SURVEY RESEARCH:

QUESTION WORDING AND DESIGN

Charlotte A. Allen., Stephen F. Austin State University
CASE DESCRIPTION
The primary subject matter of this case concerns survey research. Secondary issues include
questionnaire design, research objectives, bias, and ethical considerations in marketing
research. This case has a difficulty level of three (appropriate for junior level) to four
(appropriate for senior level). This case is designed to be taught in one class hour and is
expected to require no outside preparation by students.
CASE SYNOPSIS
Do you need a case on marketing research, but do not need anything to do with statistics?
Do you want an interactive case that will generate a lot of discussion? Survey Research:
Question Wording and Design is the case for you. It is designed to be used in a marketing
research section of a Principles of Marketing class or in a Marketing Research class itself. This
case follows the career of Ann Horton, the new Director of Marketing Research at a large
metropolitan hospital. Ms. Horton is presented with a finished customer satisfaction survey by
William Whedon, who is in charge of Public Relations. He has to have her approval to
administer the survey and is impatient to find out the results of the survey to include in a new
marketing brochure for the hospital. Should Ms. Horton approve the survey or not? This case
deals with bias in survey research that can occur when questionnaires are designed. How does
one find the bias in how surveys are worded or presented? This case will allow students to
critique the proposed survey and try to spot any biases that may occur in the survey or how the
survey is administered. There is also an interesting ethical question of what should Ms. Hortons
actions be in this situation.
SURVEY RESEARCH: QUESTION WORDING AND DESIGN
Ann Horton was recently hired as Director of Marketing Research for a large, metropolitan
hospital. The hospital is under new management and is interested in re-positioning itself in the
market as having the best medical care in the area (there are four other hospitals in the area that
are in direct competition with Ms. Hortons hospital). She is excited about the new job since this
is her first opportunity to be in charge of a research unit- she has worked in survey research and
focus groups, mostly in the medical and services areas. Therefore, this new job is certainly a
large leap for her career wise. As a new hire, she has been meeting with all of the other directors
and the employees in her research unit. During her first week, she is introduced to William
Whedon, the Director of Public Relations for the hospital. He welcomes her to the hospital and
makes an appointment to come back and talk to her later in the week about some research he
needs to have done.
Fast-forward to a week later and Ms. Horton has met with Mr. Whedon. She is looking over the
survey he presented her at the beginning of the meeting (See Table 1 for actual survey). It is a
customer satisfaction survey to be handed out in the hospital to patients. Everyone receiving care

at the hospital would receive a paper copy of the survey. The survey time period would run one
full week and Mr. Whedon is anxious to administer the survey and collect data: We could then
use the results in our new marketing brochure- it would be good pr for us. Mr. Whedon spent
quite a bit of time discussing the printing deadline for the brochure and before he left he told Ms.
Horton that Mr. Paris, her predecessor, had unofficially approved the existing survey. Mr. Paris
had left the organization to go to work in another city, but had left detailed notes and examples of
previous research done at the hospital. Most of the previous research was conducted with indepth interviews and focus groups. The results of focus groups and interviews were generally
positive with specific criticisms that were addressed by changes in rules or instructions to staff.
However, the sample sizes used in previous research were too small and not representative
enough to generalize to the whole consumer base. This survey would not only be the first
organization-wide survey of their customers, but it would be used as a benchmark for future
studies. Ms. Horton must approve any marketing research that is done at the hospital and, with
this authority and responsibility in mind, begins to analyze the survey.