1. Developing Questionnaires and Conducting Surveys/Polls Harmony Bladow Robert McClellan Jon-Mark Richardson

2. What do we need to know when we take a questionnaire / survey? 1.What is a questionnaire / survey? 2.Why and when to use a questionnaire / survey? 3.What types of questionnaires / surveys are there? 4.How do you present and conduct a questionnaire / survey?

3. 1. What is a Questionnaire / Survey? A set of written questions requiring a written response which describes past behaviors, the user expectations, attitudes and opinions towards the system.

4. 2. Why use a questionnaire / survey? Advantages:  Gain information from a first hand source to support or diffuse an argument.  Cheap and easy to apply to samples of users.  Quickly provide both quantity and quality in data. Disadvantages:  Questions are fixed  The evaluator cannot control the situation or manner in which the questionnaire is answered.  Misunderstanding of the sample may produce wrong results.

5. When to use a questionnaire / survey.  Assessing the publics opinion on certain topics.  Measure subjective responses in an experimental context.  Check acceptance of issues and topics within normal operating conditions.

6. 3. Types of questionnaires / surveys.  Face to face  Telephone  Group  Mail / e-mail  Informal / conversational  General  Standardized, open-ended  Closed, fixed response

7. Types of formats for questions.  Open ended questions  Multiple choice  Checklists  Rating scales  Nominal or grade scales  Rankings  Discrete numerical scales  Comparison scales  Statement rating scales  Graphical scales (continuous rating scales)

8. 4. How to present and conduct a questionnaire / survey?  Types of topics used in questionnaires and surveys. 1. Behaviors 2. Opinion/values 3. Feelings 4. Knowledge 5. Sensory 6. Background

9. A few little pointers  Be sure the questions are clear and understandable.  Double negatives should never be used.  Questions should be worded positively.  Avoid lengthy questions. The shorter the better.  Questions should be neutral so they do not imply a “correct” answer.

10. Bibliography  http://im.hhi.de/USINACTS/tutorial/quest.html http://im.hhi.de/USINACTS/tutorial/quest.html  McNamara, Carter, PhD. “Brief Overview of Basic Methods to Collect Information.” March 16, 2003 http://www.mapnp.org/library/research/overview.htm http://www.mapnp.org/library/research/overview.htm  McNamara, Carter, PhD. “Effective Questioning.” March 16, 2003 http://www.mapnp.org/library/research/overview.htm http://www.mapnp.org/library/research/overview.htm  McNamara, Carter, PhD. “General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews.” March 16, 2003 http://www.mapnp.org/library/research/overview.htm http://www.mapnp.org/library/research/overview.htm