“Excuse me, Sir. Could you please help me fill out a questionnaire?” Many students may have the experience of asking or answering interview questions. But, have you ever thought about how the questions are made while you are completing a questionnaire? A good questionnaire has to be carefully designed and repeatedly tested to improve the validity of data collected.
Here are some important points to note when designing a questionnaire:
A questionnaire should include an introduction, explaining the purpose of the questionnaire and how the data collected will be used.
Keep the question structure coherent.
Multiple choice response options should include all possible answers.
Avoid questions that are too personal, such as questions about sex, drugs, morality, etc. Even if the survey is done anonymously, respondents tend to avoid such question or fake the answer.
Avoid asking several questions at the same time. E.g. Do you like chicken and pork?
Avoid leading questions. E.g. Do you agree with this legislation as most people do? Yes / No This should be written as: What do you think of this legislation? Agree / Disagree / No comment
Avoid asking about things that happened long time ago, as respondents generally find it difficult to recall events that happened more than 6 months in the past.
Before the survey actually takes place, pre-test the questionnaire with a sample group to test the validity of questions.