness to answer.
1. Is the respondent informed?
2. If respondents are not likely to be informed, filter questions that measure familiarity, product use, and past experience
should be asked before questions about the topics themselves.
3. Can the respondent remember?
4. Avoid errors of omission, telescoping, and creation.
5. Questions that do not provide the respondent with cues can underestimate the actual occurrence of an event.
6. Can the respondent articulate?
7. Minimize the effort required of the respondents.
8. Is the context in which the questions are asked appropriate?
9. Make the request for information seem legitimate.
10. If the information is sensitive:
a. Place sensitive topics at the end of the questionnaire.
b. Preface the question with a statement that the behavior of interest is common.
c. Ask the question using the third-person technique.
d. Hide the question in a group of other questions that respondents are willing to answer.
e. Provide response categories rather than asking for specific figures.
f. Use randomized techniques, if appropriate.
Step 5 Decide on the question structure.
1. Open-ended questions are useful in exploratory research and as opening questions.
2. Use structured questions whenever possible.
3. In multiple-choice questions, the response alternatives should include the set of all possible choices and should be
mutually exclusive.
4. In a dichotomous question, if a substantial proportion of the respondents can be expected to be neutral,
include a neutral alternative.
5. Consider the use of the split ballot technique to reduce order bias in dichotomous and
multiple-choice questions.
6. If the response alternatives are numerous, consider using more than one question to reduce the information-processing
demands on the respondents.
Step 6 Determine the question wording.
1. Define the issue in terms of who, what, when, where, why, and way (the six Ws).
2. Use ordinary words. Words should match the vocabulary level of the respondents.
3. Avoid ambiguous words: usually, normally, frequently, often, regularly, occasionally, sometimes, etc.
4. Avoid leading questions that clue the respondent to what the answer should be.
5. Avoid implicit alternatives that are not explicitly expressed in the options.
6. Avoid implicit assumptions.
7. Respondents should not have to make generalizations or compute estimates.
8. Use positive and negative statements.

(continued)
326 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

TABLE 10.1
Questionnaire Design Checklist (continued)
Step 7 Arrange the questions in proper order.
1. The opening questions should be interesting, simple, and nonthreatening.
2. Qualifying questions should serve as the opening questions.
3. Basic information should be obtained first, followed by classification, and, finally, identification information.
4. Difficult, sensitive, or complex questions should be placed late in the sequence.
5. General questions should precede the specific questions.
6. Questions should be asked in a logical order.
7. Branching questions should be designed carefully to cover all possible contingencies.
8. The question being branched should be placed as close as possible to the question causing the branching, and the branch-
ing questions should be ordered so that the respondents cannot anticipate what additional information will be required.
Step 8 Identify the form and layout.
1. Divide a questionnaire into several parts.
2. Questions in each part should be numbered.
3. The questionnaire should be precoded.
4. The questionnaires themselves should be numbered serially.
Step 9 Reproduce the questionnaire.
1. The questionnaire should have a professional appearance.
2. Booklet format should be used for long questionnaires.
3. Each question should be reproduced on a single page (or double-page spread).
4. Vertical response columns should be used.
5. Grids are useful when there are a number of related questions that use the same set of response categories.
6. The tendency to crowd questions to make the questionnaire look shorter should be avoided.
7. Directions or instructions for individual questions should be placed as close to the questions as possible.
Step 10 Eliminate bugs by pretesting.
1. Pretesting should be done always.
2. All aspects of the questionnaire should be tested, including question content, wording, sequence, form and layout,
question difficulty, and instructions.
3. The respondents in the pretest should be similar to those who will be included in the actual survey.
4. Begin the pretest by using personal interviews.
5. Pretest should also be conducted by mail, telephone, or electronic interviewing if those methods are to be used in the
actual survey.
6. A variety of interviewers should be used for pretests.
7. The pretest sample size is small, varying from 15 to 30 respondents for the initial testing.
8. Use protocol analysis and debriefing to identify problems.
9. After each significant revision of the questionnaire, another pretest should be conducted, using a different
sample of respondents.
10. The responses obtained from the pretest should be coded and analyzed.

