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Research on Questionnaire Design

Research questionnaire design

Of the many tools used for market research, the research questionnaire is probably the most familiar one. Consumers, students, and professionals are frequently encouraged to fill out research surveys, and data collected from these questionnaires is presented in just about every business presentation. However, not all surveys are created equal. The quality of the data, and the conclusions drawn, depend greatly on the quality of the questionnaire itself, and research questionnaire design is an important skill for any type of market research.

There are a number of considerations that go into designing an effective research questionnaire. First and foremost is the goal: what is the survey trying to find out, and what decisions will be made with the conclusions drawn from the survey data? The medium and the audience are also important factors to keep in mind. Surveys taken over the Internet might favor some questions formats more than those given on paper, for instance, and an audience of university students will respond better to different vocabulary choices than an audience of retirees.

After the overall formatting issues have been settled, come the questions themselves. Number and order of questions, question format, and even the style and order of the answer choices all impact the effectiveness of the survey and the accuracy of the data gathered. For instance, experienced market researchers put more difficult questions at the end of the questionnaire, so that survey takers feel more comfortable answering them after they have gotten into the rhythm of the survey.

Question writing is a science in and of itself, from deciding whether to make the question open-ended or multiple choice, to the number and phrasing of the choices. For instance, it's a best practice to include "none of the above" as a choice in most multiple choice questions, to keep survey takers from skipping questions or choosing an answer arbitrarily. The phrasing of questions and answer choices is also extremely important, as it can mislead or confuse takers, or affect the answer they give. Far from being simple, research questionnaire design is a process with many variables and pitfalls.

Many companies outsource their market research for this reason, or have internal research departments staffed by specialists in the field. Experts in market research are aware of all the best practices for research questionnaire design, and can apply them to the commissioned survey. There are also a number of software tools available to create and administer questionnaires, and experienced market researchers will be familiar with the options and be able to choose the right tool for the task.

A skilled market researcher will also be able to define the goals of the survey from the perspective of the company, going beyond the stated objectives to understand the business needs. A broader knowledge of business is extremely important, since it helps the researcher understand what information needs to be gathered, why it is needed, and how it will be used. This understanding may seem far removed from low-level decisions like wording of answer choices, but everything in an effective research questionnaire should be aligned toward reaching the larger goals, and keeping those goals clearly in mind is a great help.

With an understanding of business, understanding of the goals of the survey, and a knowledge of the best practices in questionnaire design, creating effective surveys is simply a matter of applying these principles.