Designing Questionnaires

Research Skills : Questionnaires Design, Abla BEN BELLAL (2017/2018)
University Ali LOUNICI, Blida 2.
Faculty of Arts and Languages
Department of English
Data Collection Instruments
Questionnaires
Prepared by: Abla BEN BELLAL
Title:
A questionnaire should have a title:
 To identify the domain of the investigation.

 To identify the respondents with initial orientation
 To activate various content schemata.
Note: for better identification, the title might be accompanied by the date of its
administration and the name of the institution in which the study is conducted
Instructions:
They should not be too long, but have to be informative and must specify HOW
respondents should go about answering the items. Instructions are of two types:
General instructions (or “opening greeting”) at the beginning of the questionnaire:
 What the study is about and why it is important or socially useful.
 The organization responsible for conducting the study.
EXAMPLE: we would like to ask you to help us by answering the following

questions concerning foreign language learning. This survey is conducted for a Master
in Didactics in the English Department at the University of Blida 2 to better
understand….
 Emphasizing that there are no right or wrong answers; requesting honest

answers and trying to elicit integrity in general.
EXAMPLE: This not a test so there are no “right” or “wrong” answers and you do
not even have to write your name on it.
Please send your comments and questions to : ablaben460@gmail.com OR https://univ-

blida2.academia.edu/AblaBENBELLAL Page 1
 Promising confidentiality
EXAMPLE: you are not required to mention your name. We are interested in your
personal opinion. Please, give your answers sincerely as only this will guarantee the
success of the investigation.
 Saying “Thank You”: it is basic courtesy, yet it is all too often overlooked,
that the respondents should be thanked for their cooperation at the very end of
the questionnaire
Specific Instructions:
 Specific instructions explain and demonstrate how respondents should go

about answering the questions.
 Each new task-type requires instructions, and in order to separate these

instructions from the rest of the text, they should be graphically highlighted
 A very important role of the instructions is to explain how various rating

scales work and what the various rating criteria are.
EXAMPLE1: if we ask the respondents to produce evaluations on a five-point scale

(i.e. giving marks ranging from 1 to 5), we need to explain very clearly what each
numerical category stands for.
EXAMPLE2: instructions for numerical rating scales
In the following section, we would like you to answer some questions by simply
giving marks from 1 to 5.
1= not at all 2= not really 3= so-so 4=quite a lot 5= very much.
For instance, consider the following item. If you like Linguistics very much, write
“5” in the space in front of the question:
……..How much do you like Linguistics?
EXAMPLE3: instructions for semantic differential scales:
The following section of the questionnaire aims at finding out about your ideas and
impressions about SOMETHING. Please rate these concepts on a number of scales.
These all have pairs of opposites at each end, and between these there are 7 dashes.
You are to place a check mark on one of the seven positions, indicating how you feel
about the particular concept in view of the two poles.

For instance, if the scales refer to “listening comprehension tasks” and you find these
rather useless and fairly easy, you can place your check marks as follows:
Characteristics of a Good Questionnaire:
a) A questionnaire deals with a significant topic: the topic or problem should

be such that any respondent will recognize it as important enough to warrant
spending her/his time on.
b) It is as short as possible, and only long enough to get the essential data: do
not make the instrument very long. This is because most people find it time
wasting. Most of the times, long questionnaires find their ways into the waste
basket. Therefore, make the questionnaire response clear and very easy to
complete. Keep the writing required to a minimum.
c) It is attractive in appearance: it is neatly arranged and clearly printed.
d) Instructions are clear and complete: important terms are defined. Each item
deals with a single idea.
Types of Questionnaire Items:
A. Dichotomous Questions:
Dichotomous questions require a „yes‟/‟no‟ response.
EXAMPLES:
 Do you prefer didactic methods to child-centered methods?
Yes
No
In addition to dichotomous questions („yes‟/‟No‟ questions) a piece of research might

ask for information about dichotomous variables such as: gender (male/female), type
of school (elementary/secondary), type of course (vocational/non-vocational). In these
cases, only ONE of two responses can be selected.
EXAMPLE:

 Gender (please tick):
Male
Female
B. Multiple Choice Questions:
In order to gain some insight on complexity, the researcher can move towards
multiple choice questions, where the range of choices is designed to capture the likely
range of responses to given statements.
EXAMPLE 1 „Do you think that the Methodology course in the Magister is:
(a) a waste of time

(b) an extra burden for the students
(c) not very appropriate to the Magister
(d) a useful component
(e) practicable and can serve in other areas of research
EXAMPLE 2 „Do you think football hooliganism is caused by:
(a) Lack of discipline at home