Computer and Internet Questionnaire Construction

Software is available for designing questionnaires administered over the Internet or other modes
(e.g., telephone, personal interviews, or mail). Although we describe the use of the software for
constructing Internet questionnaires, the functions are essentially similar for questionnaires
constructed by other modes. The software will help develop and disseminate the questionnaire,
and, in many cases, retrieve and analyze the collected data, and prepare a report. The software
can automatically perform a variety of tasks such as:
䊉 Personalization. The respondent’s name and personal responses are automatically inserted
into key questions.
䊉 Incorporate complex skip patterns. The software can check many conditions and
responses to determine which question should be asked next.
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 327

䊉 Randomize response choices. The order of presentation of response options in

multiple-choice questions can be randomized for each respondent to control
for order bias.
䊉 Consistency checks. Consistency checks can be programmed to identify inconsistent
responses while the interview is still in progress so that corrective action may be taken
if necessary.
䊉 Add new response categories as the interviewing progresses. If many respondents give
a particular response to the “Other, please specify” category, that response will be auto-
matically converted into a check-off category and added to the set of prespecified
response options.
In addition, these software programs have a variety of features that facilitate questionnaire
construction.
Question List. The user can select a variety of formats from a menu of question types
such as open ended, multiple choice, scales, dichotomous questions, and so forth.
Moreover, one can use buttons, drop-down boxes (closed position or open position),
check boxes, or open-ended scrolling text boxes.
Question Libraries. The user can select predefined questions or save questions used
often in the question library. For example, the question library may contain predefined
questions for measuring satisfaction, purchase intention, and other commonly used
constructs in marketing.
Questionnaire Appearance. The user can select the background color and graphics of the
questionnaire from a range of available templates or create a customized template using
the template manager.
Preview. You can preview the questionnaire as it is being developed to examine the
content, interactivity, type of questions, and background design and make any changes
that may be needed.
Publish. This user can create the HTML questionnaire, post it to a unique Web page,
create a database to collect the data on the hosting server, and obtaine a unique URL
to which respondents can be directed.
Notification. The user can create, personalize, send, and track e-mail–based invitations
to participate in the survey.
As each respondent completes the survey, the data are transferred over the Web to the data
file on the host server. The data can be downloaded and analyzed at any time, even when the sur-
vey is running. Thus, results can be examined in real-time. Some commonly used questionnaire
software are SurveyTime (www.surveytime.com), SurveyPro (www.surveypro.com), Surveyz
(www.surveyz.com), and PerfectSurveys (www.perfectsurveys.com). Other popular packages
include EFM Feedback (www.vovici.com) and SSI Web by Sawtooth Software (www.
sawtoothsoftware.com). With this book you have access to Qualtrics (www.qualtrics.com),
which will enable you to electronically design questionnaires.
Several Web sites allow users to create and file their own questionnaires for free. CreateSurvey
(www.createsurvey.com) allows anyone to create and administer online surveys to whomever they
want. It distributes the survey, monitors participation and participants, and then collects and
analyzes the data, all for free, because it is sponsored by Web advertising. However, CreateSurvey
does not provide respondents. Users do this at their discretion. For instance, they can create a Web
page and have the survey as a link from the Web page or send out an e-mail with the link asking
people to participate in the survey. Another Web-based service is Zoomerang (www.zoomerang.
com) by MarketTools (www.markettools.com).
A number of Web sites housed in universities offer valuable resources, such as scales and
question libraries, for constructing questionnaires. Some helpful sites include the Interuniversity
Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan (www.icpsr.
umich.edu); the Roper Center at the University of Connecticut (www.ropercenter.uconn.edu); the
Survey Research Library at Florida State University (www.fsu.edu/~survey); and the Odum
Institute, which houses the Louis Harris Data Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
(www.irss.unc.edu).40
328 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

Observational Forms
Forms for recording observational data are easier to construct than questionnaires. The researcher
need not be concerned with the psychological impact of the questions and the way they are asked.
The researcher need only develop a form that identifies the required information clearly, makes it
easy for the fieldworker to record the information accurately, and simplifies the coding, entry, and
analysis of data.
Observational forms should specify the who, what, when, where, why, and way of behavior
to be observed. In the department store project, an observational form for the study of purchases
would include space for all of the following information.

Project Research Observation

Who: Purchasers, browsers, males, females, parents with children, children alone
What: Products/brands considered, products/brands purchased, size, price of package inspected,
influence of children or other family members
When: Day, hour, date of observation
Where: Inside the store, checkout counter, or type of department within the store
Why: Influence of price, brand name, package size, promotion, or family members on the purchase
Way: Personal observer disguised as sales clerk, undisguised personal observer, hidden camera, or
obtrusive mechanical device

Project Activities
1. Given the information obtained in the Sears project in Chapter 1, construct an appropriate
questionnaire.
2. Critically evaluate the questionnaire you have constructed using the principles discussed in this chapter.
3. Do you think that the required information can be obtained by observation? If yes, design an
appropriate observation form. ■

The form and layout as well as the reproduction of observational forms should follow the same
guidelines discussed for questionnaires. A well-designed form permits fieldworkers to record
individual observations, but not to summarize observations because that could lead to error.
Finally, like questionnaires, observational forms also require adequate pretesting.

