Page 127 - DMGT404 RESEARCH_METHODOLOGY

Unit 6: Primary Data and Questionnaire

Step 5: Sequence and Layout Notes

Some guidelines for sequencing the questionnaire are as follows:
Divide the questionnaire into three parts:
1. Basic information
2. Classification

3. Identification information.
Items such as age, sex, income, education, etc., are questioned in the classification section. The
identification part involves body of the questionnaire. Always move from general to specific
questions on the topic. This is known as funnel sequence. Sequencing of questions is illustrated
below:
(1) Which TV shows do you watch?
Sports ................... News ...................

(2) Which among the following are you most interested in?
Sports ................... News ...................
Music ................... Cartoon ...................
(3) Which show did you watch last week?

World Cup Football ...................
Bournvita Quiz Contest ...................
War News in the Middle East ...................
Tom and Jerry cartoon show ...................
The above three questions follow a funnel sequence. If we reverse the order of question and ask
"which show was watched last week"?, the answer may be biased. This example shows the
importance of sequencing.
Layout: How the questionnaire looks or appears.

Example: Clear instructions, gaps between questions, answers and spaces are part of
layout. Two different layouts are shown below:
Layout - 1 How old is your bike?
........ Less than 1 year ........ 1 to 2 years ........ 2 to 4 years ........ more than 4 years.

Layout - 2 How old is your bike?
........ Less than 1 year
........ 1 to 2 years.
........ 2 to 4 years.
........ More than 4 years.

From the above example, it is clear that layout - 2 is better. This is because likely respondent
error due to confusion is minimised.
Therefore, while preparing a questionnaire start with a general question. This is followed by a
direct and simple question. This is followed by more focused questions. This will elicit maximum
information.

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