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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

326 ASKING QUESTIONS The purpose of a survey is to find out information. A question that asks for a response on more than one dimension will not always provide the information you are seeking. Each question should be about one topic. Do not include questions that require a single response when two would be more appropriate. For example, “Do you agree that smoking and drinking are detrimental to health?” should be broken into two different questions, as should “Do you like the texture and flavor of the snack?” If a respondent answers “no,” then the researcher will not know if the respondent dislikes the texture or the flavor or both. A good question asks for only one “byte” of information. A Good Question Can Accommodate All Possible Answers Multiple choice items are the most popular type of survey questions because they are generally the easiest for a respondent to answer and the easiest to analyze. Asking a multiple choice question that does not accommodate all possible responses can confuse and frustrate the respondent, however. (See Chapter Five.) For example, consider the following question: What type of computer do you own? IBM-type PC Apple Clearly, there are many problems with this question. What if the respondents don’t own a computer? What if they own a type of computer that is neither an IBM-type of PC or an Apple? What if they own both an IBM-type of PC and an Apple? There are two ways to correct this kind of problem. One way is to ask respondents to list all of the computers they own. Another way would be to allow “neither” or “both” as answers. If we assume for the purposes of our example that the only types of computers are IBMtype computers and Apple computers, our question might read as follows:
Do you own an IBM-type of PC? Yes No Do you own an Apple computer? Yes No Do you own both? Yes No Do you own neither? Yes No A Good Question Has Mutually Exclusive Options A good question leaves no ambiguity in the mind of the respondent. There should be only one correct or appropriate choice for the respondent to make. For example, a question like “Where did you grow up?” could have the following answers: (A) Farm, (B) Country, and (C) City. A person who grew up on a farm in the country would not know whether to select choice A or B, and a person who grew up in the suburbs may have no appropriate answer. This question would not provide meaningful information. Furthermore, it is unclear what is meant by “grow up.” If respondents were born on a farm but moved to the city in the sixth grade, where did they grow up? The response alternatives must contain all possible meaningful answers. A Good Question Produces Variability in Response When a question produces no variability in responses, we learn very little. If a question is not sensitive enough to detect actual variability, we will be unable to perform any statistical analysis on the item. Consider the following example: What do you think about this instructor? (check one) It’s the worst course I’ve ever taken. It’s somewhere between the worst and best. It’s the best course I’ve ever taken. ASKING QUESTIONS FAQS 327
Page 2:
Asking Questions The Definitive Gui
Page 6 and 7:
Norman M. Bradburn Seymour Sudman B
Page 8 and 9:
Copyright © 2004 by John Wiley & S
Page 10 and 11:
viii CONTENTS 12. Asking Questions
Page 13 and 14:
Preface This book is a revised and
Page 15 and 16:
PREFACE xiii trate some of the subt
Page 17 and 18:
The Authors Norman M. Bradburn (Ph.
Page 19:
Asking Questions
Page 23 and 24:
Chapter One The Social Context of Q
Page 25 and 26:
THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF QUESTION ASKI
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51:
Page 55 and 56:
Chapter Two Asking Nonthreatening Q
Page 57 and 58:
ASKING NONTHREATENING QUESTIONS ABO
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Figure 2.4. Household Health Diary.
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census,
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97:
Page 100 and 101:
80 ASKING QUESTIONS e. The Sealed B
Page 102 and 103:
82 ASKING QUESTIONS asking about te
Page 104 and 105:
84 ASKING QUESTIONS Figure 3.2. Que
Page 106 and 107:
86 ASKING QUESTIONS into a car, mig
Page 108 and 109:
88 ASKING QUESTIONS relationship be
Page 110 and 111:
90 ASKING QUESTIONS from 55 percent
Page 112 and 113:
92 ASKING QUESTIONS Illegal Drug Us
Page 114 and 115:
