Business Research Method Data Collection: Questionnaire M.Com-II

Types and forms of questions

Classification of Closed Format Questions for Questionnaire Design A. Leading Questions Questions that force your audience for a particular type of answer are known as leading questions. In a leading question, all the answers would be equally likely.

Importance Questions In importance questions, the respondents are usually asked to rate the importance of a particular issue, on a rating scale of 1 to 5.

C. Likert Questions Likert questions can help you ascertain how strongly your respondents agree to a particular statement.

D. Dichotomous Questions These are simple questions that ask respondents to answer in a yes or no.

E. Bipolar Questions Bipolar questions are the ones having two extreme answers written at the opposite ends of the scale.

F. Rating Scale Questions In rating scale questions, the respondents are asked to rate a particular issue on a scale that ranges between poor to good.

G. Buying Propensity Questions Buying propensity questions try to assess the future intentions of customers and determine respondent's buying intention.

Questions to Be Avoided In a Questionnaire 1. Embarrassing Questions: Questions that ask respondents details about their personal and private matters are embarrassing questions. 2. Positive/ Negative Connotation Questions Since most verbs, adjectives and nouns in the English language have either a positive or negative connotations, questions are bound to be taken as either positive or negative.

3. Hypothetical Questions: Hypothetical questions are based on speculation and fantasy. An example of a hypothetical question would be "If you were the CEO of an ABC organization what would be the changes that you would bring?"  4. Double-barreled questions: A question that lead its self to different possible responses. Do you think there is a good market for the product and that it will sell well? Yes, no.

Ethical Considerations. You should have the permission of the people who you will be studying to conduct research involving them. You don’t want to do anything that would cause physical or emotional harm to your subjects. Be sure your own personal biases and opinions do not get in the way of your research. When reporting your results be sure that you accurately represent what you observed or what you were told. Maintain confidentiality.