(b) Players‟ behaviour on pitch
(c) Family breakdown
(d) Youth unemployment
(e) Poor schooling
(f) Violence on T.V.
(g) Other (please specify)
IMPORTANT NOTES:
 It is often desirable to ensure that an exhaustive list of categories is
provided, and for this purpose it may be necessary to include an "Other"
category, typically followed by an open-ended question of the "Please specify"
sort.
 Guidance would have to be given on the completion of the multiple-choice,

clarifying, for example, whether respondents are able to tick only one
response (a single answer mode) or several responses (multiple answer mode)
from the list

EXAMPLE 1: Which of the following means do you use to travel to college? (You
can tick more than one box)
 Bus
 Car
 Bike
EXAMPLE2: what is your most usual means of travelling to college? (Tick one
box only)
 Bus
 Car
 Bike
Other examples:
 Which age group do you teach at present (you may tick more than one)
a) Infant
b) Primary
c) Secondary
 During French class, I would like: (Tick one box only)
a) To have a combination of French and English spoken

b) To have as much English as possible spoken
c) To have only French spoken
 If there were a French Club in my school, I would: (Tick one box only)
a) Attend meetings once in a while

b) Be most interested in joining
c) Definitely not join.
One major issue in multiple choice questionnaires is that they seldom give more than
a crude statistic for words are inherently ambiguous. In the previous example of
methodology course, the notion of „useful‟ is unclear as are „appropriate‟,
„practicable‟ and „burden‟. Respondents could interpret these words differently in
their own contexts, hence rendering the data ambiguous.
C. Rank Ordering Questions:

The rank order question is akin to the multiple choice question in that it identifies
options from which respondents can choose, yet it moves beyond multiple choice
items in that it asks respondents to identify priorities. This enables a relative degree of
preference, priority, intensity…etc.
In the rank ordering exercise a list of factors is set out and the respondent is required
to place them in a rank order.
EXAMPLE:
 Rank the Magister Seminars from most to least useful :(Indicate by

numbering from 1- 7 in order, where 1 is the most important
 Methodology
 Syllabus Design
 Applied Linguistics
 Academic Writing
 Classroom Research
 General Linguistics
 Assessment
Other examples:
 Place in order of importance to you the following features of a camping
holiday (Indicate by numbering from 1- 4 in order where 1 is the most
important)
 Open air
 Mobility
 Cost
 People
 Atmosphere
 Rank (from 1 to 5) in order of importance for choice of university being

most important (1 being most important).
 Reputation
 Accessibility
 Costs
 Subject
 Delivery
 Please place these in rank order of the most to the least important, by
putting the position (1 – 5) against each of the following statements,

number 1 being the most important and number 5 being the least
important.
 Students should enjoy school
 Teachers should set less homework
 Teachers should have more choice of subjects in school
 Teachers should use more collaborative methods.
 Students should be tested more, so that they work harder
D. Rating Scales:
A popular approach in the social sciences is to use Likert scales, which consist of a
series of statements all of which are related to a particular target, such as the examples
below:
Agreement:
1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Disagree 4. Strongly disagree
1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree 5. Strongly disagree
Beliefs:
1. Definitely True 2. Probably true 3. Probably false 4. False
Knowledge:
1.Very familiar 2. Somewhat familiar 3. Not familiar 4. Not at all familiar
Frequency:
1. Always 2. Frequently 3. Sometimes 4. Never
1.Regularly 2. Fairly often 3. Seldom 4. Never
1.Very often 2. Fairly often 3. Seldom 4. Hardly ever 5. Never
Evaluation:
1.Excellent 2. Good 3. Fair 4. Poor
1. Very Good 2. Good 3. Fair 4. Poor 5. Very poor
1. Very Good 2. Somewhat Good 3. Somewhat Bad 4. Very Bad
Other types of responses categories:

 Numerical Rating Scales:
These scales involve „giving so many marks out of so many‟. That is, assigning one of
several numbers corresponding to a series of ordered categories describing a feature
of the target
EXAMPLES:
 Indicate your view of the following aspects of a camping holiday
 Community life 1 2 3 4 5
 Low cost 1 2 3 4 5
 Outdoor life 1 2 3 4 5
 Ability to move around 1 2 3 4 5
 All students should have access to free higher education.

1 = strongly disagree
2 = disagree
3 = neither agree nor disagree
4 = agree
5 = strongly agree
 How important do you consider placements tests to be for students who

intend to study English in the department
1 = not at all
2 = very little
3 = a little
4= a lot
5 = a very great deal
 Semantic Differential Scales:
A semantic differential is a variation of rating scale which operates by putting an

adjective at one end of a scale and its opposite at the other.
A Semantic Differential Scale in questionnaire is the one of the most reliable ways to
get information on people‟s emotional attitude towards a topic of interest.
Respondents are asked to indicate their opinions by circling or putting a tick or an „X‟
between two bipolar adjectives on the scale which most represents what they feel.
Researchers may adopt their own terms and their polar opposites, for example:
Approachable -- -- -- -- Unapproachable
Generous -- -- -- -- Mean

