Understanding Questionnaire (Market research)

In marketing research, it is the questionnaire that ensures that the research objectives are met. That is why the questionnaire must be such that it meets the intended purpose.

What is a Questionnaire?

• All techniques of data collection in which each person is asked to respond to the same set of questions in a predetermined order.
• Most widely used data collection technique
• More appropriate for descriptive, explanatory research

Evaluating Questionnaires (Pros & Cons)

Pros:

• Inexpensive to administer
• Quick to administer
• Absence of interview effects/bias
• No interviewer variability
• Convenience for respondents

Cons:

• Cannot prompt/probe
• Difficulty of respondents understanding questions
• Questionnaire can be looked at as a whole first
• Lack of control of sample
• Cannot collect additional data
• Partially answered questions
• Not suitable for all types of respondents

When to Use Questionnaires

• Not a good choice for exploratory research that requires large number of open ended questions;
• Questionnaires work best with standardised questions that can be interpreted in the same way by all respondents;
• Tend to be used for descriptive or explanatory research, e.g., attitude, opinion-based, to explain relationships between variables, or cause- and- effect relationships

Questionnaires are used in the following research strategies: Survey, Experiment, Case study

Types of questionnaire

Types of questionnaire:

Self-administered
– Internet and Intranet-mediated questionnaires
– Delivery and collection questionnaire
– Postal questionnaire

Interviewer – administered
– Telephone questionnaire
– Structured interview

Choice of questionnaire

The choice of questionnaire will be influenced by a determined number of factors:

• Characteristics of the respondents from whom you wish to collect data
  Importance of reaching a particular person as respondent
• Importance of respondents answers not being contaminated or distorted
• Size of sample you require for your analysis, taking into account the likely response rate
• Types of questions you need to ask to collect your data
• Number of questions you need to ask to collect your data
• Time available to complete the data collection
• Financial implications of data collection and entry
• Availability of interviewers and field workers to assist

Sampling methods

Two main types:

• Probability sampling: This implies a random sample has been used
• Non-probability sampling: Convenience; Snowball sampling; Quota sampling

Before designing a questionnaire

You need:

• To have identified your DV and IVs (i.e. the variables to be examined in the study);
• Have written by hypothesis;
• Ideally have an idea of the statistical tests you want to perform from the data;

Designing Questionnaires

Procedure for Developing a Questionnaire

• Specify What Information Will Be Sought
• Determine Method of Administration
• Determine Content of Individual Questions
• Determine Form of Response to Each Question
• Determine Wording of Each Question
• Determine Question Sequence
• Determine Physical Characteristics of Questionnaires
• Develop Recruiting Message or Script
• Reexamine Steps 1-7 and Revise If Necessary
• Pretest Questionnaire and Revise If Necessary

When designing a questionnaire make sure you have different types of variables in your questions- e.g. have some ordinal, nominal, interval, etc.
Because it gives you more variety of data for STATISTICAL TESTING

Principles in designing questionnaires

• Do not cramp the presentation
• Clear instructions about how to respond
• Each item should express one idea
• Avoid jargons
• Use simple expressions
• Logical flow of questions

Rules for designing questionnaires

• Always bear in mind the research question
• What do you want to know?
• How would you answer it?
• Avoid ambiguous terms in questions (e.g. often, regularly)
• Avoid long questions
• Avoid double-barrelled questions (e.g. how satisfied are you with pay and conditions in your job?)
• Avoid leading questions (e.g. do you think that UK corporate directors receive excessive financial compensation?)
• Avoid the use of negatives (e.g. Do you agree with the view that students should not have to take out loans to finance higher education)
• Avoid technical terms
• Does the respondent have the requisite knowledge?
• Offer a no opinion option

Analyzing Questionnaire Results