A questionnaire is a research tool which contains series of questions used in collecting relevant information from respondents during research.

Questionnaire is the next document to be drafted immediately after listing your aim and objectives.

A few Things to Consider Before Drafting Your Research Questionnaire;

Decide on The Appropriate Questionnaire Format to Adopt: This means you have to decide whether to adopt the closed-ended or open-ended format (this decision will be on the basis of the kind of research you are carrying out e.g., quantitative or qualitative research).

Know Your Respondents: Knowing your respondents helps you plan how to collect data. Some respondents may not always be physically available to fill-out questionnaires, in this case you could opt to send questionnaires via email. There are some respondents you may need to meet in person and conduct brief interview; while some others might prefer telephone interview. Irrespective of how your respondents want the questions served to them, you should be able to come up with a viable pattern to getting data.

Types of Questionnaires:

Open-ended Questionnaire: This is also called the “free answer questionnaire”. Open-ended questionnaires do not come with options, the researcher tries to carry the respondents along by allowing them pen down their views on a subject.

This type of questionnaire gives the respondents the freedom to fill out their answers in the space provided. See example below.

What are the major features of residential properties? answer…………………………………………………………

Advantages of open-ended questionnaires:

It gives the respondents an opportunity to express their view

The questions are easy to ask

They are useful when sensitive information is required from the respondents

It helps to provide additional information that the researcher may not have at his/her disposal

Close-ended Questionnaires: These are questions with options to be selected by respondents. The questions are easy to ask and quick to answer. Analyzing this type of questionnaire is easier and straightforward. The only demerit to this type of questionnaire is that the respondents are forced to select from options provided by the researcher without having to write down their own view. It limits additional information. See example below:

What are the major features of residential properties?

1. Ample car park
2. Centrally located
3. Modern amenities
4. Safety and security

Questions to Ask Yourself While Drafting a Questionnaire:

Are the questions related to your objectives?

Are the questions related to your aim?

Do the questions connect with your hypothesis?

Are the questions easy to answer?

Can the options be derived from literature reviewed?     

Qualities of a Good Questionnaire:

The questions should be short and straight to the point

Avoid leading questions

Avoid questions with Yes or No answers

Avoid repetition of questions

Your questions must not be ambiguous

Note: While drafting your questionnaire, it is not out of place to see questionnaires prepared by other authors. Seeing other questionnaires helps you understand various formats and gives an idea of how to draft and format yours. This does not in any way insinuate you copy other people’s questionnaires word-for-word.

For close-ended questionnaires, the following methods can be used to provide options for your respondents:

Checklist: This involves presenting options with boxes and asking respondents to select their most preferred option by ticking either of the boxes.

Sample:

What are the major features of residential properties?

Ample car park         

Centrally located   

Modern amenities  

Safety and security 

Rating Scale: This involves asking respondents to express their degree of agreement or disagreement on a given scale.

Sample:

How relevant is security and safety to residential properties in New Haven?

a. of great relevance

b. of some relevance

c. of no relevance

d. uncertain

Likert Scale: This is similar to the rating scale, only that the questions consist of attitudinal statements.

Sample::

Ranking: This method is used when respondents are asked to rank response in order of their importance or preference.

Sample: