GUIDANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUESTIONNAIRES

Transcription

1 GUIDANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUESTIONNAIRES Consultation questionnaires are used to ascertain people's opinions on particular topics. The most successful consultations use questionnaires as part of their consultation process. The topics for your questionnaire should be formed out of the results of interviews, workshops or group discussions, already undertaken to establish the key issues for different sections of your community. The usefulness depends on asking the right questions and response choices. Well-defined goals are the best way to ensure a good questionnaire design. When the reasons behind the study can be expressed in a few clear and concise sentences, the design of the questionnaire becomes considerably easier because the questionnaire is developed to directly address those reasons. For example, do you need statistical evidence of community views or are you looking for ideas for solutions? Designing Your Questionnaire A good questionnaire should engage people from the start. The maximum time it should take to fill out is about 15 minutes. As a general rule, long questionnaires get less response than short questionnaires. Response rate is the single most important indicator of how much confidence you can place in the results. A low response rate can be devastating to a study. A questionnaire is only as good as the questions it contains. Ask yourself what you will do with the information each question yields. If you are unsure of the answer, consider removing the question. Prioritising items in this way will help ensure that you make the most of the questionnaire. Include clear and concise instructions on how to complete the questionnaire. These must be very easy to understand, so use short sentences and basic vocabulary. Be sure to print the return address on the questionnaire itself (since questionnaires often get separated from the reply envelopes).

2 Questionnaire Layout At the beginning of the questionnaire, include a brief introduction explaining who is doing the survey and why. Make sure the return deadline is clear and give a contact name and number for if people have any questions. Consider whether you require one completed questionnaire for the household or whether you want everyone in the household to answer for themselves. If so, you will need provision for multiple respondents on the same form. It is often a good idea to ask personal information such as the respondent s age at the end of the questionnaire as these types of questions can put people off at the start. However, this information is important and if the questionnaire is too long respondents may not have the time to complete it. The physical appearance of a questionnaire is particularly important in persuading people to fill it out. Make sure that it is clearly laid out so that people can easily read and follow it. One way to keep a questionnaire interesting is to provide variety in the way questions are asked. Varying the questioning format will also prevent respondents from falling into response sets. There should be a clear structure, and questions dealing with similar aspects of a topic should be grouped together. Blocks of questions should lead from easier to more difficult and there should be a smooth flow from one topic to the next. Try to minimise the number of pages by not allowing excessive gaps between questions whilst making sure that the front pages are uncluttered to avoid putting people off. If you are developing a questionnaire for a community led plan, your survey is likely to include many of the following topics: Demographic questions Social and cultural issues Health and social care Education and or training Recreation and leisure Community buildings Crime and community safety Local economy, including tourism Housing and the built environment Transport (including traffic and road safety) and connectivity Local services Environment including character, footpaths, maintenance Green issues energy, waste, flooding Local governance Communication Young people

3 The most effective way to ask questions There are two basic types of questions you can ask: Open questions People say or write their own answer rather than select one from a list eg. What do you like about living in your village? Sufficient space should be given for each person to write their answers. These types of answers are more difficult to analyse but they will provide more insightful information. Closed questions People choose one or more answers from a range. The way the questions are asked should ensure that the responses do not merely form a wish list. It is vital that the questions are phrased in such a way that they do not provide the solution but help discover what the problem is. Do you agree that there should be vehicle activated speed signs in the village? Do you consider that vehicles enter the village too fast? Yes/Sometimes/No The first example also suggests that by answering yes, the community will be able to secure vehicle activated speed signs. If this is then unachievable, there may be a growing feeling of mistrust. Avoid ambiguous questions and answers Word the questions in an unambiguous way (so that it means the same thing to all people). Do you frequently use the village shop? The respondent of this question is likely to have a different idea of frequency than someone else How many times have you visited the village shop in the last six months? None; 1 or 2 times; 3-5 times; more than 5 times Do not include the word and in case a respondent wants to respond yes to one part and no to the other part of the question.

4 Avoid double negatives Double negatives in the question or in the question and answer combination are especially likely to confuse your respondents. I do not trust parish councillors to work hard on my behalf Do you believe parish councillors work hard on your behalf? Yes/ No/ don t know For even more opinion you might ask: In general, how hard do you think parish cllrs work on your behalf? Very hard/quite hard/about right/not very hard/not hard Leading questions Word your questions carefully in order to minimise bias in the questionnaire. Beware of asking questions that lead the respondent to answer in a particular way. Questions phrased I would support, I would like or I would use are framed personally and positively. EXAMPLES OF HOW GOOD QUESTIONS LOOK (and a variety of styles) Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following: Speeding cars in the village are a problem Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree/disagree Agree Strongly agree Please indicate which of the following services you currently use or would use if they were introduced/improved Bus service How safe do you feel around your village? Public transport provision in the area is: Currently use/i might use/i would never use Excellent _ Good _ (please tick) Fair _ Poor _ Don t know _ Do not use _ Very safe/ Safe/ Unsafe/ Very unsafe

5 Always do a road test Road test the questionnaire on a few people to make sure that the questions are understandable and not ambiguous and that the survey is not too long or complex. Any problems that show up in the pilot can then be ironed out before using the survey for real. EnAct s questionnaire design and analysis service EnAct can provide support with the design of your questionnaire. If you are undertaking a community led plan, we can give you access to our standard list of CLP questions. We can put your questionnaire online and we can undertake an independent analysis and report on your survey results. This is a chargeable service. If you are interested, contact us for a quotation tailored to your needs. ABOUT COMMUNITY LED PLANNING Further information For further information, contact us at: or enact@communityfirst.org.uk EnAct is a service provided by: Registered Charity No VAT Registration No Company Limited by Guarantee Registration no England. Registered with the Financial Conduct Authority No. FRN