Creating Questionnaire

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Learning outcomes

Upon completion, students will be able to:

Identify the difference between quantitative and qualitative data

Recognise the advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires as a form

of data collection.

Identify common problems in questionnaire creation.

Create a successful questionnaire.

When conducting research, you will need

to gather data.

Types of dataQuantitative

Quantitative data can be measured. It is in numerical form and can be put into

categories, or in rank order, or measured in units of measurement. 

Types of dataQualitative

Qualitative data does not simply count things, but is a way of recording people's

attitudes, feelings and behaviours – things which cannot be measured as easily. 

Depending on the style of question used,

questionnaires can gather both types of data –

quantitative and qualitative.

Closed questions – questions which give people a limited number of responses to choose from will produce quantitative

data, which can be measured.

E.g. What is your employment status?

Full timePart timeRetiredStudentUnemployed and searching for workUnemployed and not searching for work

Open questions – where a question is asked which allows people to respond any

way they like, produces qualitative data.

E.g. Which classes would you like your local gym to start running? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Questions which gather quantitative data are much easier

to analyse as the respondents have limited choice in the responses

they can give.

Although it is a good idea to use a mixture of question types, it is

recommended that you make up the majority of your questionnaire with closed questions that produce

quantitative data.

Advantages of Questionnaires

Questionnaires are a good method to use when collecting data for the following reasons:

Most people are familiar with questionnaires and what is expected from them

You can use them on a large number of respondents

They are quick and fairly easy to complete

The data which is gathered can be analysed quickly.

Disadvantages of Questionnaires

There are some drawbacks to using questionnaires:

People may interpret questions differently and you as the creator may not always be

there to give the interpretation you intended

Respondents may rush through it without giving much thought to the answers

Respondents could be driven towards giving a certain opinion which they may not hold

due to a lack of available options

A well designed questionnaire should eliminate most of the

disadvantages described.

Have a look at the following tips for some advice of what you

should and should not do when creating a questionnaire.

Top Tip!Know what you want to know!

Before you start creating your questionnaire, have a think about what

information you want to collect, and make sure your research goal is clear in your mind. Keep referring back to this as you

write, and make sure all your questions are going to help you get the data you need.

Top Tip!Keep it relevant…

Your respondents will not want to answer questions which are not relevant to the subject of the questionnaire, so think carefully about what you choose to ask, as you don’t want your questionnaire to be

too long.

1) How often do you use the library?a) Every dayb) Up to 4 times weeklyc) Less than weeklyd) Never

2) Do you like dogs?e) Yesf) No, they smell.

Irrelevant!

Top Tip!Explain yourself…

Provide an explanation of what the questionnaire is about and how the data gathered will be used. Explain that responses will be kept anonymous

and any information is confidential.

Example

‘The purpose of this questionnaire is to gather information about how satisfied students and staff are with the library services at college. The data gathered will be used to help improve the facilities available. All responses will be kept confidential.’

Top Tip!Use appropriate language…

Do not assume that your respondents are experts in the subject. Avoid using

abbreviations they may not be familiar with.

Make sure you do not use ambiguous words like ‘regularly’ and ‘locally’ as

people’s perceptions of these words will differ. Be specific and use terms like

‘Once a week’ or ‘Within a mile’.

Top Tip!Ask questions in a logical

order…

It is a good idea to start with general questions which are easy to answer and

move on to those which are more specific, so the respondent is not put off. Try and make the questions lead on from

each other in a logical manner.

Top Tip!Avoid leading questions…

Don’t lead your respondent into answering in a certain way. Avoid including your own opinion,

the opinion of others, or using emotive language.

Example

1) Would you use the library if it was open on Saturdays?

is better than…

2) Do you agree with the majority of students that the library should be open on Saturdays?

Top Tip!Don’t ask any double questions…

Make sure you only ask one question per question.

Example

1) Have you completed study skills sessions on Harvard Referencing and Proof Reading?

a. Yes b. No

How could a student respond if they have completed Harvard Referencing but NOT Proof Reading?

Top Tip!Explain the scales you use…

Scales are a good way of gathering the opinion of respondents. Use an odd number of options to allow your respondent the

option of giving a ‘middle’ or ‘neutral’ response.

Minimise the number of options on your scale to about five and explain how your scale works. If you use scales in more than

one question, keep them consistent.

Example

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the least and 5 being the most, how helpful do you find the LLC staff? Please circle your response.

1 2 3 4 5

Top Tip!Use a majority of closed questions…

Closed questions are questions which have

multiple choice responses for the respondent to choose from.

Using these questions makes the analysis of responses a lot easier as you control the options

which they can reply with.

However, make sure you include all possible options a respondent may want to give. Using the option of

‘Other’ is a good way to ensure everyone can respond truthfully.

If you want to include one or two open questions, do it at the end of the questionnaire.

Distributing your Questionnaire

Decide who is going to answer your questionnaire. Is it targeted at a particular group of people? Or do you want a broad range of people? Think about who your

research is directed at.