The Fruit Shop - NHSGGC Public Health Resource Unit

departments and only the Health at Heart Centre staff returned the
questionnaires. Eleven questionnaires were returned and some
changes were made taking into consideration various comments.
The questionnaire was then re-piloted two weeks later. This time the
researcher handed out the questionnaires personally to staff in the
canteen selecting a random sample from various departments by
selecting tables with different staff groups sitting there. A piloting
questionnaire tool was developed to ensure that respondents fully
understood what was required with regards to pre-testing the
evaluation questionnaire. Staff were asked only to take the pilot
questionnaire if they had time to complete and return it within the
next few days.
This approach was more successful and as a result a mixed sample of
around 30 RAH staff were successfully recruited to pilot the
questionnaire to check that its instructions, content, wording,
sequence were adequate (Edwards & Talbot 1994). Twenty-three of
the piloted questionnaires were returned and the results revealed
that 91% (n=21) found the questionnaire easy to read. The
questionnaire was then adjusted in accordance with any relevant
comments.
Survey 1: distribution
The questionnaire was distributed with an accompanying letter
signed by a Cardiac Consultant at the RAH. It was decided that a
letter signed by a known figure of authority within the hospital could
possibly increase the response rate. A systematic random selection,
of 370 hospital staff were issued the questionnaire attached to their
payslip with a return envelope. The questionnaire was attached to
every tenth payslip within each departmental grouping of salary
slips, to ensure that the sample was random. The questionnaires
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