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S
URVEY
G
UIDE
9
Refrain from asking questions with multiple response dimensions (e.g.,
regularity AND frequency, occurrence AND frequency). Separate these into two
separate questions.
Questions that start with a statement and ask the respondent to agree or
disagree with the statement (or answer true or false) may give the impression
that you are expecting a certain response. Instead, rephrase the question to
include the response dimension: How important is . . .? How sufficient is . . .?
How effective will . . .? Then supply appropriate response categories, such as
not at all, a little, somewhat, quite, extremely.
Maintaining a parallel structure for all questions immensely improves
respondents’ ability to comprehend and effe
ctively respond to the survey. Use
the same words or phrases to refer to the same concepts. For example, don’t
mix “how old were you,” “at what age,” and “when.”
Pick one phrase and stick
with it, and always position repeated words and clauses in the same place and
in the same order.
Where a definition would help to clarify what the question is about or to describe
what should be included in the response, provide the definition in the preamble,
before asking the question.
Question Type
–
Open or Closed?
Closed questions provide a list of acceptable responses. Checklists, multiple
choice questions, true/false questions, and attitude scales fit this category.
Respondents may find it easier to answer the question when response
alternatives are provided, and it is easier and less time-consuming to interpret
and analyze the responses to closed questions.
Open-ended questions such as
“What is the most important problem facing our
department today?”
allow respondents to answer in their own words. There are
several advantages to giving respondents the opportunity to use their own words
to express themselves:

Respondents may give increased amounts of reflection to their
answers

Unanticipated answers may emerge

The resp
ondent’s views may be described more accurately
However, some answers to open questions may be difficult to interpret and
answers may be spread over many categories, making it hard to analyze them.
Reference Period
The reference period is the time frame the respondent is being asked to
consider when answering a question. The reference period needs to be made