What can be easier than asking a whole bunch of questions? Often, clients believe that it is dead easy to create a questionnaire. Earlier, we had discussed the need to understand what was the question asked before we get to understand how to interpret the results.

Today’s two links, a Globe and Mail report and a Washington Post story show how devastating the question can become for the outcome of a study and for the participation in the study. In the first instance, the Globe and Mail reports how a problem of definition becomes the route to change the ethnic status of reporting participants. One would have thought that a person must know to which ethnic group/s, he belongs, but it depends! It swings on how you define the group and in this case the Jewish population was halved. In the other story from the Washington Post, the issue is the impact on the response rate. The higher the non-response rate, the lower the confidence you can have in the study. If the question is a very personal one or one that involves self-disclosure of an intimate nature, the way that the question must be asked is critical. Much thought must be put into the flow of the questions and the possible response of the intended participant. Even with the best of intentions, it is necessary to pre-test the question to ensure that there is acceptance of it.

Constructing a questionnaire or even a moderator’s guide to lead a focus group is not as easy as it appears. Try using an expert in this. We at MFO have been doing this for more than 30 years and you can all ways contact us and we will be glad to assist you.