1. Explain the role of the questionnaire in the research process.

Questionnaire is a set of questions that is designed to collect the data which is necessary to accomplish the objectives of a research project. It is also called as a survey instrument or an interview schedule. The role of questionnaire in research process is important because it is used to collect the data from participants and it is easy to keep the data record in form of questionnaires.

2. How do respondents influence the design of a questionnaire? Give some examples (for example, questionnaires designed for engineers, baseball players, army generals, and migrant farmworkers).

Respondents influence the designs of a questionnaire significantly. For example, a questionnaire which is targeting the kids will use a simple language and items will be listed based on the children credentials. For a more professional and advanced level research study which targets engineers or other professionals, the design of questionnaires will be kept as such which addresses the needs of that study (McDaniel & Gates, 2013).

3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of open-ended questions and closed-ended questions.

The advantages of open ended questions include that participants are free to respond to the questions in any way they way. The disadvantages of this type of questions include that participants can get down the right track and might start talking about something else than the question material. For a close ended question, this issue is ruled out but its disadvantage is that participants don’t have full freedom to respond in the way they want. Instead, they are asked to respond to the point (Reja, Manfreda, Hlebec, & Vehovar, 2003).

4. Assume that you are developing a questionnaire about a new sandwich for McDonald’s. Use this situation to outline the procedure for designing a questionnaire.

In order to develop a questionnaire about a new sandwich for McDonald’s, the process would involve ten different steps. These steps involve:

1. Determining the survey objectives, resources and constraints
2. Determining the data collection method
3. Determining the response format to questions
4. Deciding the wording of questions
5. Establishing the flow and layout of questionnaires
6. Evaluating the questionnaire
7. Obtaining approval of all relevant parties
8. Pretesting and Revision
9. Preparing final questionnaire copy
10. Implementing the Survey
11. Give examples of poor questionnaire wording, and explain what is wrong with each question.

Some of the examples of poor questionnaire wording are as:

1. How do you like the new sandwich of McDonald’s? (The issue with this question is that it is very limited and it specifically limits the participants if they like the McDonald’s sandwich. While there can be some participants who might not like it).
2. Why do you feel depressed always? (This question has a poor wording and it is not a valid question. It is not necessary that participants always feel depressed).

6. Once a questionnaire has been developed, what other factors need to be considered before the questionnaire is put into the hands of interviewers?

Once a questionnaire has been developed, there are some other important factors that need to be considered before it is put into the hand of interviewers. This involves obtaining approval of all relevant parties and then pretesting and revision of the final copy of questionnaire (FARRELL, 2016).

7. Why is pretesting a questionnaire important? Are there some situations in which pretesting is not necessary?

Pretesting a questionnaire is important because pretesting evaluates if there is some issue in the questionnaire items and statements used. There can be certain situations where pretesting is not necessary. This can be when a researcher is using an already existing and reliable questionnaire which has already been used in different studies.

8. Design three open-ended and three closed-ended questions to measure consumers’ attitudes toward BMW automobiles.

Closed Ended Questions

1. How much do you like BMW vehicles on a scale of 1 to 10?
2. Do you like the customer service of BMW Automobiles (Yes, No)?
3. Are you satisfied with the BMW vehicle which you are driving (Yes, No)?

Open Ended Questions

1. How can BMW improve quality of its services?
2. What is your opinion about vehicles of BMW?
3. What is the reason of your preference of BMW over other brands?
4. What’s wrong with the following questions?
   1. How do you like the flavor of this high-quality Maxwell House coffee?

This is a question which limits the participants as if they have only one option of liking the flavor.

1. What do you think of the taste and texture of this Sara Lee coffee cake?

This question is not simple and it uses a little complex language not suitable for questionnaire items. Also, it is an open ended question with very narrow focus.

1. We are conducting a study for Bulova watches. What do you think of the quality of Bulova watches?

This is a close ended question targeting a broad focus. Instead, this should be a open ended question and wording should be enhanced.

10. What do you see as the major advantages of using a field management company? What are the drawbacks?

Using a field management company has advantages like questionnaire formatting, development of peripheral materials and field auditing etc. However, its drawbacks include that they don’t have the design and analytical capabilities.

11. Discuss the Advantages and Disadvantages of Web-based questionnaires.

Advantages of web-based questionnaire include that researcher can use it to record the data more easily and on his convenience. However, it also has some drawbacks such as the authenticity of the data and machine error etc.

Bibliography

FARRELL, S. (2016). Open-Ended vs. Closed-Ended Questions in User Research . Research Methods .

McDaniel, C., & Gates, R. (2013). Questionnaire Deisgn. In Marketing Research Essentials (8th Edition ed., pp. 243-276). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Reja, U., Manfreda, K. L., Hlebec, V., & Vehovar, V. (2003). Open-ended vs. Close-ended Questions in Web Questionnaires. Developments in Applied Statistics.