International Marketing Research

The questionnaire or research instrument should be adapted to the specific cultural environment
and should not be biased in terms of any one culture. This requires careful attention to each step
of the questionnaire design process. The information needed should be clearly specified. It is
important to take into account any differences in underlying consumer behavior, decision-
making process, psychographic, lifestyle, and demographic variables. In the context of demo-
graphic characteristics, information on marital status, education, household size, occupation,
income, and dwelling unit may have to be specified differently for different countries, as these
variables may not be directly comparable across countries. For example, household definition
and size vary greatly, given the extended family structure in some countries and the practice of
two or even three families living under the same roof.
Although personal interviewing is the dominant survey method in international marketing
research, different interviewing methods may be used in different countries. Hence, the ques-
tionnaire may have to be suitable for administration by more than one method. For ease of com-
prehension and translation, it is desirable to have two or more simple questions rather than a
single complex question. In overcoming the inability to answer, the variability in the extent to
which respondents in different cultures are informed about the subject matter of the survey
should be taken into account. Respondents in some countries, for example, in the Far East and
the CIS (former Soviet Union), may not be as well informed as those in the United States.
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 329

The use of unstructured or open-ended questions may be desirable if the researcher lacks
knowledge about the determinants of response in other countries. Unstructured questions also
reduce cultural bias, because they do not impose any response alternatives. However, unstruc-
tured questions are more affected by differences in educational levels than structured ques-
tions. They should be used with caution in countries with high illiteracy rates. Unstructured
and structured questions can be employed in a complementary way to provide rich insights, as
in the following example.

Real Research The Theme: Singapore’s Theme Restaurants

Singapore is comprised of more than 60 surrounding islets and has a population of 4.6 million people as
of 2008 (www.visitsingapore.com). Globally, it is known for its diverse restaurant industry. Out of the
27,000 food-service establishments, 21 percent are classified as restaurants. A study was conducted on
the following four theme restaurants in Singapore: Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood, Celebrities Asia,
and House of Mao (visit www.asiacuisine.com.sg for a description of these restaurants).
The questionnaire was pretested with 20 diners who had eaten at all four of the theme restaurants. Some
revisions were made to the questionnaire based on the comments from those people. The survey was then
administered to 300 participants in a questionnaire format that was designed to find out the participants’
perceptions of the theme restaurants. The participants were chosen at random using a mall-intercept method
and by asking the participants if they had been a customer in a theme restaurant in the past year. If their
answer was yes, they were asked to participate and then fill out a four-page survey. The survey was divided
into two sections: Section A asked about the participant’s general perception of the theme restaurants, and
section B asked the respondent to rate each of the four restaurants on a 5-point scale on nine different
attributes. Respondents were also asked several open-ended questions at the end of the questionnaire, such
as if they thought more theme restaurants would open in Singapore in the future and if they thought these
restaurants would be successful.
Most respondents felt more theme restaurants would open in Singapore and most were neutral about
their success. House of Mao received the highest rating in theme concept, and Hard Rock Café received the
highest rating in overall experience meeting expectations. Hard Rock Café had the best overall ratings on
the nine attributes. Based on this survey, there is room for growth in the theme restaurant industry in
Singapore.41 ■

The questionnaire may have to be translated for administration in different cultures. The researcher
must ensure that the questionnaires in different languages are equivalent. The special procedures
designed for this purpose are discussed in Chapter 24.
Pretesting of the questionnaire is complicated in international research, because the linguistic
equivalence must be pretested. Two sets of pretests are recommended. The translated questionnaire
should be pretested on monolingual subjects in their native language. The original and translated
versions should also be administered to bilingual subjects. The pretest data from administration of
the questionnaire in different countries or cultures should be analyzed and the pattern of responses
compared to detect any cultural biases.

Ethics in Marketing Research

Several ethical issues related to the researcher–respondent relationship and the
researcher–client relationship may have to be addressed in questionnaire design. Of particular
concern are the use of overly long questionnaires, asking sensitive questions, combining ques-
tions of more than one client in the same questionnaire or survey (piggybacking), and deliber-
ately biasing the questionnaire.
Respondents are volunteering their time and should not be overburdened by soliciting too
much information. The researcher should avoid overly long questionnaires. An overly long ques-
tionnaire may vary in length or completion time depending upon variables such as the topic of the
survey, the effort required, the number of open-ended questions, the frequency of use of complex
scales, and the method of administration. According to the guidelines of the Professional
Marketing Research Society of Canada (www.pmrs-aprm.com), with the exception of in-home
personal interviews, questionnaires that take more than 30 minutes to complete are generally
330 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