Friendly -- -- -- -- Hostile
Attentive -- -- -- -- Inattentive
Hard-Working -- -- -- -- Lazy
EXAMPLE:
 How informative do you consider the new set of history textbooks to be?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Useful -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Useless
E. Open-ended Questions:
Open-ended questions include items where the actual question is not followed by
response options for the respondent to choose from but rather by some blank space
(e.g., dotted lines) for the respondent to fill.
The open-responses can offer graphic examples, illustrative quotes, and can also lead
us to identify issues not previously anticipated. Furthermore, sometimes we need
open-ended items for the simple reason that we do not know the range of possible
answers and therefore cannot provide prepared response categories.
Types of Open-ended Questions:
 Specific Open Questions: ask about concrete pieces of information, such as

facts about the respondent, past activities, or preferences
EXAMPLES:
 What is your favourite television program/weekend activity?

 What languages have you studied in the past?
 Please, indicate the most important factors that reduce staff participation in
decision-making.
 Please comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the mathematics course.
 Please indicate the areas for improvement in the teaching of foreign languages
in school.
These questions can normally be answered in one line, which is usually explicitly
marked on the questionnaire (e.g. with dots). The answers can sometimes be followed
up with a „Why?‟ question.
 Clarification Questions: certain answers may be potentially so important that

it is worth attaching a clarification question to them
EXAMPLE:

If you rated the course book you are using as “poor” or “very poor”, please briefly
explain why. Write your answer here: ………………………………………………..
Clarification questions are also appropriate when there is an “other” category in a

multiple-choice item. Typically, “please specify” is used and some space is left for the
respondent to provide a statement.
 Sentence Completion Items: a simple question is often less effective in

eliciting a meaningful answer than an unfinished sentence beginning that the
respondent needs to complete. A good completion item should be worded so
that it directs the respondent‟s attention to a well-defined issue/area.
Sometimes, respondents are asked not to „agonize‟ over the answers but jot
down the first thing that comes to mind.
EXAMPLES:
 One thing I liked about this activity is………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
 One thing I didn‟t like about this activity is ……………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Advantages of Open-ended Questions:
 The open-ended question is a very attractive device for smaller scale research
or for those sections of a questionnaire that invite an honest, personal
comment from the respondents in addition to ticking numbers and boxes.
 An open-ended question can catch the authenticity, richness, depth of response

and honesty which are the hallmarks of qualitative data.
Disadvantages:
 Open-ended questions take up precious „respondent-availability time‟ and thus

restrict the range of topics the questionnaire can contain.
 They are difficult to code in a reliable manner.
 Some respondents are put-off by open questions as they find writing prose
difficult or get concerned about grammar or spelling.
 Analysing these answers is both time consuming and difficult especially if the
respondents deviate from the question or misinterpret it.

EXAMPLE:
The researcher might be in danger of violating one principle of word-based data,

which is that they are not validly susceptible to aggregation, i.e. that it is trying to
bring to word based data the principles of numerical data, borrowing from one
paradigm (qualitative quantitative methodology) to inform another paradigm
(qualitative methodology)
Questions Wording:
Types of Questions to Be Avoided: Pitfalls
A. Avoid Leading Questions:
Questions that are worded (or their response categories presented) in such a way as to
suggest to respondents that there is only one acceptable answer, and that other
responses might or might not gain approval or disapproval respectively.
EXAMPLE:
 Do you agree with the majority of people that the health service is failing?
 Do you prefer abstract, academic-type courses, or down-to-earth, practical
courses that have some pay-off in your day-to-day teaching?
 Do you agree that mature students should have the right to express their views
in tutorials?
In this case, it might be difficult for students to answer „No‟ in response to that
question.
B. Avoid Irritating Questions or Instructions:
If respondents are confused, irritated or even offended, they may leave the item blank
or even abandon the questionnaire. Therefore, if you want answers to all your
questions if possible, try to avoid confusion and watch out for assumptions.
EXAMPLE:
 Which type of school does your child attend?
In this question, the respondent is asked to tick in the appropriate box from a long list
of types of school. In this case, the researcher assumes that the respondent has one
child, but what if s/he has no children? Does s/he ignore this question? What if s/he
has more than one child: one in an infant school, one in a high school and so on. What
does s/he do then? Does she put the number of children in the appropriate box?

