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

ASKING STANDARD DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS 269
5. What is the highest degree you/(NAME) received?
None
Elementary school diploma
High school diploma or the equivalent (GED)
Associate degree
Bachelor’s degree
Master’s degree
Professional degree (MD, DDS, DVM, LLB, JD, DD)
Doctorate degree (Ph.D. or Ed.D.)
There are two important reasons for including education questions
in general population surveys. They not only identify household
members who are currently enrolled in educational programs
but also help ascertain the education levels of household members
who have completed their educations. To get a complete measure
of educational levels, it is necessary to determine the highest degree
received because, for example, a person may have received a high
school diploma by passing a GED examination while having completed
less than eight years of formal schooling. The years of school
completed and the degrees received are sometimes combined into
a single complex question, but asking separate questions makes the
task easier for the respondent.
If education is not a key variable, you might ask either Question
4 or Question 5, recognizing that you lose some precision by not
asking both questions. Also note that Question 4 refers to years of
school completed and not years of school attended. The recommended
questions are geared to the American educational system
and do not identify people who have had special training, including
vocational and on-the-job training. If such information is
needed, a follow-up question might be asked—for example, respondents
could answer “yes” or “no” when asked “Besides what you’ve
told me about regular schooling, did you ever attend any other kind
of school, such as vocational school?”