page7
S
URVEY
G
UIDE
7
measure of the weight of an object. Your bathroom scale is more likely to
produce valid readings, but if it’s
old and abused, the readings may be
systematically inaccurate.
T
IPS FOR
W
RITING
G
OOD
Q
UESTIONS
Whenever possible, bui
ld on what’s been done before.
Somewhere, sometime,
someone has tried to get the same or similar information. Access previous
surveys conducted by your unit or elsewhere on campus or investigate online
repositories of questions so you don’t have to start from scratch.
An effective survey question provides the respondent with a context for the
question by announcing the topic and defining the timeframe for events or
behaviors that are to be included in the response.
For example, “This questi
on is
about commuting to work. When answering, please consider only events that
occurred during the fall semester.
” This pre
-question information or context is
known as the “preamble.”
The preamble should also explain what the respondent is being asked to do
(e.g., check one, list all) and define any concepts or terms that the respondent
needs to understand in order to answer the question. The preamble is an
important means of ensuring the reliability of the question.
The question can focus on an event or behavior that the respondent might have
observed or participated in, or it can inquire about their attitude, evaluation, or
judgment. The topic will determine the appropriate
“response dimension.”
Common response dimensions for questions about events and behaviors include:
Opportunity to experience or know something
Occurrence of an event or behavior within a defined time period
Frequency (counts or rates)
Regularity (time interval)
Duration
Date or timing
Common response dimensions for questions about attitudes and judgment include:
Degree of attractiveness (like/dislike, favor/oppose)
Satisfaction
Intensity (a little, somewhat, or very much)
Certainty
Importance
Asking good questions is not as easy as it seems, and the unfortunate result of
ineffective questions is bad data. The resource list at the back of this guide