considered “overly long.” Personal in-home interviews can take up to 60 minutes without over-
loading the respondents. Overly long questionnaires are burdensome on the respondents and
adversely affect the quality of responses. Similarly, questions that are confusing, exceed the
respondents’ ability, are difficult, or are otherwise improperly worded should be avoided.
Sensitive questions deserve special attention. On one hand, candid and honest responses are
needed to generate meaningful findings. On the other hand, the researcher should not invade
respondents’ privacy or cause them undue stress. The guidelines we have given in this chapter
should be followed. To minimize discomfort, it should be made clear at the beginning of the inter-
view that respondents are not obligated to answer any question that makes them uncomfortable.
An important researcher–client issue is piggybacking, which occurs when a questionnaire
contains questions pertaining to more than one client. This is often done in omnibus panels
(see Chapters 3 and 4) that different clients can use to field their questions. Piggybacking can
substantially reduce costs and can be a good way for clients to collect primary data they would
not be able to afford otherwise. In these cases, all clients must be aware of and consent to the
arrangement. Unfortunately, piggybacking is sometimes used without the client’s knowledge
for the sole purpose of increasing the research firm’s profit. This is unethical.
Finally, the researcher has the ethical responsibility of designing the questionnaire so as to
obtain the required information in an unbiased manner. Deliberately biasing the questionnaire in
a desired direction—for example, by asking leading questions—cannot be condoned. In deciding
the question structure, the most appropriate rather than the most convenient option should be
adopted, as illustrated by the next example. Also, the questionnaire should be thoroughly
pretested before fieldwork begins, or an ethical breach has occurred.

Real Research Questioning International Marketing Ethics

In designing a questionnaire, open-ended questions may be most appropriate if the response categories are
not known. In a study designed to identify ethical problems in international marketing, a series of open-
ended questions was used. The objective of the survey was to elicit the three most frequently encountered
ethical problems, in order of priority, to Australian firms that engage in international marketing activities.
After reviewing the results, the researcher tabulated and categorized them into 10 categories that occurred
most often: traditional small-scale bribery; large-scale bribery; gifts, favors, and entertainment; pricing;
inappropriate products or technology; tax evasion practices; illegal or immoral activities; questionable
commissions to channel members; cultural differences; and involvement in political affairs. The sheer
number of categories indicates that international marketing ethics should probably be questioned more
closely! The use of structured questions in this case, although more convenient, would have been inappro-
priate, raising ethical concerns.42 ■

Decision Research Does Delta Stack Up to the Competition?

The Situation
Richard Anderson was the chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines. Under his leadership, on April 14,
2008, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corporation announced an agreement in which the two
carriers will combine in an all-stock transaction with a combined enterprise value of $17.7 billion, creating
America’s premier global airline.
Since 2000, the Global Airline Performance (GAP) study has teamed up P. Robert and Partners and
the London-based Aviation Information and Research unit of IATA, the International Air Transport
Association, to perform a two-part syndicated survey for measuring passenger satisfaction on 22 differ-
ent airlines in 30 different countries. It samples 240,000 passengers each year and is conducted in seven
languages. The interviewers catch the respondents at the most opportune time: while waiting to board
the plane. The first part of the survey consists of 20 questions about the airline staff and their willing-
ness to assist; the second part, one that must be sent by mail or fax, asks questions about the boarding
process, service on the plane, and comfort. Delta’s general manager of marketing research, Paul Lai,
agrees that keeping the information fresh in the respondent’s mind helps get a clearer view of how the
airline can increase customer satisfaction. Another benefit of the survey is that it is ongoing so that they
can track responses over time. Lai also enjoys receiving the data about other airlines so they can
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 331

conduct comparative analyses and identify areas in which Delta is lagging the competition. The survey
revealed to Delta and other airlines that two service issues are most important. One is the operational
service such as arrival/departure times without delays. The second is more subjective and cannot be
controlled as easily—airline employee and customer relations. If Paul Lai remains in tune with the sur-
veys performed by GAP, Delta will have no problem staying ahead of the flight competition.

The Marketing Research Decision

1. Instead of using part 2 of the GAP questionnaire, Paul Lai would like to develop his own question-
naire to measure passengers’ perceptions of the boarding process, service on the plane, and comfort.
Develop such a questionnaire.
2. Discuss the role of the questionnaire you recommend in enabling Paul Lai to determine consumer
preferences for airlines and increase market share for Delta.

The Marketing Management Decision

1. What should Richard Anderson do to improve Delta’s in-flight services?
2. Discuss how the marketing management decision action that you recommend to Richard Anderson is
influenced by the questionnaire that you suggested earlier and by the findings of that research.43 ■

SPSS Windows
SPSS Data Entry can help the researcher in designing a questionnaire, facilitated by the
drag-and-drop feature of the program.

