1. Designing a questionnaire
It is important to design a questionnaire so that:
People will co-operate and answer the questions honestly.
The answers to the questions can be analysed and presented.
When designing you own questionnaire you should try to follow these rules:
1) Provide an introduction, so that the person filling in
the questionnaire knows the purpose of your enquiry.
2) Write questions in a sensible order, putting easier
questions first.

2. Designing a questionnaire
3) Make sure that questions are not embarrassing or
personal.
For example, you need to think carefully about questions asking about age or income.
How old are you?
Do not ask :
Tick one box for your age group.
15-20
21-25
26-30
31 +
A better question is :
Discuss what would be a better question for “How old are you?” before revealing a possible alternative.

3. Designing a questionnaire
4) If possible, write questions so that they have a
specific answer.
Did you see the Olympics on TV ?
For example :
People could answer :
Only the best bits No
Sometimes
Ask pupils for possible responses to this question before revealing them.
Discuss what would be a better question for “Did you see the Olympics on TV?” before revealing a possible alternative on the next slide.
Yes
Once a day
Not much

4. Designing a questionnaire
A better question would be:
How much of the Olympics coverage did you watch?
Tick one box only.
None
Less than 1 hour a day
Between 1 to 2 hours a day
More than 2 hours a day
Every eventuality has been accounted for and the person answering the question cannot give another choice.

5. Designing a questionnaire
A scale can be used when asking for an opinion.
For example,
How would you rate the leisure facilities available in your local area? Tick one box only.
Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
Poor
Unsatisfactory
Before revealing the suggested scale ask pupils to discuss what scale of responses they would find appropriate.

6. Designing a questionnaire
5) Do not ask leading questions.
For example, this question conveys a particular opinion,
Don’t you agree that football is the best sport?
A better question is :
Which one of the following sports do you like the best?
football
rugby
tennis
golf
cricket
boxing
Stress that questions should not convey the questioner’s own opinion or indicate that one response would be preferable to another.
Discuss what would be a better question for “Don’t you agree that football is the best sport?” before revealing a possible alternative.

7. Suggest a better question
How much do you weigh?
This is too personal, also some people don’t know their weight.
A better question would be:
Underweight
Average weight
Overweight
Would you consider yourself to be:
Add that if you needed to know peoples’ weights exactly then an experiment involving measuring and recording would be more appropriate than a questionnaire.

8. Suggest a better question
Most people use a deodorant, do you ?
This is a leading question and may offend people.
A more useful question would be:
Which make of deodorant do you use ?
Male:
Female:
Sure
Impulse
Dove
Other
None
Lynx
Adidas
Slazenger
Please circle any that apply.

9. Suggest a better question
How many books did you read last month?
The intervals given overlap. Also, if a person has read more than 6 books there is nowhere to tick.
A better question would be:
How many books did you read last month?
Tick one box.
0-2
3-5
6-8 9+
Also, tell pupils that the intervals, unless they are open, should be of equal size.

10. Trialling a questionnaire
Once you have written a questionnaire it can be a good idea to try it out on a small sample of people.
This is called a pilot survey.
Note down their responses and use these to improve any questions that are causing difficulty.
Do I use a tick or a cross to show the box I want?
There isn’t a box to cover my answer.
I don’t want to answer this question because it’s too personal.
What does this question mean?

11. Designing a data collection sheet
A data collection sheet can be used to record data that comes from counting, observing or measuring.
It can also be used to record responses to specific questions.
For example, to investigate a claim that the amount of TV watched has an impact on weight we can use the following:
age
gender
height (cm)
weight (kg)
hours of TV watched per week
Point out that the headings used in the sheet should include units where appropriate.

12. Using a tally chart
When collecting data that involves counting something we often use a tally chart.
For example, this tally chart can be used to record people’s favourite snacks.
favourite snack
tally
frequency
crisps
fruit
nuts
sweets 13 6 3
Point out that the fifth tally mark is made by crossing through the previous four marks. This makes it easier to count them up.
Define frequency as the number of times something occurs. 8
The tally marks are recorded, as responses are collected,
and the frequencies are then filled in.