EXAMPLE 19 Questionnaire design

For each of the following questionnaire items, identify which of the five factors for good questionnaire design is violated, if any.

  1. Do you oppose the wasteful spending on foreign aid when so many problems confront us here at home?
  2. Do you often feel lonely?
  3. Do you espouse or disavow the conglomerative confluence of macroeconomic indicators?
  4. Have you watched television or downloaded music in the past 24 hours?
  5. Do you ever use a cell phone to access the Internet?

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Solution

  1. This is a leading question, which is clearly trying to influence the respondent's answer.
  2. What is meant by “often”? Three times a week? Three times a day? This is vague terminology.
  3. This question would only be understood by those who have studied economics, and is neither simple nor clear.
  4. This is asking two questions in one. It is possible that respondents have done one or the other, or both.
  5. This question is fine. In fact, it is an actual survey question from the Pew Research Center.

NOW YOU CAN DO

Exercises 31–34.