Summary
To collect quantitative primary data, a researcher must have been worded, the order in which they will appear in the
design a questionnaire or an observation form. A question- questionnaire must be decided (step 7). Special consideration
naire has three objectives. It must translate the information should be given to opening questions, type of information,
needed into a set of specific questions the respondents can difficult questions, and the effect on subsequent questions. The
and will answer. It must motivate respondents to complete questions should be arranged in a logical order.
the interview. It must also minimize response error. The stage is now set for determining the form and layout
Designing a questionnaire is an art rather than a sci- of the questions (step 8). Several factors are important in
ence. The process begins by specifying (step 1) the informa- reproducing the questionnaire (step 9). These include appear-
tion needed and (step 2) the type of interviewing method. ance, use of booklets, fitting entire question on a page,
The next (step 3) is to decide on the content of individual response category format, avoiding overcrowding, place-
questions. The question should overcome the respondents’ ment of directions, color coding, easy-to-read format, and
inability and unwillingness to answer (step 4). Respondents cost. Last but not least is pretesting (step 10). Important
may be unable to answer if they are not informed, cannot issues are the extent of pretesting, nature of respondents, type
remember, or cannot articulate the response. The unwilling- of interviewing method, type of interviewers, sample size,
ness of the respondents to answer must also be overcome. protocol analysis and debriefing, and editing and analysis.
Respondents may be unwilling to answer if the question The design of observational forms requires explicit
requires too much effort, is asked in a situation or context decisions about what is to be observed and how that behav-
deemed inappropriate, does not serve a legitimate purpose, ior is to be recorded. It is useful to specify the who, what,
or solicits sensitive information. Then comes the decision when, where, why, and way of the behavior to be observed.
regarding the question structure (step 5). Questions can be The questionnaire should be adapted to the specific cul-
unstructured (open ended) or structured to a varying degree. tural environment and should not be biased in terms of any
Structured questions include multiple choice, dichotomous one culture. Also, the questionnaire may have to be suitable
questions, and scales. for administration by more than one method because differ-
Determining the wording of each question (step 6) ent interviewing methods may be used in different countries.
involves defining the issue, using ordinary words, using unam- Several ethical issues related to the researcher–respondent
biguous words, and using dual statements. The researcher relationship and the researcher–client relationship may have
should avoid leading questions, implicit alternatives, implicit to be addressed. The Internet and computers can greatly
assumptions, and generalizations and estimates. Figure 10.3 assist the researcher in designing sound questionnaires and
gives a concept map for question wording. Once the questions observational forms.
332 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

FIGURE 10.3 A Question Should

A Concept Map
for Question define the issue
Wording
Who, What, When, Where, Why, and Way

use ordinary words

Words Should Match the Vocabulary Level of Respondents

use unambiguous words

Avoid Usually, Normally, Regularly, Frequently, Sometimes, etc.

avoid leading or biasing the respondent

Do Not Bias or Clue the Respondent to What the Answer Should Be

use dual statements

Statements Should Be Positive and Negative

Key Terms and Concepts

questionnaire, 293 order or position bias, 302 identification information, 308
double-barreled question, 297 dichotomous question, 302 funnel approach, 308
filter questions, 298 leading question, 306 branching questions, 309
telescoping, 298 acquiescence bias (yea-saying), 306 precoding, 310
unstructured questions, 301 implicit alternative, 306 pretesting, 312
structured questions, 302 classification information, 308

Suggested Cases, Video Cases, and HBS Cases

Running Case with Real Data
1.1 Dell
Comprehensive Critical Thinking Cases
2.1 American Idol 2.2 Baskin-Robbins 2.3 Akron Children’s Hospital
Comprehensive Cases with Real Data
4.1 JPMorgan Chase 4.2 Wendy’s
Video Cases
10.1 Dunkin’ Donuts 11.1 Motorola 12.1 Subaru 13.1 Intel 23.1 Marriott
Comprehensive Harvard Business School Cases
Case 5.1: The Harvard Graduate Student Housing Survey (9-505-059)
Case 5.2: BizRate.Com (9-501-024)
Case 5.3: Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in the Twenty-First Century (9-702-442)
Case 5.4: TiVo in 2002 (9-502-062)
Case 5.5: Compaq Computer: Intel Inside? (9-599-061)
Case 5.6: The New Beetle (9-501-023)
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 333

Live Research: Conducting a Marketing Research Project

1. Each team can develop a questionnaire following the principles 2. Each team should be assigned a few pretest interviews.
discussed in the chapter. The best features of each question- 3. If a questionnaire has already been prepared, it should be criti-
naire can be combined to develop the project questionnaire. cally evaluated in the class.

