Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CHAPTERCHAPTERCHAPTERCHAPTER Questionnaire Design and Issues 14-2

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Value of A Questionnaire  Regardless of whether you choose a career in marketing research the ability to distinguish a “good” from a “bad” survey is an essential skill to acquire.  A questionnaire is the “central processing unit” (CPU) for capturing primary data needed to assist management in addressing business opportunities, and resolving marketing information problems.  Many business issues are not one-dimensional in nature; therefore an instrument needs to be designed to collect information from a number of different perspectives and positions to these issues and questions to closure.  A “good” questionnaire exhibits the properties of logic, organization, and the scientific method. 14-3

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Four Components of a Questionnaire Words Questions Formats Hypotheses 14-4

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Types of Hypotheses in Information Research 14-5a Null Hypothesis Nondirectional Hypothesis There is no significant difference between the preferences toward specific banking methods exhibited by white-collar customers and blue-collar customers. No significant differences will be found to exist in the requests for specific medical treatments from emergency medical walk-in clinics between users and nonusers of annual physical preventive health care products. Significant differences do exist in the sexual be- havior profiles of academically strong and weak male and female students. There is a significant difference in the satisfaction levels among 2002 Mazda Millenia owners according to how much they have driven the car.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Types of Hypotheses in Information Research 14-5b Inverse (Negative) Directional Hypothesis Direct (Positive) Directional Hypothesis Those students who exhibit high levels of self- confidence and knowledge toward the topic and positive overall study habits will demonstrate low profiles of introverted social behavior. The greater the amount of outside-classroom studying done by marketing majors, the less chance there is that they will turn to cheating to improve their grades. Positive study habits are related positively to GPA. College students who tend to worry a lot about what other students think of them will tend to be more conservative in their overall classroom and social behavior than those students who don’t worry much about their self-image..

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Flowerpot Approach: Phase I 14-6 Step 1 Transform Research Objectives into Information Objectives Establish hierarchical order of the objectives. Establish research hypotheses within each objective. Step 2 Determine the Appropriate Data Collection Method Determine who the sampled respondents are. Step 3 Determine Information Requirements for Each Objective Establish hierarchical order of requirements. Step 4 Develop Specific Question/Scale Measurement Formats Decide needed type of raw data. Decide needed question/scale measurement format. Decide needed question and scale point wording. Decide what type of data analysis is desired.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Flowerpot Approach: Phase II 14-7 Step 6 Establish Flowerpot Format and Layout Determine the number of information flowerpots needed. Determine the sizes of the flowerpots needed. Determine the type of base needed. Step 5 Evaluate Question/Scale Measurements Test for reliability and validity of scales. Step 7 Evaluate the Questionnaire and Layout Check the type of scale format, scaling properties, measures of central tendencies, and variations. Check the information flow of general to specific within each flowerpot, and the identification questions.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Flowerpot Approach: Phase III 14-8 Step 9 Pretest and Revise the Questionnaire Check for specific ambiguity of words, phrases, instructions. Check for completion time and difficulties of answering questions Step 8 Obtain the Client’s Approval Revise questionnaire layout if needed. Step 10 Finalize Questionnaire Format Step 11 Implement the Survey

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Flowerpot Approach: The Big Picture 14-9 Raw Data (Cover Letter) Introduction Section First Information Objective Contains the Broadest Information Requirements General Data/Information Requirements (Questions/Scale Measurements) More Specific Data Requirements (Questions/Scale Measurements) Second Information Objective Contains More Specific Data/Information Requirements General Question/Scale Measurements More Specific Question/ Scale Measurements) If Needed, General Opinion Information Psychographic Questions/Scale Measurements Identification Section Demographic/Socioeconomic Questions/Scale Measurements Thank-You Statement General Information Requirements Specific Information Requirements Identification Information Requirements