94 ASKING QUESTIONS drinkers—may.
Page 116 and 117:
Page 118 and 119:
Page 120 and 121:
100 ASKING QUESTIONS It must be rec
Page 122 and 123:
102 ASKING QUESTIONS To illustrate
Page 124 and 125:
104 ASKING QUESTIONS This applies t
Page 126 and 127:
106 ASKING QUESTIONS When some resp
Page 128 and 129:
108 ASKING QUESTIONS drinking quest
Page 130 and 131:
110 ASKING QUESTIONS them less thre
Page 132 and 133:
112 ASKING QUESTIONS Determining th
Page 134 and 135:
114 ASKING QUESTIONS carefully for
Page 137 and 138:
Chapter Four Asking Questions About
Page 139 and 140:
ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT ATTITUDES AN
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Chapter Five Asking and Recording O
Page 173 and 174:
ASKING AND RECORDING QUESTIONS 153
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197:
Page 200 and 201:
180 ASKING QUESTIONS 2. Consider wh
Page 202 and 203:
182 ASKING QUESTIONS Figure 6.2. Qu
Page 204 and 205:
184 ASKING QUESTIONS Specific knowl
Page 206 and 207:
186 ASKING QUESTIONS question. Anot
Page 208 and 209:
Page 210 and 211:
Page 212 and 213:
192 ASKING QUESTIONS Resident Infor
Page 214 and 215:
194 ASKING QUESTIONS It must be rec
Page 216 and 217:
196 ASKING QUESTIONS Figure 6.10. Q
Page 218 and 219:
198 ASKING QUESTIONS Figure 6.11. S
Page 220 and 221:
200 ASKING QUESTIONS Figure 6.11. S
Page 222 and 223:
202 ASKING QUESTIONS question indic
Page 224 and 225:
204 ASKING QUESTIONS state or count
Page 226 and 227:
206 ASKING QUESTIONS respondents wi
Page 228 and 229:
208 ASKING QUESTIONS answers, most
Page 230 and 231:
210 ASKING QUESTIONS on the Web sin
Page 233 and 234:
Chapter Seven Asking Questions that
Page 235 and 236:
ASKING QUESTIONS THAT EVALUATE PERF
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
• Depends heavily on employee’s
Page 241 and 242:
Page 243 and 244:
Page 245 and 246:
Page 247 and 248:
Page 249 and 250:
Page 251 and 252:
Page 253 and 254:
Page 255 and 256:
Page 257 and 258:
Page 259 and 260:
Page 261:
Page 264 and 265:
244 ASKING QUESTIONS make a particu
Page 266 and 267:
246 ASKING QUESTIONS on demographic
Page 268 and 269:
248 ASKING QUESTIONS Table 8.1. Eig
Page 270 and 271:
250 ASKING QUESTIONS domain and rel
Page 272 and 273:
252 ASKING QUESTIONS Seven Steps to
Page 274 and 275:
254 ASKING QUESTIONS the frequency
Page 276 and 277:
256 ASKING QUESTIONS The fourth ste
Page 278 and 279:
258 ASKING QUESTIONS empty cells. I
Page 281 and 282:
Chapter Nine Asking Standard Demogr
Page 283 and 284:
ASKING STANDARD DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIO
Page 285 and 286:
Page 287 and 288:
Page 289 and 290:
Page 291 and 292:
Page 293 and 294:
Page 295 and 296: ASKING STANDARD DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIO
Page 297 and 298: ASKING STANDARD DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIO
Page 299: ASKING STANDARD DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIO
Page 303 and 304: Chapter Ten Organizing and Designin
Page 305 and 306: ORGANIZING AND DESIGNING QUESTIONNA
Page 333 and 334: Fill- Ins Easily done with a Possib
Page 335 and 336: Chapter Eleven Questionnaires from
Page 337 and 338: QUESTIONNAIRES FROM START TO FINISH
Page 343 and 344: Chapter Twelve Asking Questions FAQ
Page 345: ASKING QUESTIONS FAQS 325 tain you
Page 349 and 350: ASKING QUESTIONS FAQS 329 Ranking q
Page 351 and 352: ASKING QUESTIONS FAQS 331 guish bet
Page 353: ASKING QUESTIONS FAQS 333 activitie
Page 356 and 357: 336 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RECOMMENDED RE
Page 368 and 369: 348 GLOSSARY object. The term belie
Page 370 and 371: 350 GLOSSARY are entered directly i
Page 372 and 373: 352 GLOSSARY the sex of the respond
Page 374 and 375: 354 GLOSSARY of an IBM card is a on
Page 376 and 377: 356 GLOSSARY individual difference
Page 378 and 379: 358 GLOSSARY overreporting, underre
Page 380 and 381: 360 GLOSSARY because of illness or
Page 382 and 383: 362 GLOSSARY response effect A gene
Page 384 and 385: 364 GLOSSARY questionnaires list th
Page 387 and 388: Index A Ability, measuring, 197-202
Page 389 and 390: INDEX 369 Denver, 86; Community che
Page 391 and 392: INDEX 371 Library card ownership, 8
Page 393 and 394: INDEX 373 preferences, 167-168; thr
Page 395 and 396: Appendix A List of Academic and Not
Page 397 and 398:
APPENDIX A 377 Phoenix, AZ 85003-17
Page 399 and 400:
APPENDIX A 379 Fax: 310-206-4453 E-
Page 401 and 402:
APPENDIX A 381 800 Florida Ave., N.
Page 403 and 404:
APPENDIX A 383 E-mail: jbason@arche
Page 405 and 406:
APPENDIX A 385 Phone: 312-996-5300
Page 407 and 408:
APPENDIX A 387 Phone: 785-532-5510
Page 409 and 410:
APPENDIX A 389 Center for the Study
Page 411 and 412:
APPENDIX A 391 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-
Page 413 and 414:
APPENDIX A 393 731 Oldfather Hall L
Page 415 and 416:
APPENDIX A 395 New York Marist Coll
Page 417 and 418:
APPENDIX A 397 Cornell University I
Page 419 and 420:
APPENDIX A 399 225 South Main St. A
Page 421 and 422:
APPENDIX A 401 121 University Pl. P
Page 423 and 424:
APPENDIX A 403 South Dakota Busines
Page 425 and 426:
APPENDIX A 405 Public Policy Resear
Page 427 and 428:
APPENDIX A 407 E-mail: sesrc@wsu.ed
Page 429:
APPENDIX A 409 England National Cen
Page 432 and 433:
412 APPENDIX B PLEASE CIRCLE ONE CO
Page 434 and 435:
414 APPENDIX B 14. Who purchased th
Page 436 and 437:
416 APPENDIX B 23. What racial/ethn
Page 438 and 439:
Faculty Retention Survey December 2
Page 440 and 441:
2. Professional Life Important to y
Page 442 and 443:
4. Environment Important to you Imp
Page 445 and 446:
Appendix D Kinko’s: Open-ended Se
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?