15.10 Questionnaire Flashcards
1.Questionnaire Purpose?
-To get reliable and valid reports of respondents’ experiences
-Good survey questions provide reliable (consistent) and valid (accurate) measures
When 2 respondents are in the same situation they should answer the question the same way.
The answers to questions should correspond to what they are intended to measure.
- Before Writing Questions?
Decide the study’s purpose (aims, research questions, hypotheses)
Identify the variables to be measured
Develop a preliminary analysis plan
3.Process of Questionnaire Design?
Decide what information (variables) is needed
Draft or obtain questions to elicit that information
Put questions in meaningful order
Add other elements of questionnaire
Pretest questionnaire
Repeat
- Don’t reinvent the wheel…use existing measures whenever possible?
Reliability and validity information may be available for existing measures
Allows comparison of results across studies
Allows estimation of trends
Adds to cumulative body of methodological experience with survey items
- Types of Questions-Open-ended-Advantages?
Responses are not provided to the respondent
Advantages:
-Respondent not influenced by specific alternatives suggested
-Respondent can reveal what is most salient
-Useful in exploratory work
-Can be used to build rapport in interview
- Open-ended Questions-
Disadvantages?
- Large amount of information revealed, may be vague or irrelevant
- Respondents may vary in ability to articulate
- Respondents may be reluctant to reveal detailed information or socially unacceptable opinions or behaviors
- Difficulties in recording and in reducing and coding material
- Types of Questions-Close-ended-Advantages?
A list of acceptable responses is provided to the respondent
Advantages:
-Easier for respondent
-Communicates same frame of reference to respondents
-Standardization
-Less variability in interviewer performance
-Less time to administer and record response
- Close-ended Questions
Disadvantages?
- Lack of spontaneity permitted respondent
- Respondent may be forced into an unnatural frame of reference
- May suggest response categories respondent has not thought of
- Respondent may not feel as involved or motivated by questionnaire
- Need to know appropriate response categories in advance
- Response Formats?ex
Multiple categories that exhaust all meaningful answers and are mutually exclusive
ex: During a typical work week (40 hours), how many hours do you spend on substance use prevention coordination?less than 10 hours,..
- Response Formats
Likert response scales
( ) strongly agree ( ) agree ( ) neither agree nor disagree ( ) disagree ( ) strongly disagree
- Response Formats
Other rating scales
( ) excellent ( ) good ( ) fair ( ) poor Numerical rating scales: Complete Confidence -> No Confidence at All: 1 -> 10
- Question Working – DO?
Make the wording clear and unambiguous in meaning
Use common vocabulary
Write questions like people talk not like people write
Only include one idea per question
Make the frame of reference explicit
13.Question Wording – DON’T? ex
-Use double-barreled questions
Where do you go to get information about HIV risk and to exchange needles?
When I get ill, I know it is because I have not been eating right or getting proper exercise.
Can you tell me when you last visited the clinic?
- Question Wording – DON’T?
-Use leading questions
Do you agree that all children should be covered by health insurance?
With economic conditions the way they are these days, it really isn’t fair to have more than one or two children.
-Differences between leading and loaded questions?
- What is a leading question ?
-A leading question suggests a particular answer that the questioner desires – most often a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
“You were in Los Angeles last week, weren’t you?” (Leading question)
“Were you in Los Angeles last week?” (Neutral question)
- What is a loaded question ?
A loaded question implies some fact that has not been previously established. In answering this kind of question (with its negative implication), the person who answer the question is put in a dilemma.
“Do you still beat your wife?” (Loaded question)
because it implies that you used to beat your wife.
“Do you beat your wife?” (Neutral question)
- Question Wording – DON’T
Use double negatives
Lack of immunization for smallpox is not a problem in the U.S.
Most sex workers have little chance of not getting a sexually transmitted disease.
Use discriminatory of culturally insensitive words
husband/wife vs. Partner
- Question Wording – DON’T
-Use incomplete wording (don’t use last, recently)
Age? What was your age on your last birthday?
Reason last saw doctor? What was the medical reason for which you most recently went to a doctor?
- Question Wording – DON’T
-Provide incomplete or overlapping response categories
Where have you received health care in the past 12 months? Local Clinics/Dr. Wu’s Family Clinic
-Use loaded questions or loaded words
Have you ever shop lifted anything?
- Unload a Loaded Question?
During the past few years, do you think the frequency of shop lifting has increased, stayed about the same, or decreased in this community?
1/INCREASED
2/STAYED ABOUT THE SAME
3/DECREASED
- 4 Practical Standards for Survey Questions?
Is this a question that can be asked exactly the way it is written?
Is this a question that will mean the same thing to everyone?
Is this a question that people can answer?
Is this a question that people will be willing to answer, given the data collection procedures?
- Reasons Why Respondents Report Events with Less than Perfect Accuracy?
They do not know the information
They cannot recall it, although they do know it
They do not understand the question
They do not want to report the answer in the interview context
- Techniques for Enhancing Recall?
Shorten the reference period Use landmarks to aid dating Provide a helpful context Provide cues to stimulate recall Ask about typical behavior
- Question Order?
Psychological not logical order
Chronological order where appropriate
Group questions by subject
General questions before specific
Beginning – inviting, interesting, non-threatening questions
Middle – most important, put difficult and sensitive toward ed
Closing – easy questions again, often routine, background
- Other Elements of Questionnaire than Questions and Responses?
Opening Instructions for interviewer (skip patterns, probes, optional wording) Introductions to questions Needed definitions and explanations Transitions
27.Coverage Error vs. Sampling Error?
Coverage error is a type of non-sampling error that occurs when there is not a one-to-one correspondence between the target population and the sampling frame
28.Undercoverage/Overcoverage/Bias?
A researcher may wish to study the opinions of registered voters by calling residences listed in a telephone directory (sampling frame)
Undercoverage: if not all voters are listed in the phone directory
Overcoverage: if some voters have more than one listed phone number
Bias: if some phone numbers listed in the directory do not belong to registered voters