EXAMPLE: Have you ever attended an in-service course of any kind during your
entire teaching career.
C. Avoid Double Questions: Sometimes, questions hide a dual question.
EXAMPLE:
 Do you think the British should eat less and exercise more?
Instead ask:
(Please circle relevant number)
Yes No
 Do you think the British should eat less 1 2

 Do you think the British should exercise more 1 2
EXAMPLE 2:
 How strongly do you agree that vocational education is available only to the
lower ability students but it should be open to every student?
This is a double question. What does the respondent do who agrees with the first part
of the sentence “vocational education is available only to the lower ability students”,
but disagrees with the latter part of the sentence, or vice versa? The rule in
questionnaire design is to ask only one question at a time.
D. Avoid Questions Involving Negatives (double negatives):
EXAMPLES:
e.g. 1: How strongly do you feel that no teacher should enroll on the in-service,
award-bearing course who has not completed at least two years‟ full-time teaching?
e.g. 2: Are you against a ban on smoking?
e.g. 3: Do you feel that without a parent/teacher association teachers are unable to
express their views to parents clearly?
In example 3, if you feel that a parent/teacher association is essential for teachers to

express their views, do you vote „yes‟ or „no‟?

The hesitancy involved in reaching such a decision, and the possible required re-
reading of the question could cause the respondent simply to leave it blank and move
on to the next question. The problem is the double negative “without” and “unable”
which creates confusion.
E. Avoid Offensive and Questions Covering Sensitive Issues:
If the researcher really needs information on what might be regarded by some

respondents as sensitive issues, s/he will need to take extra care in the wording and
positioning of questions.
It is commonly agreed by many researchers that it is better to place such questions

towards the end of the questionnaire. The theory being that if respondents abandon the
questionnaire at that point, you, as a researcher, at least have answers to all the earlier
questions.
For instance, „age‟ is often considered to be in the sensitive category and rather than
asking respondents to give their exact age, it may be better to ask them to tick in
boxes to indicate age category (perhaps 21 or younger; 22 – 25; 26 – 30…etc.
EXAMPLE:
 Give your age on September 1st , 2001
It is preferable to say:
 Are you:
 Under 18
 18-65
 Over 65
F. Avoid Ambiguous Questions:
These are questions that could be interpreted differently from the way that is intended.
In other words, words which have a common meaning to you as a researcher might
mean something different to other people, so you need to consider what your
questions might mean to different respondents.
EXAMPLES:
 Does your child regularly do homework?
What does „regularly‟ mean: once a day, once a year, once a term, once a week?

 How many students are there in the school?
What does this mean: on roll, on roll but absent, marked as present but out of school
on a field trip, at this precise moment or this week, or between the first term of an
academic year and the last term of the academic year for secondary school students as
some of them will have left school to go into employment and others will be at home
revising for examinations or have completed them?
 How many computers do you have in school?
What does this mean: present but broken; including those out of school being
repaired; the property of the school or staffs‟ and students‟ own computers; on
average or exactly in school today?
G. Avoid Highbrow Questions:
These questions should be avoided even with sophisticated respondents.
EXAMPLE:
 What particular aspects of the current positivistic/interpretive debate would

you like to see reflected in a course of development psychology aimed at a
teacher audience?
Use natural and familiar language because the latter is comforting; jargon is NOT. i.e.
write items that are clear and precise because if your participants do not understand
the items, your data will be invalid.
To put it differently, as a researcher, you should take care over questions which ask
for information that the respondents may not know or may have readily to hand. For
instance, it may seem reasonable to ask mature respondents what criteria are for
allocating students to tutorial groups, but the likelihood is that they will not know, and
if the respondents have to search for information, they may put questionnaire to one
side until they have time and forget all about it.
Activity 1: Match the question with its corresponding type:
A. Open-Ended Question ............................

B. Closed-Ended Question: Multiple-Choice, One Response Allowed ............................
C. Closed-Ended Question: Multiple-Choice, Multiple Responses Allowed

...........................

D. Closed-Ended Question: Ranking Scale ............................

E. Closed-Ended Question: Forced-Choice ............................
1. Select one response from each of the paired statements below. Even if neither
statement is exactly right, choose the response that comes closest to your views.
Statement One: The best way to ensure peace is through military strength.
OR
Statement Two: Good diplomacy is the best way to ensure peace.
2. Which of the following aspects of being a college student do you find most
satisfying? Please circle one of the following:
a. The opportunity to challenge myself intellectually
b. The opportunity to be exposed to new ideas
c. The opportunity to make progress toward a career
d. The opportunity to meet new people
e. The opportunity to participate in campus social life
3. How did you learn about our product? Check as many sources as apply.
❏ TV ❏ Internet ❏ Newspaper ad ❏ Family member
❏ Radio ❏ Magazine ❏ Friend ❏ Other source
4. Please describe the one aspect of being a college student that you find most
satisfying.
The world faces many problems today. Ten problems are listed alphabetically
below. Please place the number 1 next to the problem that you believe is
the most important. Then place a 2 next to the problem you believe is
second most important, and so on, until you have ranked all 10 items.
AIDS crisis overpopulation
armed conflict pollution
global warming poverty
hunger prejudice
natural resource depletion terrorism
5. Please describe the one aspect of being a college student that you find
most satisfying
In the past week, on how many days did you engage in online social
networking?

