Designing a ‘good’ Survey questionnaire: A stepping stone to successful PhD
Basically, a survey questionnaire is a research instrument that contains a set of questions used for the purpose of collecting suitable information from respondents. A ‘good’ questionnaire not only helps a scholar to achieve the research objectives, provides detailed and accurate information but also offers aid in making a sound data analysis and interpretation.
Whether you want to conduct an interview or mail out surveys, you will have to develop a good survey questionnaire. However, developing a good questionnaire is not an easy task. There are several aspects one should take into consideration while developing an excellent survey questionnaire.
State the intentions of your research
Include a concise statement that explains the reason for collecting specific information. On knowing the purpose of your study, people will be willing to help you with your survey.
Include a few instructions with the survey questionnaire. To make sure that you have collected relevant survey results, include few guidelines on how the survey question must be answered the survey questionnaire and other instructions for specific questions.
Do not ask for personal information unless it is necessary
Asking respondents to provide with personal information (age, race, income level, etc.) may irritate and offend some individuals and may prevent them from completing the survey questionnaire. However, such information is necessary for your research, include them at the end of the survey questionnaire.
Keep the questions concise and short
Each survey question should be kept brief and precise. This will prevent any kind of confusion among individuals. Also, any question that is unnecessary or is not relevant to your study shouldn’t be included within the questionnaire.
Ensure that the questions are unbiased
While designing a survey questionnaire, make sure you include the questions that are neutral. i.e. the questions should not be leading the respondents towards a particular answer.
Organise the questions according to subject
If you have included many questions in the questionnaire, then organise the questions so that the respondents can answer in a short period. The best way to organise the questions is to classify them together by subject. This lets the respondents focus on the questions and answer them appropriately and quickly.
Present the questions in a clean and clear layout
A clean layout can make it much simpler for an individual to answer the questions and for you to gather the data. Ensure that the method for marking answers are well explained, and the answer boxes are consistent throughout the questionnaire.
Test the survey questionnaire
Once the survey questionnaire has been developed, conduct a test on your peer to make sure that the questions are well-developed, transparent and can capture the information that you require for your study.
A great questionnaire is vital to a successful survey. Consider the points mentioned above while designing an excellent survey questionnaire and get a step closer to your goal. You can contact us for more information about questionnaire design.