Designing and Using Questionnaires common ways to get information ? literature searches ? talking with people ? focus groups ? personal interviews ? telephone surveys ? and mail surveys. Advantages of Written Questionnaires ? Questionnaires are very cost effective ? Questionnaires are easy to analyze ? Questionnaires are familiar to most people ? Questionnaires reduce bias ? Questionnaires are less intrusive than telephone or face-to-face surveys Disadvantages Of Written Questionnaires ? the possibility of low response rates ? the inability to probe responses ? By allowing frequent space ments, the researcher can partially e this disadvantage ? Gestures and other visual cues are not available with written questionnaires ? the respondent may not be who you think it is ? questionnaires are simply not suited for some people Selecting Your Sample ? decide what kind of people to interview. ? Avoid a Biased Sample (English & non- English majors) ? decide how many people you need to interview ? Quotas ? A Quota is a sample size for a sub-group. ? For example, men and women have somewhat different opinions in many areas. Questionnaire Design - General Considerations ? Well-defined goals are the best way to assure a good questionnaire design ? Formulate a plan for doing the statistical analysis during the design stage of the project ? Include other experts and relevant decision- makers in the questionnaire design process ? Use professional production methods for the questionnaire--either desktop publishing or typesetting and keylining Questionnaire Design - General Considerations ? Make the envelope unique ? Provide a well-written cover letter ? Provide incentives as a motivation for a properly completed questionnaire. ? Give your questionnaire a title that is short and meaningful to the respondent ? Keep your questionnaire short ? Include clear and concise instructions on how to complete the questionnaire ? If a questionna