Traditional Approach Using Questionnaires

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Introduction

Questionnaires for acquiring large amount of information

Questionnaires allow us to study: Attitudes what people in organization want Beliefs what they think it is true Behavior what they do Characteristics properties of them

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Introduction (continue..)

Questionnaires can be used for: Acquiring information before conducting interview Gaining information in order to prove fact found in

interview

Acquire information on: how do users feel about the current system? Is there any problem remained unsolved? what people expect from a new (or modified) system?

Doesn’t involve face-to-face interaction like interview, but planning the questionnaires still requires lots of times

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Writing Questions

Questions must be carefully decide In interview, we still have a chance to refine our

questions, but NOT in questionnaires

Two types of questionnaires: Open-Ended Questions

Questions should lead to answer(s) that can be easily (and correctly) interpreted

Questions should be lead to a specific direction of answer Closed Questions

should only be used when system analyst be able to effectively list all possible responses to the question

all possible responses should be mutually exclusive

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Opened vs Closed Questions

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Using scales in questionnaires

Scaling = process of assigning numbers or symbols to an attribute for measuring it.

Four measurement scales: Nominal

Use for classifying things, without ranking Ordinal

Use for classifying things, with ranking Do not concern with differences between numbers

Interval Assume that intervals between each of the number are

equal Ratio

Same as interval scales, but also contain absolute zero

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When should a scaling method be used?

Nominal scale if we want to classify things, but they cannot be ranked

Ordinal scale if all choices can be ranked, but not possible to assume

equal interval

Interval scale if equal scale can be assumed, but no absolute zero

Ratio scale if equal scale can be assumed, and there is an absolute

zero

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Scaling issues

Leniency issue: respondent tend to rate everything identically solution: move the problem choice to the middle

Central tendency issue: respondent tend to rate everything as average solution: create scale with more points

Halo effect issue: respondent tend to carries impression s/he has with

one question to the next. e.g., prefer report “A”, so everything about “A” is always good

solution: compare several targets on one page. e.g., ask their feeling about several reports on one page.