Answer:
1 Closed-ended question: forced choice.
2 Closed-ended question: multiple-choice, one response allowed.
3 Closed-ended question: multiple-choice, multiple responses allowed.
4 Closed-ended question: Ranking scale
5 Open-ended question.
Activity 2: Read the following questions and identify the problems for each:
A. I enjoy studying and spending time with friends on weekends. (Double-

barreled. The question should be broken into two questions)
B. Do you support the legislation that would unfairly tax hard-working farmers?
(Loaded/leading question)
C. Do you support or oppose the university‟s proposal to raise tuition by 100§ per
year in order to modernize campus computer facilities? (Double-barreled.
The question should be broken into two questions)
D. Would you favor or oppose a law banning restaurants from serving foods that
contain dangerous, heart damaging trans-fats? (Double-barreled. The
question should be broken into two questions)
E. Do you agree or disagree that alcohol use and marijuana use are a problem
among today‟s college students? (Double-barreled. The question should be
broken into two questions)
F. What is wrong with the young people today and what can we do about it?
(Double-barreled. The question should be broken into two questions)
G. Do you like swimming: (……………………)
 Never
 Rarely
 Frequently
 Sometimes
The researcher should first ask the respondent whether s/he swims or not.
Frequently is not exploitable (what does “frequently” mean?)
H. Most medical professionals agree that smoking causes lung disease. Do you:
 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neither agree nor disagree

 Disagree
 Strongly disagree.
(a leading question)
I. What do you think about the left-wing media‟s attempt to blackmail the
government? (a leading question)
J. How much food do you think the average family throws away in a week? (the
average family  this construct is misleading)
K. What is your ethnicity? (the construct “ethnicity” is misleading. There
should be an operational definition of the construct)
L. How much do you earn? (a question covering sensitive issue)
M. What do you think can be done about global warming? (the construct “global
warming” is misleading. There should be an operational definition of the
construct)
Development:
Sequencing the Questions:

In questionnaires, the move should be from objective facts to subjective attitudes and
opinions through justifications and to sensitive, personalized data. A common
sequence of a questionnaire is:
 To begin with unthreatening factual questions (that, perhaps, will give the re-
searcher some nominal data about the sample, e.g. age group, gender,
occupation, years in post, qualifications etc.);
 To move to closed questions (e.g. dichotomous, multiple choice, rating scales)

about given statements or questions, eliciting responses that require opinions,
attitudes, perceptions, views;
 To move to more open-ended questions (or, maybe, to intersperse these with
more closed questions) that seek responses on opinions, attitudes, perceptions
and views, together with reasons for the responses given. These responses and
reasons might include sensitive or more personal data.
Important Notes:
*When designing the questionnaire, the designer has to anticipate the sensitivity of
the topics in terms of the respondents and this has a large sociocultural dimension.

*The logical ordering of a questionnaire has to be mediated by its psychological

ordering. The instrument has to be viewed through the eyes of the respondent as well
as the designer.
For example, a question about income is unlikely to go down well with somebody
who has just become unemployed, and a question about religious belief might be seen
as an unwarranted intrusion into private matters.
Layout:
• The appearance of the questionnaire is vitally important. It must look easy,

attractive and interesting rather than complicated, unclear, forbidding and
boring.
• A compressed layout is uninviting and it clutters everything together; a larger
questionnaire with plenty of space for questions and answers is more
encouraging to respondents
• It is important for the respondents to be introduced to the purpose of each

section of a questionnaire so that they can become involved in it.
• Clarity of wording and simplicity of design are essential. Clear instructions

should guide respondents: „Put a tick‟, for example, invites participation,
whereas complicated instructions and complex procedures intimidate
respondents.
• Putting ticks in boxes by way of answering a questionnaire is familiar to most

respondents, whereas requests to circle precoded numbers at the right-hand
side of the questionnaire can be a source of confusion and error. In some cases
it might also be useful to include an example of how to fill in the questionnaire
• Ensure that short, clear instructions accompany each section of the

questionnaire. Repeating instructions as often as necessary is good practice in
a postal questionnaire.
• It is useful, in the interests of clarity and logic to break down the questionnaire
into subsections with section headings. This will also indicate the overall logic
and coherence of the questionnaire to the respondents, enabling them to „find
their way‟ through the questionnaire. It might be useful to preface each
subsection with a brief introduction that tells them the purpose of that section.
• Spacing between questions will help the reader and will also help the
researcher when s/he analyzes responses.

• Take care over the order of the questions. Leave sensitive issues to later in the
questionnaire. Start with straightforward, easy-to-complete questions and
move on to the more complex topics.
• It is important to include in the questionnaire, perhaps at the beginning,

assurances of confidentiality, anonymity and non-traceability.
EXAMPLE:
Indicating that respondents do not need to give their names and that data will be
aggregated and individuals will not be able to be identified through the use of
categories or details of their location.
In some cases, HOWEVER, the questionnaire might ask respondents to put their
names so that they can be traced for follow-up interviews in the research.
Piloting the Questionnaire:
As it has been already mentioned, the wording of the questionnaire is of paramount

importance and pre-testing it is crucial to its success. Piloting the questionnaire has
several functions mainly increasing its reliability, validity and practicability. Piloting
the questionnaire thus serves to:
 Check the clarity of the questionnaire items, instructions and layout.

 To gain feedback on the validity of the questionnaire items, the
operationalization of the constructs and the purposes of the research.
 To eliminate ambiguities or difficulties in wording.
 To check readability levels for the target audience.
 To gain feedback on the type of question and its format (e.g. rating scale,
multiple choice, open, closed...etc)
 To gain feedback on response categories for closed questions and multiple
choice items and for the appropriateness of specific questions.
 To identify omissions, redundant and irrelevant items.
 To gain feedback on leading questions.
 To gain feedback on the attractiveness and appearance of the questionnaire.
 To check the time taken to complete the questionnaire
 To check whether the questionnaire is too long or too short, too easy of too
difficult
 To identify how motivating/non-motivating, sensitive/threatening, intrusive,
offensive items might be.
 To try out the coding/classification system for data analysis.
Administration and Return of Questionnaires:

 Administering the questionnaire in the presence of the researcher:
There are many advantages in being able to give questionnaires to respondents

personally:
 You can explain the purpose of the study and in some cases; questionnaires
can be completed on the spot.
 You are likely to get better cooperation if you can establish personal contact.
 You can ensure that all the questions are completed (you can check these
before finally receiving the questionnaire) and filled in correctly (e.g. no rating
scale items that have more than one entry per item, and no missed items)
HOWEVER, administering the questionnaire in the presence of the researcher might

have some disadvantages:
 The presence of the researcher may be threatening and exert a sense of

compulsion where respondents may feel uncomfortable about completing the
questionnaire and may not want to complete it. They may also want extra time
to think about and complete the questionnaire and they are denied the
opportunity to do this.
 Having the researcher present also places pressure on the researcher to attend
at an agreed place, and this may be time-consuming and require the researcher
to travel extensively, hence extending the time frame for data collection.
 Administering the questionnaire without the presence of the researcher:
The absence of the researcher is helpful in that it enables respondents to complete the
questionnaire in private, to devote as much time as they wish to its completion and to
avoid the threat or pressure to participate caused by the researcher‟s presence.
It is more anonymous than having the researcher present. This can render the data
more or less honest in that it is perhaps harder to tell lies or not to tell the whole truth
in the presence of the researcher. It is also easier to be very honest and revealing
about sensitive matters without the presence of the researcher.
HOWEVER, the down side is that:
 The researcher is not there to address any queries or problems that respondents
may have and they may omit items or give up rather than try to contact the
researcher.

 Respondents may wrongly interpret and, hence, answer questions inaccurately.
 They may present an untrue picture to the researcher. For instance, they
answer what they would like a situation to be rather than what the actual
situation is.
Advantages of Questionnaires:
 Good for measuring attitudes and eliciting other content from research
participants.
 Inexpensive (especially mail questionnaires and group administered
questionnaires)
 Can provide information about participants‟ internal meanings and ways of
thinking.
 Can be administered to probability samples.
 Can be administered to groups
 Perceived anonymity by respondent may be high
 Closed-ended items can provide exact information needed by the researcher.
 Open-ended items can provide detailed information in respondents‟ own
words.
 Ease of data analysis for closed-ended items.
Disadvantages:
 Usually must be kept short.

 Reactive effects may occur (e.g. interviewees may try to show only what is
socially desirable.)
 People filling out questionnaires may not recall important information and
may lack self-awareness.
 Response rate may be low for mail and email questionnaires.
 Data analysis can be time consuming for open-ended items.
Sample Questionnaire:
Title of the thesis: Learning Strategies of Learners of English as a Foreign Language

by Kamel KHALDI (1990), University of Leeds, UK.

Purpose of the study: to investigate the learning strategies which are used for the
acquisition of English by graduate students at Algiers 2 University, Algeria.
Degree: PhD.
Note: the original version of the questionnaire below consists of 80 items. Many
items have been omitted from the questionnaire because it is too long. This is just to
show you how to design your own questionnaire using different types of questions
(items).
Students‟ Questionnaire
University of Leeds, UK.
Department of Linguistics and Phonetics.
Dear student,
This questionnaire is part of a research work. You are kindly requested to answer it.
Please, tick the appropriate box /boxes ( ) and make full statements whenever
necessary.
Your answers are very important for the validity of this research. Be sure that any
information you provide will be anonymous.
Thank you in advance for your collaboration and interest.
PART I:
Please answer the following questions:
1) Age: ………………………………
2) Gender:
Male Female
3) Place (s) of secondary education: there is no need to give the name of the
school (s), just mention the name of the town (s).
(i)…………………………………………………..
(ii)………………………………………………….
(iii)…………………………………………………

4) Look at the following table and say which language(s) you read or write
very fluently, fairly well, or with difficulty.
Read Write
Very Fluently
Fairly Well
With Difficulty
5) Did you have any choice in secondary school between English and another
foreign language?
Yes No
6) Was any of your English teachers a native speaker?
Yes No
7) If not, did your teacher speak English in class?

