Page 132 - DMGT209_QUANTITATIVE_TECHNIQUES_II

Unit 7: Sources and Methods of Data Collection

(II) Based on what you saw in the commercial, how interested do you feel, you would be Notes
buying the products?
 Definitely

 Probably I would buy
 I may or may not buy
 Probably I would not buy
 Definitely I would not buy.

Closed-ended questionnaires are easy to answer. It requires less effort on the part of the
interviewer. Tabulation and analysis is easier. There are lesser errors, since the same questions
are asked to everyone. The time taken to respond is lesser. We can compare the answer of one
respondent to another respondent.
One basic criticism of closed-ended questionnaires is that middle alternatives are not included
in this, such as “don’t know”. This will force the respondents to choose among the given
alternative.

Task Which type of questionnaires do you think to be easier to answer? Give reasons to
support your argument.

Wordings of Questions

Wordings of particular questions could have a large impact on how the respondent interprets
them. Even a small shift in the wording could alter the respondent’s answer.

Example:
 “Don’t you think that Brazil played poorly in the FIFA cup?” The answer will be ‘yes’.
Many of them, who do not have any idea about the game, will also most likely say ‘yes’.
If the question is worded in a slightly different manner, the response will be different.
 “Do you think that, Brazil played poorly in the FIFA cup?” This is a straightforward
question. The answer could be ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘don’t know’ depending on the knowledge the
respondents have about the game.
 “Do you think anything should be done to make it easier for people to pay their phone
bill, electricity bill and water bill under one roof”?
 “Don’t you think something might be done to make it easier for people to pay their phone
bill, electricity bill, water bill under one roof”?
A change of just one word as above can generate different responses by respondents.
Guidelines towards the use of correct wording:
Is the vocabulary simple and familiar to the respondents?

Example:

 Instead of using the word ‘reasonably’, ‘usually’, ‘occasionally’, ‘generally’, ‘on the whole’.
 “How often do you go to a movie?” “Often, may be once a week, once a month, once in
two months or even more.”

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