Successful transport decision-making - Osmose

Vol 2 - Table of Contents
Next
Designing and carrying out a questionnaire survey
The key to preparing a successful questionnaire survey is ensuring the respondents understand what the questionnaire is for and
what is required of them. All questions should be clear, concise and easy to understand. The diagram below illustrates how a
questionnaire survey should be designed and administered:
1. Confirm objectives/outcomes
It is always recommended to identify the objectives of the
questionnaire/survey and how the results will be used.
2. Develop questionnaire
It is important to prepare a questionnaire that people will
be able to understand and respond to. All questions
should be appropriate and relevant.
3. Determine sample size
It is important to identify an appropriate statistical sample.
Consideration should be given to the number of people
consulted and the number of people affected.
4. Prepare the sample
It is recommended to combine all the distribution lists/
databases / telephone numbers that will be used in the
distribution of the questionnaire.
5. Distribute the questionnaire
Administer the questionnaire using the most appropriate
technique or combination of techniques.
6. Coding/editing of feedback
It might be necessary to code responses i.e. sort them
systematically, in order to analyse them statistically.
7. Data analysis
At this stage all responses are brought together and analysed.
This might involve statistical analysis from ‘closed surveys’ or
examining more detailed information from ‘open surveys’.
8. Report preparation
The results of the questionnaire should be summarised in a
report. This can be shown to stakeholders and will ensure
survey findings can be used easily in the future.
9. Findings feedback
It is recommended to present the findings of the
questionnaire/ survey back to the project team to ensure that
they are familiar with the results of the process.
10. Feedback to participants
It is recommended that the findings and results are fed back to
the participants to encourage a transparent engagement
process. These could be presented in a newsletter or in a
public meeting.
TIPS for undertaking your questionnaire
Carry out a test of the questionnaire to highlight any problems with its structure or wording.
Ensure the questionnaire is not too long - this will discourage people from filling it in or they will only partly complete it.
It might be necessary to provide an incentive to encourage respondents to return the questionnaire e.g. a pre-paid envelope.
Practical information
Who participates and how?
Questionnaires are a useful way of obtaining information
from individuals and groups. These might be
administered to a specific group of people or a
representative sample of the population. Using
questionnaires might help to get people involved who
might not ordinarily participate in a project.
How much does it cost?
The cost of designing and carrying out a questionnaire
will depend on the sample size and how it is administered.
Sending out surveys through the mail for example, is
more costly than posting a survey on a website, but might
be more effective in terms of the number of responses
returned. Using a questionnaire can be cheaper and less
time consuming than other techniques, such as
interviews.
What skills are required?
Questionnaires should be designed and carried out by
experienced staff. Those administering street and
telephone surveys should have an understanding of how
to deal with the public. For large, structured surveys
external assistance may be required for statistical
analysis of the results.
How is it used with other techniques?
Questionnaires can be very useful in supporting other
techniques. Survey results for example, can provide
useful data and support for focus groups or workshops
and questionnaires can be used to identify individuals
who would like to get involved in more engagement
activities.
What are the drawbacks?
Some questionnaires receive poor response rates and
incentives may be required to encourage people to return
their questionnaires. Used in isolation, ‘closed’
questionnaires do not produce in depth information and
may not fully identify key issues or problems.
Questionnaires will not be appropriate for some
stakeholders e.g. those with low literacy levels.
T15
103