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

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320 ASKING QUESTIONS<br />

That is, if a field trial of a mailed questionnaire yields an unsatisfactory<br />

response rate, design changes or different data-gathering<br />

procedures must be undertaken.<br />

Using Pilot-Test Results<br />

A major problem with many studies is that insufficient time is<br />

allowed to use the results of the pilot study to correct the questionnaire.<br />

<strong>The</strong> pilot study can be used to indicate questions that need<br />

revision because they are difficult to understand, and it can also<br />

indicate questions that may be eliminated. For example, a question<br />

that is to be used as an independent variable to explain some other<br />

behavior or attitude will be useless if all or virtually all respondents<br />

answer in the same way. Additionally, open-ended questions may<br />

yield answers that are impossible to code into theoretically meaningful<br />

dimensions.<br />

<strong>The</strong> pilot test will also provide useful information on how long<br />

it takes to conduct the interview. If the interview or subsections of<br />

it turn out to be much too long, some questions may need to be<br />

dropped to stay within time and budget constraints. (Note, however,<br />

that pilot-test interviews may take somewhat longer than regular<br />

interviews because interviewers increase their speed as they<br />

become more experienced with a questionnaire.) <strong>The</strong> pilot test will<br />

also indicate whether the questionnaire is ordered correctly. Thus,<br />

you might learn that the first question asked is too difficult for the<br />

respondent and gets the interview off to a bad start, or that early<br />

questions are changing the context in which later questions are<br />

being answered.<br />

If too many substantial revisions are required as a result of the<br />

pilot test, it is sensible to pilot-test the revisions. If you do not test<br />

your revisions, you may find that they cause new and serious problems.<br />

After a number of questions have been omitted from the questionnaire,<br />

it is important to retest in order to accurately estimate<br />

the new length of time it takes to conduct the interview. <strong>The</strong>refore,

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