Designing and Writing Questionnaires

Questionnaires are designed to help people learn about other peoples opinions about a topic. For your
project, you will design and write a questionnaire. Your questionnaire will give you information about
how people in your community think about your research topic. The information you collect is called
data.
Several types of questions can be on questionnaires. We will focus on four types:
1.

yes/no questions,

2. multiple choice questions,

3. rank order questions, and
4. open-ended questions.
Below are the definitions of the types of questions.

Yes/No Questions
This type of question is similar to a true/false question. It is easy to analyze (or study) the data.
Yes/No questions start with the following verbs:
1.

To be: am, is, are, was, were

2. Do: do, does, did

3. Have: have, has, had
4. Modal verbs like: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would
Examples: Do you think people should wear seatbelts? Y / N
Have you ever used the Internet? Y / N

Multiple Choice Questions

These questions give respondents (people answering a questionnaire) several answers to choose from.
The data are easy to analyze.
Tips for writing good multiple choice questions:
1.

Write a concise question. Concise means a lot of information in a few words.

2. Make sure there is only ONE correct answer.

3. Dont write negative questions.
4. Dont use all of the above or none of the above.
5.

Dont write trick questions.

Example: People like to travel to Salalah during the khareef to enjoy

a. the traffic.
b. the weather.
c. the cinemas.
d. skiing.

2
Rank Order Questions
These questions ask respondents to put items in order from most to least important, best to worst, etc.
We will use the data that shows the most popular and least popular choices.
Example: Put the following in order from best choice to worst choice for preventative
healthcare. 1 = BEST, 4 = WORST
Government hospitals _____
Traditional healers

_____

Private hospitals

_____

Government clinics

_____

Open-Ended Questions
Using this type of question on your questionnaire is a good way of getting detailed responses from people.
However, the data can take a lot of time to analyze. One way of reporting results is to mention the most
popular responses.
Example: What do you think is the best time for a teen curfew? _____________________

IMPORTANT:
When designing your questionnaire, avoid writing biased questions. A biased question is one that
shows your preference, opinion, or idea. This can change the way a person answers the question.

Example 1: Do you think Internet service should be cheaper than it is now? Y / N

(The writer thinks that Internet service is expensive.)
Revised question: Do you think Internet service is expensive? Y / N

Example 2: What is the best way to stop the high rate of drug use in high schools?
_______________________________________________________
(The writer thinks that drug use in high schools is high.)
Revised question: Do you think drug use in high schools is high? Y / N
If you do, what do you think is the best way to stop it?
_______________________________________

Designing and Writing Questionnaires

Assignment
For your research topic, please write 3 questions for each type of question.

Yes / No Questions
1. ______________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________

Multiple Choice Questions

1. ______________________________________________________________________
a. _____________________
b. _____________________
c. _____________________
d. _____________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________
a. _____________________
b. _____________________
c. _____________________
d. _____________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________
a. _____________________
b. _____________________
c. _____________________
d. _____________________

Rank Order Questions

1. ______________________________________________________________________
_______________________

_______

_______________________

_______

_______________________

_______

_______________________

_______

2. ______________________________________________________________________
_______________________

_______

_______________________

_______

_______________________

_______

_______________________

_______

3. ______________________________________________________________________
_______________________

_______

_______________________

_______

_______________________

_______

_______________________

_______

Open-Ended Questions
1. ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________