by davhar162_1btnku | May 10, 2015 | Unbiased Questions
As you move from one category of information to another, it may be necessary to alert respondents to the change in the topic of conversation. This will help them clear their minds from the previous set of questions and avoid what I call “order...
by davhar162_1btnku | Jan 11, 2015 | Get Better Data
One of the most common tasks we ask of respondents is to ask a question, provide a list of answer choices, and tell respondents to check-all-that-apply. Asking questions using the check-all-that-apply format often leads to incomplete answers. It is better in most...
by davhar162_1btnku | Dec 9, 2014 | Get Better Data
In his book, Method and Meaning in Polls and Surveys, 2008, Howard Schuman discusses the distinction between open and closed-ended questions. Many people think that the open-ended format is more valid because it allows respondents to say whatever is on their minds....
by davhar162_1btnku | Nov 21, 2014 | Get Better Data, Open vs Closed-Ended Questions
When designing questionnaires, we often need to decide whether to use an open or closed-ended question to get specific information. Yet we need to be aware of the fact that open and closed-ended questions each have their own strengths and weaknesses and perform in...
by davhar162_1btnku | Nov 10, 2014 | Get Better Data, Scales, Unbiased Questions
One of the most common tasks in survey research is to ask respondents to select from a list of numeric ranges. For example, we might ask how many hours per day do they watch TV, how much time do they spend on your computer, or how many hours per day they study....
by davhar162_1btnku | Oct 5, 2014 | Unbiased Questions
Here is one of the common scales that we see in questionnaires. It is used to measure many things. In this example, I will show it used to measure health: Q: Would you say your health is: __ Excellent __ Very good __ Good __ Fair __ Poor This is an unbalanced bipolar...
by davhar162_1btnku | Jul 21, 2014 | Make Questions Answerable
Questionnaire writers are often tempted to use vague words and phrases that, although commonly used in conversation, do not have precise meanings. Here is a question I saw in a survey: Do you regularly read the newspaper? __ Yes __ No The problem with this question is...
by davhar162_1btnku | Jul 14, 2014 | Pretesting
Pretest your questionnaire with enough respondents per segment to ensure you find and fix any problems with the instrument. Proper pretesting involves interviewing respondents to find out what questions mean to them, how they came up with their answers, and to uncover...
by davhar162_1btnku | Jul 8, 2014 | Unbiased Questions
When asking respondents to select items from a list, make sure the answer choices do not overlap. Consider the following question: Where have you seen or heard information about how to improve your credit score? Please check all that apply. __ Website __ Magazine __...
by davhar162_1btnku | Jun 29, 2014 | Unbiased Questions
There are two ways that questions can influence subsequent questions: order bias and order misunderstanding. Order bias results when we order questions such that the first question influences the response to the second question and thereby leads to inaccurate...
