1、How to design a questionnaire1ppt课件 a survey involves directly collecting information from people (or sometimes organisations) whom we are interested in. Well designed questionnaires are highly structured to allow the same types of information to be collected from a large number of people in the sam
2、e way and for data to be analysed quantitatively and systematically. Questionnaires are best used for collecting factual data and appropriate questionnaire design is essential to ensure that we obtain valid responses to our questions.2ppt课件 Objectives in designing questionnaires There are two main o
3、bjectives in designing a questionnaire: To maximize the proportion of subjects answering our questionnairethat is, the response rate. To obtain accurate relevant information for our survey. 3ppt课件 Deciding what to ask There are three potential types of information: Information we are primarily inter
4、ested inthat is, dependent variables. Information which might explain the dependent variablesthat is, independent variables. Other factors related to both dependent and independent factors which may distort the results and have to be adjusted forthat is, confounding variables4ppt课件 Wording of indivi
5、dual questions The way questions are phrased is important and there are some general rules for constructing good questions in questionnaire5ppt课件Use short and simple sentences Short, simple sentences are generally less confusing and ambiguous than long, complex ones. As a rule of thumb, most sentenc
6、es should contain one or two clauses. Sentences with more than three clauses should be rephrased. 6ppt课件 Ask for only one piece of information at a time For example, “Please rate the lecture in terms of its content and presentation” asks for two pieces of information at the same time. It should be d
7、ivided into two parts: “Please rate the lecture in terms of (a) its content, (b) its presentation.”7ppt课件 Avoid negatives if possible Negatives should be used only sparingly（谨慎地）. For example, instead of asking students whether they agree with the statement, “Small group teaching should not be aboli
8、shed,” the statement should be rephrased as, “Small group teaching should continue.” Double negatives should always be avoided.8ppt课件 Ask precise questions Questions may be ambiguous because a word or term may have a different meaning. For example, if we ask students to rate their interest in “medic
9、ine,” this term might mean “general medicine” (as opposed to general surgery) to some, but inclusive of all clinical specialties (as opposed to professions outside medicine) to others.9ppt课件 Another source of ambiguity is a failure to specify a frame of reference. For example, in the question, “How
10、often did you borrow books from your library?” the time reference is missing. It might be rephrased as, “How many books have you borrowed from the library within the past six months altogether?”10ppt课件 Ensure those you ask have the necessary knowledge For example, in a survey of university lecturers
11、 on recent changes in higher education, the question, “Do you agree with the recommendations in the Dearing report on higher education?” is unsatisfactory for several reasons. Not only does it ask for several pieces of information at the same time as there are several recommendations in the report,
12、the question also assumes that all lecturers know about the relevant recommendations.11ppt课件 Sensitive issues It is often difficult to obtain truthful answers to sensitive questions. Clearly, the question, “Have you ever copied other students answers in a degree exam?” is likely to produce either no
13、 response or negative responses. Less direct approaches have been suggested. Firstly, the casual approach: “By the way, do you happen to have copied other students answers in a degree exam?” may be used as a last part of another decoy question. 12ppt课件Minimise bias People tend to answer questions in
14、 a way they perceive to be socially desired or expected by the questioner and they often look for clues in the questions. Many apparently neutral questions can potentially lead to bias. For example, in the question, “Within the past month, how many lectures have you missed due to your evening job?”
15、students may perceive the desired responses to be “never” to the first question. This question could be rephrased as, “Within the past month, how many times did your evening job commitment clash with lectures? How many times did you give priority to your evening job?” Take another example. The quest
16、ion, “Please rate how useful the following text- books are. Please also state whether they are included in your lecturers recommended reading list?” There is a risk that the students may perceive that they should rate books recommended by lecturers more favourably than those not recommended by their
17、 lecturers. This risk may be minimised by putting the second question later on in the questionnaire.13ppt课件Format of responses The responses can be in open or closed formats. Box 1: Advantages of open or closed format Open format l Allows exploration of the range of possible themes arising from an i
18、ssue l Can be used even if a comprehensive range of alternative choices cannot be compiled Closedthat is, forced choiceformat l Easy and quick to fill in l Minimise discrimination against the less literate (in self administered questionnaire) or the less articulate (in interview questionnaire) l Eas
19、y to code, record, and analyse results quantitatively l Easy to report results14ppt课件 Length of questionnaire There are no universal agreements about the optimal length of questionnaires. It probably depends on the type of respondents. However, short simple questionnaires usually attract higher resp
20、onse rates than long complex ones.15ppt课件 Arranging the questions The order of the questions is also important. Some general rules are: l Go from general to particular. l Go from easy to difficult. l Go from factual to abstract. l Start with closed format questions. l Start with questions relevant t
21、o the main subject. l Do not start with demographic and personal questions. 16ppt课件 Introduction, personalised letter, and ending It seems a good idea to have either a personalised covering letter or at least an introduction explaining briefly the purpose of the survey, the importance of the respond
22、ents participation, who is responsible for the survey, and a statement guaranteeing confidentiality. A personalised letter can be easily generated using mail-merge on a word processor. It is also important to thank the respondent at the end of the questionnaire17ppt课件 Conclusions Questionnaires must
23、 be carefully designed to yield valid information. Meticulous attention must be paid to ensure that individual questions are relevant, appropriate, intelligible, precise, and unbiased. The order of the questions must be carefully arranged, and the layout of the questionnaire must be clear. It is wise to draft a clear personalised covering letter. Questionnaires must first be piloted and evaluated before the actual survey.18ppt课件19ppt课件
