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

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Chapter Eleven<br />

<strong>Questionnaire</strong>s from<br />

Start to Finish<br />

Throughout the book we have focused on tactics related to how<br />

specific questions of a specific nature should be asked. In this chapter,<br />

we explain the general process of compiling these questions into<br />

an efficient sequence that elicits accurate answers from the first to<br />

last question. For some, this can serve as a quick reference guide; for<br />

others it can be useful as to how one should start and proceed with<br />

crafting their questionnaire. A second purpose is to remind researchers<br />

that a good questionnaire is the end product of a sequence<br />

of procedures that all play a role in the final quality. Assuming that<br />

all other recommendations in this book are followed, a questionnaire<br />

can still suffer if the steps in this chapter are omitted.<br />

<strong>The</strong> next section lists the steps we believe are critical in preparing<br />

a questionnaire. Some readers may be surprised to see that there<br />

are actually more steps involved after the first draft is finished than<br />

before. As in golf, follow-through is critical in preparing an effective<br />

questionnaire.<br />

Steps in Preparing a <strong>Questionnaire</strong><br />

1. Decide what information is needed. Conduct focus groups<br />

if needed to explore the topic to find out what information<br />

is required.<br />

2. Search data archives for existing questions and scales on<br />

the topics of interest.<br />

3. Draft new questions or revise existing questions.<br />

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