179 15.8 Wording of Survey Questions
The wording of questions is a major area of concern in constructing a questionnaire or evaluating someone else’s survey. Question bias, clarity, length and construction can cause crucial differences in results from surveys. Closed-ended questions are the norm for most survey questionnaires.
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Questions should be clear, using everyday language and avoiding jargon.
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Questions should be short, thereby reducing the likelihood of being misunderstood, especially in telephone interviews.
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Questions should not ask more than one thing. An example of a double-barreled question might be: “This product is mild and gets out stubborn stains. Do you agree or disagree?” The respondent might agree with the first part of the statement, but disagree with the second.
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Questions should avoid biased words or terms. An example might be: “Where did you hear the news about the president’s new tax program?” The word “hear” biases against an answer such as “I read about it online.” Instead ask, “Where did you learn the news….” There are even more insidious examples of bias in questions, a result of the survey sponsor’s having an interest in seeing the survey produce a certain set of answers. Think about the difference between asking about “pro-choice” or “pro-life” opinions. Questions can be written to signal the respondent about exactly what the interviewer wishes to get as the “right” answer.
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Questions should avoid leading the respondents’ answers. For example, asking the question “Like most Americans, do you support the government’s war on terror?” leads the respondent to think that if he or she answers “no,” they are in an un-American group! Another example might be: “Do you believe, along with many others of good faith, that abortion is murder?” The leading question tells the respondent what the expected answer is.
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Questions should avoid asking for unusually detailed or difficult information. A detailed question might be: “Over the past 30 days, how many hours have you spent watching TV?” Most respondents would not be able to answer that question without considerable calculation. A simpler way of gathering the same information would be to ask, “About how many hours a day do you spend watching TV?”
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Questions should avoid embarrassing the respondent whenever possible. It is difficult to judge which kinds of questions will be embarrassing to every person, but some questions will embarrass almost everyone. For instance, questions about level of income are usually perceived as intrusive. In fact, many survey researchers put those questions at the very end of the questionnaire so that if the respondent is offended by the question, the rest of the interview is not spoiled.
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Questions should not assume knowledge on the part of the respondent. Many surveys include “filter questions” which help the interviewer decide whether that part of the questionnaire is pertinent to the respondent. For instance, the questionnaire might ask: “H