This article describes how question wording, response options and scales, and visual design influence the respondent’s answers. By being attentive to these issues and using appropriate personalization questionnaire designers can glean better information to inform their research.
We provide 36 Likert-Type scales for attributes such as: % of time, adequacy, agreement, difficulty, frequency, importance and satisfaction.
Survey designers often assume the existence of an underlying linear continuum with equal or almost intervals between anchors when they create a scale. However, this is not necessarily the case when adverb intensifiers, such as “somewhat acceptable,” “completely acceptable” or “absolutely acceptable” are assigned to the intervals on those scales. We examined numeric ratings assigned by college students to these and similar adverb intensifiers and developed multiple scales with known psychometric qualities. We provide tables with five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven alternate adverb intensifiers sets for acceptability, adequacy, and relative goodness
Factors to consider when selecting a web-based questionnaire design tool.
Calculators and what you need to know before using them. Also see section 3.3.4 of Moroney and Cameron (2018).
Cognitive Interviewing: A How-To Guide by G.B.Willis (1999)
Cognitive Interview Guide Developed by the Performance Measurement Initiative
Sample checklists
Checklist to evaluate the quality of questions. (Nov, 2008). Centers for Disease Control.
Choi, B. C., & Pak, A. W. (2005). A Catalog of Biases in Questionnaires. Preventing chronic disease, 2(1).
Kirakowski, J. (2000). Questionnaires in usability engineering. Human Factors Research Group, Cork, Ireland. Good material; but it no longer available on the Internet
Taylor-Powell, E. (1998). Questionnaire Design: Asking questions with a purpose. University of Wisconsin Extension.
Tip Sheet On Question Wording. Harvard University program on survey research.
Additional sources of checklist type material
Dillman, D. A. (1978). Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method (Vol. 19). New York: Wiley. Particular Chapter 3, pages 79 to 118.
Links from Harvard University Program on Survey Research:
Brown, J.L. (April 18, 2017). The Essential Guide to Writing Effective Survey Questions.
Survey Design Best Practices: How to Write a Good Questionnaire.
Economic Directorate Guidelines on Questionnaire Design (2008). Census Bureau.
Jenkins, C. R. & Dillman, D. A. Towards a theory of self-administered questionnaire design. (1995).
© 2019 William F. Moroney