1. Writing Survey Questions
Writing Survey Questions
Research Methods for Public Administrators
Dr. Gail Johnson
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

2. Survey Options: Amount of Structure
Survey Options: Amount of Structure
Structured
Close-ended questions
Semi-structured
Open-ended questions
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

3. Dr. G. Johnson, www.reseachdemystified.org
Structured Questions
How satisfied or unsatisfied are you with the graduates of the teachers college?
Very Unsatisfied <---- > Very Satisfied
How helpful or unhelpful have the agricultural consultants been in working with you in the past year?
Very Unhelpful < > Very helpful
How useful, if at all, has the program evaluation workshop been in helping your evaluate your program?
Of little usefulness < > Very Useful
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

4. Semi-Structured Questions
Semi-Structured Questions
What are the greatest assets you have observed in the MPA graduates?
What knowledge and skills should MPA graduates have for the 21st century?
What are the three things that you learned from the MPA program that you use most frequently?
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

5. Structured vs Semi-structured Which to Choose?
Structured vs Semi-structured Which to Choose?
Structured, check-a-box questions are easier for participants to complete and easier for researchers to analyze.
But hard to develop and sometimes feels impersonal.
Unforgiving of mistakes: if you ask the wrong question, use the wrong word or have a type or grammatical error on a written survey: there is no way to change it. You have to live with it.
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

6. Structured vs Semi-structured Which to Choose?
Structured vs Semi-structured Which to Choose?
Semi-structured, open-ended questions are harder for participants to complete because it takes much more time to write-in the answers.
But they get to tell their story in their own words.
Harder for researchers to analyze because the English words can have many meanings
But it may provide researchers with new insights: ideas and views that had not considered
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

7. Structured vs Unstructured Which to Choose?
Structured vs Unstructured Which to Choose?
My advice:
If you have a lot of open-ended questions, better to interview in person than ask them to complete a self-administered survey.
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

8. Writing Closed-Ended Survey Questions
Harder than it might appear
Takes more time that people think
Requires an in-depth knowledge of the topics to be covered
Requires a comprehensive awareness of the words that people are likely to use when talking about the topics
Dr. G. Johnson,

9. Writing Closed-Ended Survey Questions
“Every questionnaire, must finally be handcrafted. It is not only that questionnaire writing must be ‘artful’; each questionnaire is also unique, an original.”
--Converse and Presser
Dr. G. Johnson,

10. Close-ended: Check a Box
Single question with a response set:
How frequently, if at all, have you visited the community center in the last 3 months?
Did not visit (0 times)
1-3 times
4-6 times
7-9 times
10 or more times
Dr. G. Johnson,

11. Close-ended: Check a Box
Single question with a response set:
Including all sources of income, what was your gross household income last year?
Less than $15,000
$15,000 to $25,000
$25,001 to $50,000
$50,0001 to $75,000
$75,001 to $100,000
$100,001 to $125,000
$125,001 to $150,000
Greater than $150,000
Dr. G. Johnson,

12. Using Intensity Scales
Using Intensity Scales
Multiple-choice answers to survey questions are sometimes called response sets
Intensity scales are better than simple agree or disagree responses, better than simple yes or no responses
Intensity scales provide a way to gage the intensity of feeling:
Distinguish between strong feelings from the mediocre/whatever feeling
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

13. One-Way Intensity Scale
One-Way Scale: tries to capture a single dimension (or construct) that goes from low to high with a meaningful middle category
Always or Almost Always
Mostly
About Half of the Time
Occasionally
Never or Almost Never
Dr. G. Johnson,

14. Soften the Ends of the Scales
Soften the ends of the scales by phrasing “Always or Almost always” and “Never or Almost never”
You want to encourage people to use the full range of the scale
It is rare for something to be absolutely never or always
I almost never watch TV but it would be untrue to say that I never watch TV
In my mind, I watch TV less than occasionally but that would be truer than saying never
Absolute ends limits the usefulness of using a scale
Dr. G. Johnson,

15. A Goldilocks Intensity Scale
A Goldilocks Intensity Scale
Would you say the amount of elective courses offered are too many, too few or about right?
Much too many
Somewhat too many
About right
Somewhat too few
Much too few
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

