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

ASKING AND RECORDING QUESTIONS 171
are not so consistent as they appear to be. If inconsistencies in ranking
appear through the use of the paired-comparison method, you
can then follow up with questions about why the apparent inconsistency
appears and thereby learn more about respondents’ attitudes.
If the question concerns policy, further investigation may
reveal subtleties of policy preferences that when taken together are
not seen but that become apparent when judged two at a time.
The paired-comparison method becomes unwieldy when a large
number of items need to be compared. The number of comparisons
increases geometrically with the number of alternatives. We suspect
that four alternatives are about the maximum that can be used with
the paired-comparison method in the normal survey situation. It is
a method, however, that might be easier to use on the telephone
than some of the straight ranking methods, since respondents have
to keep only two things in mind at once.
Using Lists
Certain series of questions lend themselves to a list format. For
example, respondents may be given a list of adjectives and asked to
list the ones that they might use to describe themselves. Such a question
is shown in Figure 5.6. In format A, a list of adjectives is given,
and respondents are asked to circle as many as apply to themselves.
In format B, respondents are asked to go through the list one by one
and check whether each adjective describes them or does not describe
them. Format A is adapted from a self-administered questionnaire
given to college students. It is economical in format and
allows the investigator to obtain a great deal of data in a small
space. Although such a large number of adjectives is feasible in a
self-administered questionnaire, it would be problematic in a personal
interview. An interview situation would certainly require a
card for respondents to look at while answering.
Although format B appears to be somewhat more cluttered and
less appealing on a self-administered questionnaire, it will produce
better and more useful responses. With format A (“[Circle] as many