Acronyms
The objectives and steps involved in developing a questionnaire The guidelines for reproducing a questionnaire may be summa-
may be defined by the acronym rized by the acronym

Questionnaire: Reproduce:
Objectives Q uestions that respondents can answer R esponse category format
U plift the respondent E ntire question on a page
E rror elimination P rofessional appearance
Steps S pecify the information needed R educe costs
T ype of interviewing method O vercrowding should be avoided
I ndividual question content D irections or instructions
O vercoming inability and U se of booklets
unwillingness to answer C olor coding
N onstructured versus structured questions E asy to read
N onbiased question wording The guidelines for pretesting a questionnaire may be summarized
A rrange the questions in proper order by the acronym
I dentify form and layout
R eproduction of the questionnaire Pretest:
E liminate bugs by pretesting
P rotocol analysis and debriefing
The guidelines for question wording may be summarized by the R espondents from the same population
acronym E xtent: extensive
T ype of interviewing method
Wording: E diting and analysis
W ho, what, when, where, why, and way S ample size: 15 to 30 per iteration
O rdinary words T ype of interviewers
R egularly, normally, usually, etc., should be avoided
D ual statements (positive and negative)
I mplicit alternatives and assumptions should be avoided
N onleading and nonbiasing questions
G eneralizations and estimates should be avoided
The guidelines for deciding on the order of questions may be sum-
marized by the acronym

Order:
O pening questions: simple
R udimentary or basic information should be obtained first
D ifficult questions toward the end
E xamine the influence on subsequent questions
R eview the sequence to ensure a logical order

Exercises
Questions 5. What are the reasons that respondents are unable to answer the
1. What is the purpose of questionnaires and observation forms? question asked?
2. Explain how the mode of administration affects questionnaire 6. Explain the errors of omission, telescoping, and creation.
design. What can be done to reduce such errors?
3. How would you determine whether a specific question should 7. Explain the concepts of aided and unaided recall.
be included in a questionnaire? 8. What are the reasons that respondents are unwilling to answer
4. What is a double-barreled question? specific questions?
334 PART II • RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION

9. What can a researcher do to make the request for information 2. List at least 10 ambiguous words that should not be used in
seem legitimate? framing questions.
10. Explain the use of randomized techniques in obtaining sensitive 3. Do the following questions define the issue? Why or why not?
information. a. What is your favorite brand of toothpaste?
11. What are the advantages and disadvantages of unstructured b. How often do you go on a vacation?
questions? c. Do you consume orange juice?
12. What are the issues involved in designing multiple-choice 1. Yes 2. No
questions? 4. Design an open-ended question to determine whether house-
13. What are the guidelines available for deciding on question holds engage in gardening. Also develop a multiple-choice and
wording? a dichotomous question to obtain the same information. Which
14. What is a leading question? Give an example. form is the most desirable?
15. What is the proper order for questions intended to obtain basic, 5. Formulate five questions that ask respondents to provide gen-
classification, and identification information? eralizations or estimates.
16. What guidelines are available for deciding on the form and 6. Develop a series of questions for determining the proportion
layout of a questionnaire? of households with children under age 10 where child abuse
17. Describe the issues involved in pretesting a questionnaire. takes place. Use the randomized response technique.
18. What are the major decisions involved in designing observa- 7. A new graduate hired by the marketing research department of a
tional forms? major telephone company is asked to prepare a questionnaire to
determine household preferences for telephone calling cards.
Problems The questionnaire is to be administered in mall-intercept inter-
1. Develop three double-barreled questions related to flying and views. Using the principles of questionnaire design, critically
passengers’ airline preferences. Also develop corrected versions evaluate this questionnaire, which follows.
of each question.

HOUSEHOLD TELEPHONE CALLING CARD SURVEY

1. Your name? ____________________
2. Age ____________________
3. Marital status ____________________
4. Income ____________________
5. Which, if any of the following telephone calling cards do you have?
1. ______ AT&T 3. ______ Sprint Nextel
2. ______ Verizon 4. ______ Others
6. How frequently do you use a telephone calling card?
Infrequently Very Frequently
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. What do you think of the telephone calling card offered by AT&T?
_________________________________________________________________________
8. Suppose your household were to select a telephone calling card. Please rate the importance
of the following factors in selecting a card.
Not Important Very Important
a. Cost per call 1 2 3 4 5
b. Ease of use 1 2 3 4 5
c. Local and long-distance charges 1 2 3 4 5
included in the same bill
d. Rebates and discounts on calls 1 2 3 4 5
e. Quality of telephone service 1 2 3 4 5
f. Quality of customer service 1 2 3 4 5
9. How important is it for a telephone company to offer a calling card?
Not important Very Important
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10. Do you have children living at home? __________________

Thank You for Your Help.
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 335

