Structure and Design of my Questionnaire 16/6

The next part of my assessment is to begin designing and polishing my questions. I've begun writing my demographic questions and plan to start writing my customer satisfaction questions next. I have also used Stats NZ to help my methodise and help me design my questions in the best way possible. Using the different chapters around structure, wording and instructions I've gathered an understanding of the best ways to make my questions.

Here is the beginning of my questionnaire...

Survey Questions 

Demographics

• Which of these do you identify with?

1. Male B) Female C) Prefer not to say 

• What age group do you belong to? 

1. Under 18 B) 19-24 C)25-30 D) 31-36 E) 37-42 F) 43-48 G) 49-54 H) 55-60 I) 61-66 J) 66+

• What is your ethnicity? 

1. NZ European B) Maori C) Pacifica D) Asian E) Hispanic/Latino F) Other

• What region/province are you from?

1. Southland B) Otago C) Westland D) Canterbury E) Marlborough F) Tasman G) Wellington H) Manawatu-Wanganui I) Hawkes Bay J) Taranaki K) Gisborne L) Waikato M) Bay of Plenty N) Auckland O) Northland P) International

• What is your relationship with the website/organisation?

1. Volunteer B) Donator C) Frequent Visitor D) One Off Visator E) Management/Founder F) Other

In the question structure chapter, I read about partially closed questions which compromise between the open and closed question difference. A partially closed question offers a multichoice box to choose from and an other box if one of the options doesn’t specify to you. I used this when asking respondents about their ethnic background. I also read about creating response categories that are exhaustive. You may want to ask questions which are opinion based or the respondent may not be educated about. The key with questionnaires is to have an answer box or response that everyone can fill out. I used this when asking the gender of the respondent. I used male, female and prefer not to say responses so everyone can answer the questionnaire. 

In the question-wording chapter I read about being specific to what I want to find out from my respondents. I used this recommendation when writing my question asking age groups. To find more precise and specific answers I offer answers for every 5 year age difference, eg - 49-54, 55-60. My survey is directed at adults rather than children so there is only one option for under 18s. I also learnt that it’s best to keep each question to one topic so you don’t confuse or overload the respondent. It’s best not to double-barrel a question so respondents avoid only answering one part of the question. I used this tip when asking the relationship to the website and what inspired the interest in the website. Asking these questions separately assured I gather the information in the most appropriate, specific and simple way.