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242 DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Social Desirability. Questions should not be worded such that they elicit
socially desirable responses, For instance, a question such as “Do you think that
older people should be laid off?” would elicit a response of “no,” mainly because
society would frown on a person who would say that elderly people should be
fired even if they are capable of performing their jobs satisfactorily. Hence, irre-
spective of the true feelings of the respondent, a socially desirable answer would
be provided. If the purpose of the question is to gauge the extent to which orga-
nizations are seen as obligated to retain those above 65 years of age, a differ-
ently worded question with less pressure toward social desirability would be:
“There are advantages and disadvantages to retaining senior citizens in the
workforce. To what extent do you think companies should continue to keep the
elderly on their payroll?”
Sometimes certain items that tap social desirability are deliberately introduced
at various points in the questionnaire and an index of each individual’s social
desirability tendency is calculated therefrom. This index is then applied to all
other responses given by the individual in order to adjust for social desirability
biases (Crowne & Marlowe, 1980; Edwards, 1957).

Length of Questions. Finally, simple, short questions are preferable to long ones.
As a rule of thumb, a question or a statement in the questionnaire should not
exceed 20 words, or exceed one full line in print (Horst, 1968; Oppenheim, 1986).

Sequencing of Questions
The sequence of questions in the questionnaire should be such that the respon-
dent is led from questions of a general nature to those that are more specific, and
from questions that are relatively easy to answer to those that are progressively
more difficult. This funnel approach, as it is called (Festinger & Katz, 1966), facil-
itates the easy and smooth progress of the respondent through the items in the
questionnaire. The progression from general to specific questions might mean that
the respondent is first asked questions of a global nature that pertain to the orga-
nization, and then is asked more incisive questions regarding the specific job,
department, and the like. Easy questions might relate to issues that do not involve
much thinking; the more difficult ones might call for more thought, judgment, and
decision making in providing the answers.
In determining the sequence of questions, it is advisable not to place contigu-
ously a positively worded and a negatively worded question tapping the same
element or dimension of a concept. For instance, placing two questions such as
the following, one immediately after the other, is not only awkward but might
also seem insulting to the respondent.

1. I have opportunities to interact with my colleagues during work hours.
2. I have few opportunities to interact with my colleagues during work hours.

First, there is no need to ask the very same question in a positive and a nega-
tive way. Second, if for some reason this is deemed necessary (e.g., to check