Chapter 6 - Using Questionnaires

1. Kinds of Information Sought
   • Attitudes
   • Beliefs
   • Behavior
   • Characteristics
2. Planning for the Use of Questionnaires
   • The people you need to question are widely dispersed
   • A large number of people involved in the systems project, and it is meaningful to know what proportion of a given group approves / disapproves of a particular feature of the proposed system.
   • You are doing an exploratory study and want to gauge overall opinion before the systems project is given any specific direction.
   • You wish to be certain that any problems with the current system are identified and addressed in follow-up interviews.
   • Writing Questions
     • Open-Ended Questions
     • Closed Questions
3. Using Scales in Questionnaires
   • Scaling Fundamentals
     • Reasons for Scaling
       1. to measure the attitudes or characteristics of the people answering the questions
       2. to have the respondents judge the subject of the questionnaire
     • Measurement
       1. Nominal - used to classify things
       2. Ordinal - used for classification with rank ordering
       3. Interval - intervals between each of the numbers are equal
       4. Ratio - intervals are equal and there is an absolute zero
     • Validity and Reliability (consistency)
   • Constructing Scales
     1. Leniency (respondents are easy raters) - move scale
     2. Central tendency (respondents rate everything as average) - increase # of points on scale
     3. Halo effect (impressions formed in one question influence answers on other questions) - rearrange questions
4. Designing and Administering Questionnaires
   • Designing the Questionnaire
     • Questionnaire Format
       • allow ample white space
       • allow adequate space for responses
       • ask respondents to circle their answers
       • use objectives to help determine format
       • be consistent in style
     • Order of Questions
       • Questions of importance to respondents go first
       • Cluster items of similar content together
       • Employ respondents' associated tendencies
       • Bring up less controversial items first
   • Administering the Questionnaire
     • Decide who are the respondents
     • Methods of administering the questionnaire

Transparencies

Exercises: pg. 169-70 (due - noon Sept. 29, 1998)
e-mail to summers_wayne@ColumbusState.edu your answers to the following problems: 3,4,5

turn in on Sept. 29th a solution to Group Project #1 (this may be completed in a small group of 3 to 4 students)
Explore the MRE HyperCase company and e-mail the answers to the questions on page 168[This can be done in a group of 2-3]