(Please tick where appropriate)
All the time Most of the time Occasionally

8) If s/he did, in which activity s/he mostly used it? (if more than one answer,
please rank them on a 1 to 4 scale, 1 being the activity in which translation
was most frequently used, and 4 the activity in which it was least used)
Reading (…………) Listening (……………)
Writing (………….) Speaking (…………….)
9) Were there any materials in English in your immediate environment?

(school library, local bookshop, British Council…etc)
Yes No
10) If yes, did you make use of these materials?
Often Sometimes Never

11) What was the activity your teacher mostly concentrated on in class (please
rank these activities on a 1 – 7 scale, 1 being the activity most commonly used
and 7 the least used)
Reading
Writing
Listening
Speaking (oral English)
Vocabulary
Grammar
Pronunciation
Other(s) (please specify) ………………
…………………………………………..
12) Did your teacher use the textbook exclusively or did s/he use other
additional materials?
Textbook only
Textbook and additional materials
13) Were you asked to learn things „by heart‟?
Very often Sometimes Rarely Never
14) If yes, did your teacher give you any of these items to learn by heart?
a) Lists of words
b) Parts of (or whole) a dialogue
c) Sentence patterns
d) Irregular verbs
e) Other(s) (please specify) …………………………………………

15) Did your teacher give you any hints (i.e. techniques) on how to read a text
quickly to get its meaning?
Often Sometimes Never

16) Did your teacher show you special tricks (techniques) to remember any of
the items below? If „yes‟, say which one(s), if not, just tick „No‟
(you may tick more than one answer)
Yes No
a) Lists of words (…..)
b) Lists of irregular verbs (…...)
c) Lists of sentence patterns (……)
d) Parts of (or whole) a dialogue (…...)
e) Other (please specify) …………………………………………..
17) Did you choose to study English at the University because…
a) You liked it
b) You had no other alternative
18) What do you intend to do after you have graduated?
………………………………………………………………………………………
19) How would you rate yourself in the different skills? (Please tick where
appropriate)
Excellent Good Fair Poor
Writing
Reading
Listening
Speaking
20) What aspects of English are most difficult for you? (please rank on a 1 – 4
scale, 1 being the most difficult)

Writing
Reading
Listening
Speaking
PART II:
In the next set of questions, you must circle the number which corresponds best to
your belief.
1 Strongly Agree 3 Neither Agree nor disagree 4 Disagree
2 Agree 5 Strongly Disagree
21) People whose native language is Arabic are usually good at learning
foreign languages
1 2 3 4 5
22) People who are bilingual in Arabic and French learn English better than
those who are monolingual
1 2 3 4 5
23) The mother tongue always plays an important role in the acquisition of
English
1 2 3 4 5
24) You should not say anything in English until you can say it correctly
1 2 3 4 5
The next set of questions requires a different answer. You are asked to rank your
answers along a scale (e.g. from 1 to 5). What you think should come first will be
given number 1; the answer which comes immediately after it is given number 2 and
so on. The last number in the scale will be given to the answer which comes in the last
position.

25) Classify the following languages according to their importance in the

everyday life of the „average‟ Algerian. (Rank them from 1 to 5)
(1 = the most important)
Dialectal Arabic
Classical Arabic
English
French
Different varieties of Berber
26) In the acquisition of English what linguistic levels, do you think, are most
important to acquire? (Rank them from 1 to 6) (1 = the most important)
Pronunciation of sounds
Intonation
Syntax
Morphology (i.e. the level of words)
Discourse (i.e. the level of the whole „text‟
be it spoken or written)
27) In reading, what ability do you think, should be most developed?

(Rank them from 1 to 4) (1 = the most important ability)
Ability to read general English

Ability to read technical English (i.e. English for science and
technology, or technical instructions in notices)
Ability to understand the general meaning of a text
Ability to understand every word in a text.
The next set of questions requires a simple „Yes‟ or „No‟ answer. Please tick the
appropriate box. If you have no opinion, please tick the „Don‟t know‟ column.

