Questionnaire Design with Tom Goodall
On 24 Jan 2022 I attend a 75 min. Doctoral Academy Questionnaire/Survey Design workshop . During it, the topics he covered included:
What a survey is
~A type of research design
~A traditional approach to data collection
Advantages of surveys:
~internal/external validity
~efficiency
~wide geographical coverage/reach
~ethical advantages
~flexibility
Limitations of surveys:
~usually anonymous
~can be too subjective
~tend to be brief
~respondents cannot answer "why"
Types of surveys:
~phone calls
~face-to-face interviews
~questionnaires
~Internet surveys (survey monkey, google forms, MS forms, etc., all of which give access to SPSS that is free via LJMU by requesting a survey account from IT services...Nvivo or SPSS
Types of Questions
1) Open style- ask something like "What were your reasons for choosing ____?" (more info but more time consuming, i.e., allow interviewer/researcher to ask longer questions that allow for respondent to give full explanations, but more time consuming for researcher to process/analyze)
2) Closed style- ask "when", "If", "yes/no" or multiple choice/ranking type questions that are less info to gather, but quicker to take and assess, i.e., allow researcher to allow respondent to quickly answer, which provide researcher with very limited data that is easier and quicker to process/analyze...loss of spontaneity
TIPS ON GOOD SURVEY DESIGN
General Do's and Dont's List
~Do use a simple, to-the-point survey title
~Do ask 1 (vs. multiple) question per question
~Do ask questions within respondents knowledge base
~Do use understandable language
~Do ask an answerable/limited number of questions so as to stay aware of the time the survey will take to complete.
~Don't use "absolutes", i.e., "Do you always...?"
~Don't ask "leading" questions
~Don's ask "loaded" questions
~Don't ask overly personal questions
~Don't ask irrelevant questions
- Introduction Design
~Be brief with a greeting and explanation of the topic covered in the survey
~Statement of anonymity
~How the respondent was selected
- Question Design
~How to answer
~Consider order of questions
~Consider relevance of questions-stay on topic
~Check grammar & spelling
- Pre-test
~pre-test on a small sample group
After sample completes it, ask if
a) the questionnaire is understandable
b) the questions are appropriate
c) the order makes sense
d) do I understand the responses...is it the information I am seeking?
TOP TIPS
~Remember my overall objective
~Use an appropriate data collection method
~Question types-qualitative, quantitative or mixed
~Keep it simple
~Be mindful of the layout
~Pre-test a small sample group
~Limit the # of questions
(Take session on BoS and the analysis of the data)
