Small Business Framework - Research - The Legal Services Board

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Developing"a"Questionnaire"
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In"this"section"we"describe"our"approach"to"the"drafting"of"the"short]form"and"
long]form"questionnaires"set"out"in"Appendix"1"and"Appendix"2"to"this"report."
We" start" by" reviewing" some" general" considerations" that" should" inform" the"
presentation" of" the" survey" to" business" respondents" and" have" informed" the"
drafting"of"the"questionnaire."We"then"describe"the"core"elements"of"the"model"
questionnaires,"before"providing"some"detailed"commentary"on"the"construction"
of" the" long]form" model" questionnaire." Finally," we" compare" the" problems" and"
service"categories"used"within"the"long]form"model"questionnaire"with"those"in"
the"Oxera"Framework."
" The"model"questionnaires"described"and"set"out"in"the"appendices"are"not"
prescriptive;"meaning"that"we"do"not"recommend"that"they"be"implemented"as"
they" stand." The" short]form" model" questionnaire" is" an" example" of" what" a"
developmental" survey" to" test" core" questions" might" look" like," although" it" could"
also"be"used"as"a"stand"alone"survey"to"obtain"key"data"relating"to"small"business"
consumers’" need" for" and" use" of" legal" services." The" long]form" model"
questionnaire" is" not" suggested" to" be" in" an" optimal" form." Rather," it" has" been"
designed" to" provide" questions" and" question" modules" that" are" likely" to" be" of"
interest" to" sponsors" of" surveys." These" can" be" selected" from" in" building" up" a"
questionnaire"for"implementation."As"is"detailed"below,"survey/interview"length"
is"an"important"consideration"in"the"drafting"of"questionnaires,"and"this"may"be"
particularly"so"in"the"case"of"business"people"who"may"be"taking"time"away"from"
their"business"in"order"to"participate.""
" Ultimate" choices" concerning" which" questions" to" include" in" any" survey"
should" be" dictated," first" and" foremost," by" policy" interest" and" theory" based"
hypothesis"testing."
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Framing!and!the!Form!of!Questions!
How" surveys" and" questions" should" be" framed" is" a" key" consideration" of" survey"
design."The"manner"in"which"questions"are"presented"can"have"a"profound"effect"
on" responses." Dillman" (2006)," in" the" context" of" survey" mode" effects," cites" an"
example" of" the" percentage" of" ‘single’" respondents" declining" significantly" in" an"
Internet" compared" to" a" telephone" survey." Upon" examining" the" form" of" the"
questions" in" the" two" surveys," he" found" that" the" telephone" version" was" open]
ended," asking" respondents" “what" is" your" marital" status”," whereas" the" Internet"
version"presented"a"list"of"categories."The"decline"was"a"function"of"an"increase"in"
‘divorced’" and" ‘widowed’" in" the" Internet" survey," information" which" many"
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