28) Knowing English allows me to travel abroad without worrying too much
about language of the country I‟m visiting because I know there will
always be someone who speaks English.
Yes No Don‟t know
29) Studying English will enable me to better understand and appreciate

British and American Art and Literature.
Yes No Don‟t know
30) Do you find yourself correcting other students‟ speech mentally to

yourself (i.e. in your mind) when they make an error?
Yes No Don‟t know
In the next set of questions, you have a choice between various alternative answers.
Circle the one which you think corresponds best to your opinion.
31) English is:

a) A difficult language to learn
b) A very difficult language
c) A language of medium difficulty
d) An easy language
e) A very easy language
32) When learning new grammar structures (e.g. tenses, voice etc.) which of
the following techniques do you use? (you may choose more than one
answer)
a) Repeat them orally to help memorize them

b) Write them down to help memorize them
c) Make sentences using them
d) Study grammar books for more practice
e) Look them up in the dictionary for further examples

f) Use them in speech and writing as much as possible
g) Use another technique (please specify) ………………..………
……………………………………………………………..…..
33) When the teacher introduces a new word, would you prefer?
a) A translation of the word into Arabic (or French)
b) An explanation of its meaning in English
c) To discover the meaning by yourself
34) When speaking or writing, you suddenly realize that you don‟t know a
particular word or expression which would express your idea, do you
a) Try to find other words in English which express the same idea
b) Fill in the blank by using a French word hoping that it will have the
same meaning
c) Carry on speaking (or writing) hoping that the listener (or reader)
will provide the missing words)
d) Forget about trying to express this particular idea and change to
another topic.
35) When you are involved in a conversation and you don‟t understand
something, do you? (you may choose more than one answer)
a) Ask the speaker to repeat what s/he said
b) Ask questions about the word(s) or expression(s) you didn‟t
understand
c) Ask the speaker to repeat just the word(s) or expression(s) you
didn‟t understand.
Thank you for you collaboration


Designing Questionnaires

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Research Skills : Questionnaires Design, Abla BEN BELLAL (2017/2018)

University Ali LOUNICI, Blida 2.

Faculty of Arts and Languages

Data Collection Instruments

A questionnaire should have a title:

 To identify the domain of the investigation.

General instructions (or “opening greeting”) at the beginning of the questionnaire:

 What the study is about and why it is important or socially useful.

 The organization responsible for conducting the study.

EXAMPLE: we would like to ask you to help us by answering the following

 Emphasizing that there are no right or wrong answers; requesting honest

Please send your comments and questions to : ablaben460@gmail.com OR https://univ-

 Specific instructions explain and demonstrate how respondents should go

 Each new task-type requires instructions, and in order to separate these

 A very important role of the instructions is to explain how various rating

EXAMPLE1: if we ask the respondents to produce evaluations on a five-point scale

EXAMPLE2: instructions for numerical rating scales

1= not at all 2= not really 3= so-so 4=quite a lot 5= very much.

……..How much do you like Linguistics?

EXAMPLE3: instructions for semantic differential scales:

Please send your comments and questions to : ablaben460@gmail.com OR https://univ-

Characteristics of a Good Questionnaire:

a) A questionnaire deals with a significant topic: the topic or problem should

c) It is attractive in appearance: it is neatly arranged and clearly printed.

Types of Questionnaire Items:

Dichotomous questions require a „yes‟/‟no‟ response.

 Do you prefer didactic methods to child-centered methods?

In addition to dichotomous questions („yes‟/‟No‟ questions) a piece of research might

Please send your comments and questions to : ablaben460@gmail.com OR https://univ-

 Gender (please tick):

B. Multiple Choice Questions:

(a) a waste of time

EXAMPLE 2 „Do you think football hooliganism is caused by:

(a) Lack of discipline at home

 Guidance would have to be given on the completion of the multiple-choice,

Please send your comments and questions to : ablaben460@gmail.com OR https://univ-

 During French class, I would like: (Tick one box only)

a) To have a combination of French and English spoken

a) Attend meetings once in a while

C. Rank Ordering Questions:

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 Rank the Magister Seminars from most to least useful :(Indicate by

 Rank (from 1 to 5) in order of importance for choice of university being

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1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Disagree 4. Strongly disagree

1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree 5. Strongly disagree

1. Definitely True 2. Probably true 3. Probably false 4. False

1.Very familiar 2. Somewhat familiar 3. Not familiar 4. Not at all familiar

1. Always 2. Frequently 3. Sometimes 4. Never

1.Regularly 2. Fairly often 3. Seldom 4. Never

1.Very often 2. Fairly often 3. Seldom 4. Hardly ever 5. Never

1.Excellent 2. Good 3. Fair 4. Poor

1. Very Good 2. Good 3. Fair 4. Poor 5. Very poor

1. Very Good 2. Somewhat Good 3. Somewhat Bad 4. Very Bad

Other types of responses categories:

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 Numerical Rating Scales:

 Indicate your view of the following aspects of a camping holiday

 All students should have access to free higher education.

 How important do you consider placements tests to be for students who

 Semantic Differential Scales:

A semantic differential is a variation of rating scale which operates by putting an

Please send your comments and questions to : ablaben460@gmail.com OR https://univ-