Asking Questions - The Definitive Guide To Questionnaire Design ...

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162 ASKING QUESTIONS least desirable. If the more desirable categories come first, the respondent might choose one of those categories without waiting to hear the entire set of response categories. Using Numerical Rating Scales If you wish to go to a rating scale with more than seven points, it can sometimes be helpful to use a visual aid or device that employs something beyond the use of words. Most of the examples we will present here are variations on a fairly simple theme. The basic strategy is to use a numerical scale running from 0 or 1 to some number and give English value equivalents to the lowest and the highest categories as anchoring points for the ends of the scales. Figure 5.2 gives one example of this method. The figure shows the question as it appears in the questionnaire seen only by the interviewer and as it appears on the card seen by the respondent. If a series of substantive opinion questions is to be asked, and if the same scale can be used for all questions, the interviewer can read the anchoring points to the respondent for each separate question. Odd or Even? A much-debated point is whether to give respondents an odd or even number of response categories. We believe you must always provide for an odd number of categories, in order to reserve a middle or indifferent point for respondents who insist on taking middle positions or who are undecided or indifferent about the two ends of the continuum. The difference lies in whether you explicitly give respondents the middle option or whether you give them an even number of categories and conceal the middle position from them. If presented with an even number of response categories, respondents who feel in the middle must “lean” toward one end or the other of the distribution unless they are firm about their middle position. The arguments for using even or odd numbers of categories are similar to those described in Chapter Four in the section
ASKING AND RECORDING QUESTIONS 163 “Using Questions That Include a Middle Point.” There is no right or wrong number of categories. It depends entirely on the research topic being investigated and how important it is to you to have some indication of the direction in which people in the middle are leaning. With a very large number of points on the scale, the question is probably moot, since respondents would be responding more to the approximate position than they would be to the actual numbers. Few or Many? Another issue is how many categories should be offered and on what scale (5 points, 7 points, 9 points?). Some think that offering a scale with a larger number of points will help increase the variance in responses and better help distinguish extreme opinions. Although a number of theoretical considerations exist, how to number categories is generally determined by weighing how much space one wants to use against what can provide the greatest differentiation. If the intervals are spaced out to maximize variation (through the use of pilot tests), fewer boxes will be needed. If precision is a concern, use fill-in-the-blank questions. A method that obtains readings by use of a 100-point scale is shown in Figure 5.1. Here the scale is analogous to a thermometer, containing many numbers with which respondents will be familiar. Another common image used in rating scales is that of a ladder. The image, introduced by Cantril (1965), seems particularly well adapted to ratings that involve vertical or hierarchical dimensions, such as occupational prestige ratings or questions about the degree to which one has fulfilled one’s aspirations. Other graphic images, limited only by the imagination of the investigator and the necessity that respondents understand them, might be used for these types of scales. The difficulty with these scales is they often become idiosyncratic to the topic, and care must be taken to ensure that they will be accepted by the parties to whom the research will be presented (policymakers, sponsors, editors, or reviewers).
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Asking Questions The Definitive Gui
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Norman M. Bradburn Seymour Sudman B
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Copyright © 2004 by John Wiley & S
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viii CONTENTS 12. Asking Questions
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Preface This book is a revised and
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PREFACE xiii trate some of the subt
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The Authors Norman M. Bradburn (Ph.
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Asking Questions
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Chapter One The Social Context of Q
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THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF QUESTION ASKI
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Chapter Two Asking Nonthreatening Q
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ASKING NONTHREATENING QUESTIONS ABO
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Figure 2.4. Household Health Diary.
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Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census,
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80 ASKING QUESTIONS e. The Sealed B
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82 ASKING QUESTIONS asking about te
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84 ASKING QUESTIONS Figure 3.2. Que
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86 ASKING QUESTIONS into a car, mig
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88 ASKING QUESTIONS relationship be
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90 ASKING QUESTIONS from 55 percent
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92 ASKING QUESTIONS Illegal Drug Us
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94 ASKING QUESTIONS drinkers—may.
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100 ASKING QUESTIONS It must be rec
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102 ASKING QUESTIONS To illustrate
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104 ASKING QUESTIONS This applies t
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106 ASKING QUESTIONS When some resp
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108 ASKING QUESTIONS drinking quest
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110 ASKING QUESTIONS them less thre
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Chapter Seven Asking Questions that
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ASKING QUESTIONS THAT EVALUATE PERF
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• Depends heavily on employee’s
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244 ASKING QUESTIONS make a particu
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246 ASKING QUESTIONS on demographic
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248 ASKING QUESTIONS Table 8.1. Eig
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250 ASKING QUESTIONS domain and rel
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252 ASKING QUESTIONS Seven Steps to
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254 ASKING QUESTIONS the frequency
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256 ASKING QUESTIONS The fourth ste
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258 ASKING QUESTIONS empty cells. I
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Chapter Nine Asking Standard Demogr
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ASKING STANDARD DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIO
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Chapter Ten Organizing and Designin
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ORGANIZING AND DESIGNING QUESTIONNA
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Fill- Ins Easily done with a Possib
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Chapter Eleven Questionnaires from
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QUESTIONNAIRES FROM START TO FINISH
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Chapter Twelve Asking Questions FAQ
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ASKING QUESTIONS FAQS 325 tain you
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Do you own an IBM-type of PC? Yes
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ASKING QUESTIONS FAQS 329 Ranking q
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ASKING QUESTIONS FAQS 331 guish bet
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ASKING QUESTIONS FAQS 333 activitie
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336 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RECOMMENDED RE
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348 GLOSSARY object. The term belie
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350 GLOSSARY are entered directly i
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352 GLOSSARY the sex of the respond
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354 GLOSSARY of an IBM card is a on
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356 GLOSSARY individual difference
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358 GLOSSARY overreporting, underre
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360 GLOSSARY because of illness or
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362 GLOSSARY response effect A gene
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364 GLOSSARY questionnaires list th
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Index A Ability, measuring, 197-202
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INDEX 369 Denver, 86; Community che
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INDEX 371 Library card ownership, 8
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INDEX 373 preferences, 167-168; thr
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Appendix A List of Academic and Not
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APPENDIX A 377 Phoenix, AZ 85003-17
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APPENDIX A 379 Fax: 310-206-4453 E-
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APPENDIX A 381 800 Florida Ave., N.
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APPENDIX A 383 E-mail: jbason@arche
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APPENDIX A 385 Phone: 312-996-5300
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APPENDIX A 387 Phone: 785-532-5510
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APPENDIX A 389 Center for the Study
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APPENDIX A 391 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-
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APPENDIX A 393 731 Oldfather Hall L
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APPENDIX A 395 New York Marist Coll
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APPENDIX A 397 Cornell University I
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APPENDIX A 399 225 South Main St. A
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APPENDIX A 401 121 University Pl. P
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APPENDIX A 403 South Dakota Busines
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APPENDIX A 405 Public Policy Resear
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APPENDIX A 407 E-mail: sesrc@wsu.ed
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APPENDIX A 409 England National Cen
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412 APPENDIX B PLEASE CIRCLE ONE CO
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414 APPENDIX B 14. Who purchased th
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416 APPENDIX B 23. What racial/ethn
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Faculty Retention Survey December 2
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2. Professional Life Important to y
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4. Environment Important to you Imp
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Appendix D Kinko’s: Open-ended Se
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