Page 254 - [Uma_Sekaran]_Research_methods_for_business__a_sk(BookZZ.org)

238 DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Figure 10.1
Principles of Questionnaire Design.

1
Principles Content and Wording Type and Classification data
of wording purpose of and form of Sequencing or
question language questions personal information
Observation
Data Testing
collection Questionnaire Questionnaire goodness of
methods administration data

Interview Categorization
2 Coding
Principles
of Scales
measurement and
scaling

Reliability and
validity
Appearance of questionnaire

3 Length of questionnaire
General
"getup" Introduction to respondents
Instructions for completion

biases in research. These issues are discussed below. The important aspects are
schematically depicted in Figure 10.1.

Principles of Wording
The principles of wording refer to such factors as (1) the appropriateness of the
content of the questions, (2) how questions are worded and the level of sophis-
tication of the language used, (3) the type and form of questions asked, (4) the
sequencing of the questions, and (5) the personal data sought from the respon-
dents. Each of these is explained below.

Content and Purpose of the Questions
The nature of the variable tapped—subjective feelings or objective facts—will
determine what kinds of questions will be asked. If the variables tapped are of a
subjective nature (e.g., satisfaction, involvement), where respondents’ beliefs, per-
ceptions, and attitudes are to be measured, the questions should tap the dimen-