16. A Goldilocks Intensity Scale
A Goldilocks Intensity Scale
“About right” is meaningful information—if fact, the program director would want to see a majority of students reporting that the number of elective courses are “about right”
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

17. Intensity Scales with a Neutral Middle
Intensity Scales with a Neutral Middle
Likert Scale
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

18. Intensity Scales with a Neutral Middle
Intensity Scales with a Neutral Middle
Effectiveness/Ineffectiveness Scale
Very Effective
Generally Effective
Neither Effective Or Ineffective
Generally Ineffective
Very Ineffective
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

19. Survey: Intensity Scales
Survey: Intensity Scales
Yes/No Intensity Scale
Definitely Yes
Probably Yes
Neither Yes or No
Probably No
Definitely No
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

20. Exits: No Opinion, Not Applicable, Don’t Know
Questionnaires/survey instruments are designed for everyone to answer
But sometimes people are asked questions that they cannot answer because the question does not apply or they truly have no opinion
Dr. G. Johnson,

21. Exits: No Opinion, Not Applicable, Don’t Know
For example, all MPA students might be asked about the quality of elective courses but some may have not yet taken any
You do not not want them offering an opinion
Dr. G. Johnson,

22. Exits: No Opinion, Not Applicable, Don’t Know
So, you add an exit: “no opinion, or not applicable, or don’t know” to the response set
Do not ever delude yourself into thinking you can force people to answer your question if you do not give them an exit
Remember, their participation is always voluntary!!
Dr. G. Johnson,

23. Dr. G. Johnson, www.reseachdemystified.org
Why Exits are Needed
The middle category conceptually is trying to capture an opinion.
A person may not really care, one way or another, if the MPA program decides to change its name. The person is indifferent but that is still an opinion
The exit allows the person to say I have no information about the proposed name change to have an opinion. They are not indifferent.
Subtle distinction but in some situations it might matter
Dr. G. Johnson,

24. Adding “Exits” to Scales
Likert Scales
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Don’t know, No Opinion
Dr. G. Johnson,

25. Dr. G. Johnson, www.reseachdemystified.org
Do Exits Work?
Sometimes
At best, the provide
A way for people to complete the survey with minimal frustration (and one goal is to make it easy for people to complete the survey)
Meaningful information (and avoid junk data)
Dr. G. Johnson,

26. Dr. G. Johnson, www.reseachdemystified.org
Do Exits Work?
But some people may not want to admit they don’t know
People have been asked their opinions about public programs that do not exist
Rather than say “don’t know”, they find the middle category: “I give a 3”; This is junk data
This suggests that analysts need to be very careful about how they analyze middle categories
Dr. G. Johnson,

27. Big Exits: Skip Questions
Researchers can use skip questions when they want to target a handful of questions to specific participants.
For example, in an organizational survey, the researchers might want to ask a few questions that specifically apply to supervisors.
Dr. G. Johnson,

28. Big Exits: Skip Questions
They ask: do you supervise people.
This is a time to use a simple yes or no response set.
If yes, please answer the following 5 questions (questions 20-25).
If no, please skip to question 26.
Dr. G. Johnson,

29. Big Exits: Skip Questions
Another example: if conducting a citizen survey, the researcher might ask:
Did you use the library in the past year?__Yes ___ No
If yes, please answer questions
If no, please skip to question 14.
Dr. G. Johnson,

30. Writing Good Closed-Ended Questions
Writing Good Closed-Ended Questions
Give people permission to provide answers on either side of scale
Phrasing can seem awkward but needed to avoid bias:
“How likely or unlikely are you to vote in the election” sends the signal that it is OK to answer either likely or unlikely.
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

31. Avoid Ranking Questions!!
Avoid Ranking Questions!!
They appear to be easy and meaningful but appearances are deceiving
They are very hard to analyze
They give very limited information
They can even distort information
See text for my full and complete rant!!
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

32. Writing Survey Questions: My Best Advice
Writing Survey Questions: My Best Advice
Locate surveys others have used and see if there are questions that will work for your purpose
Use clear, simple language
Encourage a range of responses using a 5-point scale (or even a 7-point scale)
Avoid simple yes or no responses when asking about opinions
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