Internet and Computer Exercises

1. HP would like to conduct an Internet survey to determine the 3. Develop the questionnaire in Fieldwork problem 2 using an
image of HP PCs and the image of its major competitors electronic questionnaire design package. Compare your expe-
(Apple, Dell, and Lenovo). Develop such a questionnaire. riences in designing this questionnaire electronically and
Relevant information may be obtained by visiting the Web sites manually.
of these companies (www.lenovo.com, www.applecomputer. 4. Visit the Web site of one of the online marketing research
com, www.dell.com, www.hp.com). firms (e.g., Greenfield Online Research Center, Inc., at www.
2. Develop the questionnaire in Fieldwork problem 1 using an greenfieldonline.com). Locate a survey being currently admin-
electronic questionnaire design package such as the Ci3 istered at this site. Critically analyze the questionnaire using the
System. Administer this questionnaire to 10 students using a principles discussed in this chapter.
microcomputer.

Activities
Role Playing 10 students using personal interviews. How would you modify
1. You have just been hired as a management trainee by a firm the questionnaire based on the pretest?
that manufactures major appliances. Your boss has asked you 2. Develop a questionnaire for determining household prefer-
to develop a questionnaire to determine how households plan ences for popular brands of cold cereals. Administer the ques-
to buy, purchase, and use major appliances. This questionnaire tionnaire to 10 female head of households using personal
is to be used in a nationwide study. However, you feel that you interviews. How would you modify the questionnaire if it were
do not have the expertise or the experience to construct such a to be administered by telephone? What changes would be nec-
complex questionnaire. Explain this to your boss (role played essary if it were to be administered by mail?
by a fellow student).
2. You are working as an assistant marketing research manager Group Discussion
with a national department store chain. Management, repre- 1. “Because questionnaire design is an art, it is useless to follow a
sented by a group of students, is concerned about the extent of rigid set of guidelines. Rather, the process should be left entirely
shoplifting by the employees. You are assigned the task of to the creativity and ingenuity of the researcher.” Discuss as a
developing a questionnaire to determine the extent of shoplift- small group.
ing by the employees. This questionnaire would be mailed to 2. Discuss as a small group the role of questionnaire design in
employees nationwide. Explain your approach to designing minimizing total research error.
the questionnaire to management. (Hint: Use the randomized 3. Discuss the importance of form and layout in questionnaire
response technique.) construction.

Fieldwork
1. Develop a questionnaire for determining how students select
restaurants. Pretest the questionnaire by administering it to

Dell Running Case

Review the Dell case, Case 1.1, and questionnaire given toward the 3. Evaluate the questionnaire you have developed using the
end of the book. principles discussed in this chapter.
4. Develop a revised questionnaire to measure students’ prefer-
1. Critically evaluate the Dell questionnaire using the principles
ences for notebook computers.
discussed in this chapter.
5. What did you learn in the questionnaire revision process?
2. Draft a questionnaire to measure students’ preferences for
notebook computers.
 Video Cases
VIDEO CASE 10.1 Dunkin’ Donuts: Dunking the Competition

