Construction of Questions for Interviews and Surveys

Kinds of Questions for Interviews and Surveys Fact: gender, years, interests Opinion - What do you think? - What do you believe? Attitude -How do you feel about...? Behavior -Do you go to the library every week? -How many TV programs did you watch over the weekend?

Different ways of asking “the same” question Pros and Cons Different data

Example 1 1) Do you smoke? Yes or No If yes, how often? ___________________________ 2) How often do you smoke pot? – Every day – Once a week – Once a month – Never Guidelines/Thoughts The wording in #1 makes it easy to answer no and severely limit the kind of information you receive. The wording in #2, "How often" provides a range of information.

Example 2 Do you mow and trim your lawn regularly?  Yes  No Do you mow and trim your lawn once a week?  Yes  No

Same content… three ways of constructing the question Do you like to go to study hall? Yes or No How well do you like to go to study hall? 1 = Not At ALL3 = Pretty Much 2 = Somewhat 4 = Very Much How well do you like to go to study hall? 1 = Not At ALL 3= Pretty Much 2= Somewhat 4 = Very Much Please explain your answer.

More on qualitative questions… What are your reactions to going to study hall? Or Describe your feelings and beliefs about going to study hall? Either question provides you with qualitative data or descriptive information.

Unstructured Questions Example: What were the most important reasons you had for coming back to High School after you dropped out? Is open-ended and encourages the respondent to respond freely.

Pros and Cons to open questions Pros : + range of responses + it can be a good place to start + can create categories for potential structured questions +tremendous amount of information Cons: - potentially unwieldy responses - the data take up a lot of space -maybe too much information

Structured Questions Example: Using the behavior management program, do you think Sue is doing -- an excellent job, good job, fair job, or poor job attending in class? Provide respondents with a limited number of choices. Force respondents to choose from a list of choices provided by the survey developer.

Pros and Cons of Structured Questions Pros: + easy to answer + manageable data +direct the answers Cons: -sacrifice personal flavor - restrict possibilities

General Guidelines of survey construction Appreciate respondent’s time 2-3 questions per topic Easy to hard Include an introduction Demographic information is important BUT only ask if you are going to use it.

Cautionary Acts Keep wording simple Use complete sentences Be precise Pilot the instrument