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Rules of Thumb for Evaluating Questions 14-10a 1.Questions should be simple and straight forward whenever possible. 2.Questions should be expressed clearly whenever possible. 3.Questions should avoid qualifying phrases or extraneous references, unless they are being used as a type of qualifying (screening) factor. 4.Descriptive words should be avoided, unless absolutely necessary. 5.The question/setups, attribute statements, and data response categories should be unidimensional, except when there is a need for a multi-response question.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Rules of Thumb for Evaluating Questions 14-10b 6.Raw data response categories (scale points) should be mutually exclusive. 7.The question/setups and the response categories should be meaningful to the respondent. 8.Question/scale measurement formats should avoid arrangement of response categories that might bias the respondent’s answer. 9.Unless called for, question/setups should avoid undue stress of particular words. 10.Question/setups should avoid double negatives.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Rules of Thumb for Evaluating Questions 14-10c 11.Question/scale measurements should avoid technical or sophisticated language, unless necessary. 12.Where possible, question/setups should be phrased in a realistic setting. 13.Question/scale measurements should be designed to read logically. 14.Question/scale measurements should always avoid the use of double-barreled items.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Important Considerations in Questionnaire Design 14-11a 1.Determine the information objectives and the number of information flowerpots required to meet those objectives. 2.Determine the specific data requirements (i.e., the size) for each information flowerpot, and stack the pots from largest to smallest. 3.Introduction section should include a general description of what the study is pertaining to; this may well be in a disguised format. 4.All types of instructions, if necessary, should be given clear expression. 5.Perhaps most important, the question/scale measurements have to follow some logical order—that is, an order that appears logical to the respondent rather than to the researcher or practitioner.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Important Considerations in Questionnaire Design 14-11b 6.Begin an interview or questionnaire with simple questions that are easy to respond to, and then gradually lead up to the more difficult questions. Create a general-to-specific data flow. 7.Postpone highly personal questions (state-of-being data) until late in the interview or survey (i.e., place in the base after the last information flowerpot). 8.Place questions that involve psychological tests (i.e., lifestyle beliefs) toward the end of the interview or survey, but before the identification base. 9.Do not ask too many questions of the same measurement format (i.e., nominal, ordinal, interval, ration scale formats) in sequence.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Important Considerations in Questionnaire Design 14-11c 10.Taper off an interview or survey with a few relatively simple questions that do not require extensive thoughts or expressions thoughts or expressions of feelings (i.e., the demographic data questions are very appropriate here). 11.Always end the interview or survey with the appropriate thank-you statement.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Role of a Cover Letter A solid cover letter is set up with the intention of: Increasing a respondent’s willingness to complete the survey and return it in a timely fashion. Improving the response rate associated with the overall goals of the research endeavor. Introducing the research project and the research team to the respondent. Instilling a feeling of trust and respect with the respondent, for the study and the client/research team soliciting the data

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Developing a Cover Letter 14-13a FactorsDescription 1.PersonalizationCover letter should be addressed to the specific prospective respondent; use research firm’s professional letterhead stationery. 2.Identification of the organization doing the study Clear identification of the name of the research firm conducting the survey or interview; decide on disguised or undisguised approach of revealing the actual client (or sponsor) of the study. 3.Clear statement of the study’s purpose and importance Describe the general topic of the research and emphasize its importance to the prospective respondent. 4.Anonymity and confidentiality Give assurances that the prospective respondent's name will not be revealed. Explain how the respondent was chosen, and stress that his or her meaningful input is important to the study’s success.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Developing a Cover Letter 14-13b FactorsDescription 5.General time frame of doing the study Communicate the overall time frame of the survey or interview. 6.Reinforcement of the importance of the respondent’s participation Where appropriate, communicate the importance of prospective respondents’ participation. 7.Acknowledgment of reasons for nonparticipation in survey or interview Point out “lack of leisure time,” “surveys classified as junk mail,” and “forgetting about survey” reasons for not participating, and defuse them. 8.Time requirements and compensations Clearly communicate the approximate time required to complete the survey; discuss incentive program, if any.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Developing a Cover Letter 14-13c FactorsDescription 9.Completion date and where and how to return the survey Communicate to the prospective respondent all instructions for returning the completed questionnaire. 10.Advance thank-you statement for willingness to participate Thank the prospective respondent for his or her cooperation.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cover Letter: An Example to Consider Marketing Resources Group 3205 Windsor Oaks Drive, Suite 1105 Baton Rouge, Louisiana CONSUMER BANKING OPINION STUDY BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA If you have a bank account— We need your opinion, With more bank locations, new banking services, and the growth of credit unions and savings and loans, financial institutions are indeed changing. These changes will have an effect on you and your family, and that’s why your opinion is important. Your name has been selected in a sample of Baton Rouge residents to determine what people in our community think about the present products and services offered by banks. Your individual opinions in this survey can never be traced back to you, and all results will be held strictly confidential. The results of the study will provide the banking industry with insight into how to better serve the needs of its customers. The brand-new quarter enclosed with this letter is not enough to compensate you for your time, but it may brighten the day of a youngster you know. Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, Thomas L. Kirk MRG Project Director P.S. Please return no later than June 21, A postage-paid envelope enclosed.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Summary of Learning Objectives  Identify and discuss the critical factors that can contribute to directly improving the accuracy of surveys, and explain why questionnaire development is not a simple process.  Discuss the theoretical principles of questionnaire design, and explain why a questionnaire is more than just asking a respondent some questions.  Identify and explain the communication roles of questionnaires in the data collection process.  Explain why the type of information needed to address a decision maker’s questions and problems will substantially influence the structure and content of questionnaires.  List and discuss the 11 steps in the questionnaire development process, and tell how to eliminate some common mistakes in questionnaire design.  Discuss and employ the “flowerpot” approach in developing scientific questionnaires.  Discuss the importance of cover letters, and explain the guidelines to help eliminate common mistakes in cover letter designs