In 1950, Bill Rosenberg founded the Dunkin’ Donuts chain The company also offers variety—52 flavors of
(www.dunkindonuts.com) by opening the first location in donuts. Recently, Dunkin’ Donuts has expanded its coffee
Quincy, Massachusetts. By 1975, 1,000 locations nation- line (again, due to research and taste testing) to include
wide were grossing a collective $300 million in sales. iced coffees, cappuccinos, lattes, espressos, and flavored
At the beginning of 2008, there were 7,988 Dunkin’ coffees, such as hazelnut coffee.
Donuts stores worldwide, including 5,769 franchised Marketing research showed that customers preferred
restaurants in the United States and 2,219 internationally. an image that related to the common person. They did not
The company clocked worldwide sales of $5.3 billion want a coffee shop that was flashy with lots of bells and
during fiscal year 2007. whistles; they just wanted a common shop that made a
This impressive growth would not have been possible great cup of coffee. Therefore, Dunkin’ Donuts appeals to
without extensive marketing research and a commitment just about everyone. During the late 1970s and the 1980s,
to quality. Bill Rosenberg began the culture within the the ad campaign of “Fred the Baker” brought this image to
company of listening to what the customer wanted and life. With commercials showing him waking up in the mid-
then providing it, and that tradition continues today. dle of the night with a commitment to quality, he appealed
Marketing research in the form of focus groups and sur- to the common person. The Mercedes and the pickup truck
vey research revealed that customers select a coffee and come together in an egalitarian Dunkin’ Donuts parking
donut shop based on five factors: accessibility, quality, lot. In addition, Dunkin’ Donuts is affordable. Just about
variety, image, and affordability. The company’s business any consumer can afford the Dunkin’ Donuts experience.
is built around these factors. From research, Dunkin’ Dunkin’ Donuts is much less expensive compared to
Donuts found that its customers wanted a coffee and Starbucks and other upscale coffee shops.
donut shop that was very accessible—close to work or Dunkin’ Donuts realizes that first and foremost its
home and easy to get to. To accompany its stand-alone donuts and coffee need to be up to par to customers’ expec-
locations, Dunkin’ Donuts has opened locations in Home tations. Already the retail market leader in donuts and
Depot, Wal-Mart, 7-11, and Stop & Shop stores to add to bagels, Dunkin’ Donuts knows that it takes a commitment
the convenience that customers desire. Every location is to marketing research to stay there. Bob Pitts, the current
strategically placed and designed with these customers’ Technology Product Developer, demands a continuing
preferences in mind. Because these purchases are so con- commitment to listening to what the customers prefer.
venience driven, the locations can be placed close Again, this manifests itself through constant research and
together without cannibalizing business. taste testing. The customer is a very important source of
Marketing research further revealed that quality wisdom and insight at Dunkin’ and customer opinion and
translates to freshness in the donut business. Therefore, feedback is important. Customers’ preferences have not
Dunkin’ Donuts makes donuts at least four times a day. only shaped the recipes of donuts and bagels, but they have
Upon conducting research with survey questionnaires also prompted the introduction of the Dunkin’ Decaf and
and taste testing in many different markets, Dunkin’ flavored coffees such as Hazelnut and French Vanilla. The
Donuts found the blend of coffee that customers favor the huge success of these introductions reaffirmed the impor-
most. This coffee is brewed and then allowed to sit for no tance of customers to Dunkin’ Donuts and its new products.
longer than 18 minutes. After the 18-minute window, the This journey of innovation has continued with the launch of
coffee is poured out, and a fresh pot is brewed. This com- indulgent coffee drinks, such as cappuccinos, lattes, and
mitment to quality was made as a result of researching espressos. In August 2007, Dunkin’ announced a partner-
what the customer desired in a cup of coffee. ship with Procter & Gamble. In this alliance, P&G roasts
 CHAPTER 10 • QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORM DESIGN 337

Dunkin’s packaged coffee according to Dunkin’s specifica- Questions

tions and is responsible for distribution as well as a national 1. Discuss the role that marketing research can play in help-
marketing campaign based on the coffee shop chain’s ing a coffee shop such as Dunkin’ Donuts formulate sound
current “America runs on Dunkin’” theme. The initiative marketing strategies.
helps P&G gain entry into the premium coffee market, and 2. Dunkin’ Donuts is considering further expansion in the
Dunkin’ Donuts gets P&G’s distribution expertise and a United States. Define the management decision problem.
new source of income. The packaged coffee is available at 3. Define an appropriate marketing research problem based on
Kroger, Wal-Mart, and other stores. the management decision problem you have identified.
Speaking to customers and getting their insights is a 4. Use the Internet to determine the market shares of the major
crucial part of Dunkin’ Donuts’ marketing research strategy. coffee shops for the last calendar year.
5. What type of syndicate data will be useful to Dunkin’
The use of focus/consumer groups and market surveys for
Donuts?
taste testing and feedback is an ongoing process. With a 6. Discuss the role of qualitative research in helping Dunkin’
commanding presence in the market, reliance on marketing Donuts expand further in the United States.
research has had obvious positive effects that are sure to 7. Dunkin’ Donuts has developed a new line of pastries with a
continue in the future, and Dunkin’ Donuts can continue distinctive French taste. It would like to determine consumers’
dunking the competition. response to this new line of pastries before introducing them in
the marketplace. If a survey is to be conducted to determine
consumer preferences, which survey method should be used
Conclusion and why?
Marketing research has kept Dunkin’ Donuts relevant and 8. Design a taste test comparing Dunkin’ Donuts coffees with
appealing to people across the world throughout the years. those offered by Starbucks.
Dunkin’s positioning as an everyday, accessible store for 9. Develop a questionnaire for assessing consumer preferences
for fast coffee shops.
everyone has helped it to foster a bond with its customers.
This relationship of respect and humility has endured even
as Dunkin’ has expanded its product portfolio to include
References
1. www.dunkindonuts.com, accessed January 15, 2009.
more varieties and target newer customers, all without
2. “Dunkin’ Donuts Competes with Coffee Chains with Latte
alienating its existing customers. The emphasis that Offerings in Michigan,” Knight Ridder Tribune Business
Dunkin’ places on using marketing research to make the News (March 19, 2004): 1.
customers critical stakeholders who provide feedback and
insight and help direct the innovation process has reaped
rich benefits for Dunkin’ Donuts.