33. Writing Survey Questions: My Best Advice
Writing Survey Questions: My Best Advice
Ask only one question at a time
Avoid double or triple-barreled questions
“Do you think your supervisor communicates well with staff about their performance as well as about what is happening in the agency?”
She might do one well but not the other. How would employee answer this question?
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

34. Writing Survey Questions: My Best Advice
Writing Survey Questions: My Best Advice
Close all the “gates”
Provide instructions for skip questions
Provide mutually exclusive responses (eg. No overlapping categories for age or income)
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

35. Writing Survey Questions: My Best Advice
Writing Survey Questions: My Best Advice
Focus on current experiences: memory decays over time!
The more distant the time, the more likely their recall will be inaccurate.
Leave exits (no opinion, not applicable)
Ask only the demographic questions that you actually need, keeping in mind that some people may be identifiable (eg. the only woman on the faculty will be identifiable)
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

36. Writing Survey Questions: My Best Advice
Writing Survey Questions: My Best Advice
Pre-test, pre-test, pre-test
With real participants, find out:
Is each question clear?
Are there unknown words or phrases?
Is there a better way to ask each question?
What questions did they expect to see but did not?
Remember: ask them for suggestions
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

37. Practice: Writing Survey Questions
Thinking about the observation of the room exercise:
Develop 5 closed-ended questions that would enable everyone in the class to assess the key characteristics of the room
Develop 10 questions to assess student opinions about the quality of the MPA program?
Dr. G. Johnson,

38. Practice: Writing Survey Questions
Compare with partners
Notice:
Similarities and differences?
How many different topics were covered?
How many different scales were used?
While there are guidelines that help, there is tremendous diversity things we each think matters most and the words we prefer
Dr. G. Johnson,

39. Survey Questions In The News
Survey Questions In The News
Washington Post-ABC survey (11/09) asked:
“On another subject, you may have heard about the idea that the world's temperature may have been going up slowly over the past 100 years. What is your personal opinion on this - do you think this has probably been happening, or do you think it probably has not been happening?”
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

40. Dr. G. Johnson, www.reseachdemystified.org
Right Concept?
Is it global warming or climate change?
Do some people think climate change is happening but not global warming?
How would they answer this question?
Dr. G. Johnson,

41. Survey Questions In The News
“There's a proposed system called "cap and trade." The government would issue permits limiting the amount of greenhouse gases companies can put out. Companies that did not use all their permits could sell them to other companies. The idea is that many companies would find ways to put out less greenhouse gases, because that would be cheaper than buying permits. Would you support or oppose this system?”
Dr. G. Johnson,

42. Dr. G. Johnson, www.reseachdemystified.org
Right Question?
Is this the most accurate description of cap and trade?
For those who do not support cap and trade but do want the government to take action to mitigate climate change—how would they answer?
Dr. G. Johnson,

43. Dilemma: Short but Biased?
My belief: to only ask about a single option for a complex policy issue is a form of bias
But you can also see that the survey would get quite long if all options were covered in the midst of a survey about many policy issues
It is a dilemma: need to keep it short and simple, but need to be comprehensive to avoid bias
Dr. G. Johnson,

44. Writing Survey Questions: Final Words
Writing Survey Questions: Final Words
Writing questionnaires are harder than might appear
The English language is sometimes difficult: the same words can mean different things to different people
It is sometimes hard to get a complex issue nailed down in one question
It may make take ten.
Pre-test, Pre-test, Pre-test
Folks: you won’t write a great survey in a week!
Dr. G. Johnson,
ch 9 Writing Survey Questions

45. Credibility of Survey Results
If the issue matters to you, look at the exact wording of the question and the possible answers
A news report may not give an accurate rendering
Make sure the question did not try to lead to desired answers (bias)
Make sure there are an equal number of positive and negative response options
Consider whether they asked the right questions for the topic
Be on the look-out for fatally flawed questions
Dr. G. Johnson,

46. Credibility of Survey Results
At the same time, keep in mind, it really is hard to write good survey questions
The appearance of bias might be the result of how they decided to handle the comprehensive vs keep in short dilemma
It is easy to criticize any survey but after you have done a few surveys, you will have more compassion for the work of others
Perfection is not the appropriate criteria
Dr. G. Johnson,

47. Dr. G. Johnson, www.reseachdemystified.org
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