how to / create centres / business plan / questionnaire You could design a questionnaire, or a series of questionnaires for different groups. You will then need to analyse the results of your questionnaire and present them in either tables or charts or in written form and draw conclusions from the results. Before you start writing questions you need to think through exactly what you are trying to find out. Here are some basic guidelines: 1. Length Keep it short - people get bored, don't answer questions properly or may refuse to continue. It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes (unless your are offering an incentive), and many textbooks say you should limit it to between 10 and 20 questions. 2. Clarity Remember K.I.S.S. - Keep It Short and Simple. Don't use technical terms, or complicated language, bear in mind the target clients' abilities. Make it as easy for the respondent as you can by asking for as little time and effort as possible. You might decide a verbal questionnaire or an audio recording is better for some people. 3. How you ask questions The easiest questions are closed questions - where you provide a choice of replies. These may take to form of Yes/No questions or multiple choice questions. They are easy and quick to answer, and easier to analyse, but prevent any spontaneous and unlooked for answers. Sometimes you leave a space for don't know or no answer. Or leave the option to add something else. Don't use loaded questions - These are questions which invite a particular answer. eg. Would you use us if we offered the best courses? You need to be aware that people do not always answer questions honestly, sometimes they will answer in a particular way to make them look better. eg. Do you give your children a cooked breakfast every morning? A mother may feel she is not a good mother if she doesn't give them a cooked breakfast, and may give the answer which she feels makes her appear to be a better mother. Another form of question is the open question. In this case no answers are provided and the respondent answer in his own words eg. Why did you go abroad for your holiday? ___________________________ This type of question is easy to ask, difficult to answer and the answers are often very difficult to analyse. However they can provide useful additional information which is you would not get from a closed question. You may decide to use a control question to check the validity of the answers you are getting. A control question approaches the same subject as a standard question but from a different point of view. You may also use a filler question which only applies to some respondents eg. people still at school. You should tell other groups to move on to the next question.   Format of a questionnaire 1. Introduction You need to decide how to introduce the questionnaire. The majority of people will want to know something about the survey before they agree to answer the questions. Introductions should be polite and general. When sending out a postal questionnaire a good introduction can increase response rates. 2. Instructions You need to give instructions so the questionnaire is filled in properly. The person who is asking the questions may need to be given instructions or the person who is answering them. eg Section 3 - Tick one box per question You must also decide on the order in which to ask the questions. 3. Opening Questions These should be easy to answer, factual, usually closed questions so that the respondent can relax. 4. Later Questions These can be more difficult questions, which may require some thought, and more time to answer. They should still be written simply, avoiding long or unusual words, technical terms, or complicated concepts. You may want to include an open question at this stage, to obtain extra information. 5. Personal Questions You will want some information about the person being interviewed to help you with your classification and analysis and to enable you to make comparisons between different groups. You may require information on age, sex, marital status, occupation, occupation of the principle wage earner, type of house, ownership of home, number of children etc. In business markets it is often helpful to know the respondent's job title. If you are asking questions with ranges in them, make sure they don't overlap. eg. 20-34, 35-49, 50-65. Normally you do not ask for a respondent's name or address. It is believed that anonymity allows respondents to relax and give more truthful replies. However some people offer an incentive in return for providing this information. eg. If you would like further information about the project, please provide your name and address below. Finally - don't forget to thank the respondent for his or her time and effort in completing the questionnaire! For an example questionnaire click here. how to / create centres / business plan / questionnaire