DESIGNING OF QUESTIONNAIRE-PART- I

A questionnaire consists of a number of questions printed in a definite  order on a form usually mailed to the respondents who are expected to read and understand the questions and reply to them in writing in the relevant spaces provided for the purpose on the said form. In an ideal manner, the respondent has to answer the questions on his own.

The development and designing of questionnaires for survey research is one of the most complex aspects of carrying out market research. Several individuals think that the process of asking questions is easy, but in reality it is a skill that has to be learnt very carefully, otherwise the information that is collected may be worthless. Those who have little skill at designing questionnaires also find that when they try it, the design of the questions is limited, and they attribute the unhelpful data to the research rather than the bad phraseology of the questions. Questionnaire design has to produce a document, which is:

• It is easy to administer, read out or fill in by both an interviewer and an informant.
• It is constructed in a way that answers the research hypothesis or research problem, but also has the capability to identify new issues.
• It is easy to analyze and can provide all the characteristics of the informant being interviewed.

A questionnaire consists of a number of questions printed in a definite order on a form usually mailed to the respondents expected to read  and understand the questions and reply to them in writing in the relevant space given for the purpose on the form.  The respondent has to answer the questions on his own
Usually a questionnaire, whether or not it is known as a schedule, interview type, or measuring instrument, could be a formalized set of queries for getting data from respondents. Typically, a questionnaire is simply one component of a data-collection package that might also include (i) fieldwork procedures, like directions for choosing, approaching, and questioning respondents, (ii) some reward, gift, or payment offered to respondents, and  (iii) communication aids, like maps, pictures, advertisements, and products and return envelopes. In spite of the shape of administration, there are some specific objectives of a questionnaire.
Objectives of a Questionnaire 

  Three specific objectives of a questionnaire are:

1. It must convert the information needed into a set of specific questions that the respondents could answer. Developing such question is not easy task. Two apparently similar ways of asking a question may yield different information. Hence, this objectives is a challenge. 
2. A questionnaire must elevate, encourage and motivate the respondent to be involved in the interview, to cooperate, and to complete the interview. Incomplete interviews will have limited usefulness at best. In designing a questionnaire, the researcher should strive to minimize respondent fatigue, boredom, incompleteness, and non-response. A well-designed questionnaire can motivate the respondents and increase the response rate. 
3. Third, a questionnaire should minimize response error. A questionnaire can be a major source of response error. Minimizing this error is an important objective of questionnaire design.

There are several advantages of a questionnaire. It affords great facilities in collecting data from large, diverse ad widely-scattered respondents.  The approach makes it possible to cover a large number of persons spread over a large territory and economical in terms of money, time and energy. It is an impersonal technique and provides uniformity from one measurement situation to another by virtue of its standardized wordings, standardized sequence of questions and instructions for recording purposes. The questionnaire also ensures anonymity as the respondents are confident that they are not likely to be identified as possessing a specific opinion. It puts a little amount of pressure on the respondents for immediate response. The respondents are given enough time to consider each point with care before choosing responses.
QUESTIONNAIRE AND ITS IMPORTANCE
One of the basic tools of marketing research is a questionnaire. When visualizing a marketing researcher, we think of someone armed with a set of questions, asking them and writing the answers down. We can therefore, say that, the questionnaire serves as a useful guide for the communication process and may be used with survey research in any form-whether the questions are in written or verbal form. Without a questionnaire the interview has no structure. Questionnaires help to recognize the tastes, preferences and perceptions of various people so that the marketer may be able to formulate his future people, his future strategies regarding launch of the new product, promotion of sales, etc.
To ensure a sincere response it is necessary to adhere to three basic conditions:

1. Respondents must be able to understand the questions, 
2. They must be able to provide the information, and 
3. They must be willing to provide the information.

So, the researcher should keep in mind his requirements, on which the questionnaire should be based, these may be:

• The number of interviews to be conducted. 
• The persons to be interviewed. 
• How will the interview be carried out? 
• Who will be administering the interview?

Recognition of these broader issues will help in designing questionnaires for researchers.
QUESTIONNAIRE PREPARATION PROCESS
The lack of theory on the preparation of questionnaire is one of the weaknesses of questionnaires preparation. Because there were no scientific principles that guarantee an optimal or ideal questionnaire, questionnaire design is a skill acquired through experience. It is an art rather than a science. Questionnaire preparation (design) will be presented as a series of steps. These steps are (1) Outline the information needed, (2) Determine the type of interviewing method, (3) Decide the content of individual questions, (4) Frame the questions to win the respondent’s inability and unwillingly to answer, (5) How will the question be structured? (6) Decide  the wording of the question (7) arrange the proper order of the questions, (8) identify the form and layout, (9) reproduce the questionnaire and (10) pretest the questionnaire.
GUIDELINES FOR DESIGNING QUESTIONNAIRES
The designer of the questionnaire has to keep in the mind the following guidelines at the time of designing the questionnaire.

1. A logical sequence: This is important, as the questions must follow on logically. If they do, the interviewer will establish and maintain a rapport and collect the data required without interruptions caused by inappropriate construction or repetitive questions. Intrusive questions are more likely to be answered if they are inserted into the sequence once the rapport has been established and built. 
2. Good wording: The successful questions or the questions that ensure that a survey is successful are those that are short, specific, clear and unambiguous. Try to help the informant by specifying clearly what you want to evaluate and where possible show examples or illustrations with detailed descriptions. 
3. Write a clear layout:  A questionnaire is a working document.  A question, the possible list of answers, the instructions to the interviewers, and the analysis instructions all have to be clear so that the interviewer does not get confused or reads out the wrong words.  Distinguish between all of these very carefully. Interviewers’ instructions should be in capitals and underlined. Handout cards and visual prompts should be large enough to be read by the informants with poor sight. If the next question to be asked depends on the answer to the current question, routing and ‘slip’ instructions should be printed alongside the relevant answers clearly to help the logical sequence.
4.  A reasonable length:  A Street or doorstep interview should be not more than ten minutes. An in-home interview should be no more than one hour. A shop or trade interview or business-to-business interview should not last more than 45 minutes.

Attitudes, opinions and images are generally measured by developing scales. Verbal scales are more easily understood than numerical scales or making a rating which takes a score out of ten. There are also different options for scales:
Steps Involved in Questionnaire Construction: The analysis of the content of each question results in construction of a questionnaire: why is it being included, types of questions, their sequence and wording, the final layout of questions and the final output in the form of a questionnaire.
Contents of Individual Questions: Only those questions seeking the required information should be used. So, if we require specific information regarding a profession, or, if we are targeting children/adults we should ask relevant questions pertaining to adults or children, as the case may be. Questions may be used keeping in mind the targeted respondents. The respondents should at least know the type and level of questions expected. Questions seeking specific details about data and time of events should be avoided. Care must be taken in designing the questions seeking information on personal facts such as, sex life, bad habits or status symbol. A single question may also be split into multiple questions for better response from the respondents.